Trattoria Taverniti

Been here at least a half dozen times and the quality has always been consistent. Sauces have always been full of flavour and never watered down. The atmosphere is definitely more intimate than most, better for special occasions or dates then a night out with friends.

1. Food– Authentic, light yet flavourful. Decent portions. Variety of options for appetizers, pasta, and pizza.
2. Price– Fair, below average for the area.
3. Service– Only one server on the floor. Server was friendly, however he seemed inexperienced (slow and forgets requests), but that didn’t bother us. A possibility that they may be understaffed.
4. Atmosphere– cozy and welcoming, but the seatings were a bit tight (small restaurant fitting only around 10 tables).
Overall, it was a great experience. Will return to try out other items on menu!

The good news: the pizza is worth the wait, the bad news: you may want to pack snacks to hold you over. Granted, we visited on a Friday at 8, but it took 50 minutes to get a table and then another 35 to get our pizza. The crust was delicious and crunchy and the sauce had lots of flavor, overall I’d say one of the best deep dish pizzas I’ve had. It was super loud, though, and at times almost impossible to hear your server. The prices were decent and they don’t charge too much per topping.

Food was delicious, place is very quaint and cozy. We asked if it could be quick. Said it would be no problem considering we wanted pizzas. It took 1 hour and 15 for our meal. We were asked our food order on 3 different occasions before it arrived. Food was served after about 45 minutes. Asked for the bill when the pizzas came. They came 20 minutes later, and we were served the wrong bill and then asked for 4^th time what our food order was. Disappointing considering the amazing reviews.

Went to check this restaurant out with my mother recently and was very satisfied. The restaurant is a small, cozy spot on college street in Little Italy. The food accurately represents the taste of Italian cuisine and has every signature dish you would hope for. We had the special risotto that was featured for the evening and a pesto fettuccine dish. Both dishes were full of flavour and greatly enjoyed by both of us. The bar in the restaurant is quite small, with only Stella on tap and the rest all wine items, which you would expect from an Italian restaurant. I would definitely go back to taste the other dishes they have to offer!

Spent four great days in Toronto and stumbled upon this place on our way to the airport to fly home. It was by far our best meal of the trip. This place is the real deal. Fresh, delicious food, checkered tablecloths, and Nona! We were only disappointed that we didn’t find it earlier because we really wanted to try more dishes. My husband had the lasagna and I had pasta with pancetta and cheese. We weren’t starving when we walked in but it was too good to not clean our plates!

Holy hell do I love this place. Simple, fresh, reasonably priced, and oh-​so-​delicious. The funghi parpadelle will blow your mind. Service is wonderful and décor is quaint and charming. Perfect date spot.

Sometimes you find the best wonderful little treasures when you are just wandering around an area looking for a place to eat. On one of my many visits up to Toronto from the New York City area yesterday evening I was walking through Little Italy and just happened to walk by Trattoria Taverniti. It is a small place, but had the look of a place I might have bumped into wandering in Trastevere in Roma or perhaps in a small town in Calabria. It was busy, but I was pleasantly greeted and offered one of only two seats at the small bar. Once inside and gathering that the owner was in the kitchen with an apron on and his young daughter was helping with tables I knew a special meal would follow and I was not going to have to ask that the macaroni come out perfectly al dente! A pitcher of water was placed on the bar for me and I had a nice glass of Valpolicella wine… served in a wine glass one might be served in when visiting in a friend’s back yard. I started with some prosciutto e melone and was very pleased with the choice. The melon was fresh and the prosciutto sliced nice and thin and of high quality. The owner’s daughter twice checked in with me to see if I was pleased with the quality. Now, came the big treat of the evening! I was thrilled to see that they had Cacio e Pepe on the menu. It is one of my favorite parts of visiting Roma but it is extremely hard to find in North American Italian restaurants. In fact, in my many, many visits to some of the traditional Italian restaurants in New York I don’t believe I have seen it on a menu there. When the macaroni arrived and I took the first bite with the perfect blend of cheese and pepper a big smile came to my face. The last time I had this dish was in Harry’s Bar on the Via Veneto in Roma last fall and at less than half the price Taverniti’s version was every bit as good, and better. In a few seconds Dominic, the owner, came out of the kitchen to check with me on the quality of his little masterpiece of a meal. He also checked on the quality of the waitress and his daughter’s service (they got an A+). Despite being busy in the kitchen Dominic came out a few more times to chat during the meal, adding to the welcoming touch to it all. I closed the meal with a nice glass of grappa. Though I have eaten in many «fancier» restaurants my experience at Taverniti’s reminded me why why the best experiences come in places just like this… a legit Italian meal in a warm and welcoming atmosphere delivered with clear family pride. A little slice of La Dolce Vita in Toronto.

This place is absolutely amazing. 5 stars is not enough. My traveling partners started with glasses of Pino Grigio that they said was the best they’ve had. The bread that was served was incredibly fresh and the oil and balsamic for dipping was delicious. One person ordered lasagne that had the best red sauce they’ve ever tasted. Another had the carbonara that was delicious. I had a special that was penne with ricotta, basil and cherry tomatoes. Absolutely AMAZING.

Food was fresh, flavorful, and absolutely delicious! Waitress was very kind and personable; great location in Little Italy, Toronto. Charming
street-​front atmosphere with reasonable prices.

Polite staff, maybe a little too polite asked for another minute with the menu got another 10. Cute spot good location.
Pesto pizza was very good seafood pasta was WAAYY too salty couldn’t finish.

Great pizza place for sit down pizza meal!
Service is good, pizza amazing, nice location, and very charming interior!

3 stars for service, 5+ stars for food. We came at an especially busy time, but we had to wait more than an hour for our food, even the salad! The waitress tried to be helpful, but there is only so much you can do when crowds are large and the kitchen is small …
But the food was EXCELLENT. The best carbonara I’ve ever had — light and peppery with subtle flavors. The pizzas had a crispy texture, good sauce and crunch with a slight rosemary flavor — very good. The lasagna was also good, very saucy.
I would go back, but not on a weekend evening in the summer or other busy time.

Got a recommendation on this place while visiting Casa Loma. True to promise the food was delightful. The menu did warn that all pasta and entres were made fresh so we settled down for a little wait. Took a little over a hour which I think even surprised our server. But the food was worth the wait and it never hurts to actually talk to your family so the time was well spent. Had the Fettuccine Alfredo, Spaghetti with shrimp in a white wine sauce, and the lasagna. Food hot and tasted great. The lasagna was the most ordinary of our three dishes. Wait staff was friendly but clearly they needed additional servers as it was a little lacking on responsiveness. Great place for a romantic dinner.

Très bon, tagliatelles au presto et chèvre pour moi, mes amis pizza carne et pâtes aux crevettes/​tomates cerises/​persil MAIS la quantité pour les pâtes compte tenu du prix est insuffisant, excepté pour la pizza ou c’est correct, nous restons sur notre faim, dommage :(service très bien également.

I was in Little Italy this cold, February morning for an appointment and decided to grab some lunch with a couple friends afterwards. I’d heard mention of this restaurant before and noting its proximity, decided this would be a great opportunity to check it out.
The first thing I will note is that we accidentally showed up at the restaurant 20 minutes before they opened (noon), but our server (Natasha) was kind enough to let us in early. She seated us and brought us water and menus promptly. This was much appreciated considering it was a bitter –25C outside today!
The restaurant itself is cozy and quaint, with exposed brick walls and red-​and-​white checkered tablecloths. It is simple, but very welcoming. To my knowledge, the restaurant also has a patio area out front during the warmer months. While we perused our menus, Natasha brought us a basket of crisp, warm bread and a olive oil & balsamic mixture for dipping. Throughout the entire meal, she was very attentive to us (although we were the only table in the restaurant) and made us feel well taken care of and comfortable.
My friends ordered the gnocchi venezia and pizza mediterraneo. I myself, being a fungi fanatic, had to try the agnolotti al funghi. I was not disappointed. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the agnolotti pockets were filled with amazing umami flavor from the wild mushrooms. I was in heaven! The sauce itself was very creamy and delicious. I tend to prefer red sauces to white, but this Alfredo is so, so flavorful with bits of sweet/​peppery basil scattered throughout it to keep things interesting. I am usually pretty good with cleaning my plate when I eat, but my friend commented that she half expected me to pick up my plate and start licking it. If that is any indication of how good my dish was, I don’t know what could be!
I will definitely be going back in the future to consider bumping this 4-​star to a 5.

The two of us came in just before the Friday dinner rush, at about 5:30. We were quickly greeted, seated and had our orders taken. I ordered the special of goat and ricotta cheese medallions with figs and oil. My wife ordered the small pizza (definitely more than enough for one person) with onions, gorgonzola and proscuitto. We also ordered a fairly tasty and cheap bottle of wine ($ 28). So our whole meal after tax and tip came to $ 75, so its not an every day sort of restaurant.
Food came very quickly and no complaints about it at all. I’d recommend this place.

Lovely small romantic place with Great fresh food.
Pizza’s are amazing, and you can find a lot of creative pizzas — which you cannot find elsewhere. Cannelloni was also great. Great Wine selection, and very friendly service.
Highly recommend it, especially for a date night.

Went to this place after I had terrible gorgonzola pasta elsewhere and a friend recommended Trattoria Taverniti’s gorgonzola pasta and boy were they right…
We had the risotto balls, the gorgonzola pasta and the mediterranean pizza and everything was delicious: the risotto balls’ breading was DELICIOUS (light and cripsy) and the inside was really tasty and filled with gooey cheese; the gorgonzola pasta was LOADED with gorgonzola and walnuts and the pizza had a delicious thin crust and fresh toppings.
An overall successful experience! I’ll definitely be going back.

This is a cute little restaurant. We ordered arancini to share with the table. These arancini weren’t the best nor the worst arancini. It was a solid B+. It was hot, crunchy and cheesy so it’ll definitely satisfy your arancini craving if you have one.
I got the penne salsiccia. Again, I would give it a B. It’s a step up from a chain restaurant but I wouldn’t say it’s the best pasta I’ve ever had. The sausage was a bit dry and the sauce wasn’t the most flavourful.
There are so many Italian restaurants around the area, I would probably give those restaurants a try before returning back to this one.

I crush on all candlelit yet casual Italian joints. I just do. Tavernitis (which reads like an infection in English, let’s be honest) fits the mold.
This place is so quaint it hurts, and is located on the main strip in Little Italy on College. It’s a good place for a reasonably priced date, and their pizzas are the star of the show. The four cheese was simple and perfect. Thin crust, but not so thin that it got soggy when I was eating my buds’ leftovers.
I however, went with the veal parm and was greatly disappointed. The pasta on the side was ‘plain tomato’, but tasted like it could have come from a jar. Bummer. I started with the lentil soup, which I really enjoyed, though. So, you win some, you lose some.
I choose not to comment on the service. A cornucopia of minor disasters and mix ups, but they were very busy and both servers seemed sweet. But like, they never brought my friend a fork… fork that. Oops, I guess I commented.
PEPPER POINTS: For the red and white checked table cloths. So cute.
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