Ascari Enoteca - Toronto

I booked a party for a larger group of a dozen guests.Been to Ascari before with family and enjoyed the dishes. My first telephone encounter was a bit tense as the first statement was that they do not accept Credit Cards (i knew that) and that if there is any no shows from my party there will be a 50% charge. BTW the request was for a deposit on my Visa, this kind of didn't make sense. I found this not welcoming. Also told that for a party of this size I needed to have the preset menu and could not order any deviation. This was acceptable. I asked about bringing a Birthday cake and was told that they would serve it but there would be a $4 per person additional charge. I found this a bit insulting since I was bringing a big group to introduce to this restaurant.Overall the food quality was very good, but I can't understand why a restaurant would serve minimalist portions where you need to have 6 people share one not so large plate. I had asked that they bring 3 plates for 12 as this would make it more suitable. I was given some formula that was created and told this was not possible. Overall there was sufficient pasta. The salads were served in 3 plates but they were more of an individual serving that was served to feed 4. The extra cost of some basic veggies could not have broken the bank. My guests found this kind of odd and I honestly did not feel too good about it. I preferred that there would be more than less for my guests which are accustomed to good quality food. Minimalist dessert offering of one type of deep fried sweet

After having bubbled in queens st looking for a nice place to dine, I landed at ascari, which was crowded — it was probably a good sign, and indeed. I had a very good time at the bar. an excellent meal, a good atmosphere and pleasant wine. What does the people demand?

Make a reservation, because this spot is deservedly booked ahead. Mondays are especially wonderful, with half-price bottles of wine. We LOVE the food here....and this is not their only endeavour....cannot WAIT for them to open a new restaurant in the Broadview Hotel, AND in the Crow's Nest space.....LOVE these people! Great food, great atmosphere, they know their stuff.

We had the most beautiful experience at this lovely restaurant. Our waiter Ryan was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. Everything we ordered was delicious and beautifully presented. The stand out items for me were the burrata, the arancini balls and of course the carbonara. The carbonara was one of the tastiest meals I have ever had. The house made noodles were perfectly cooked and the combination of ingredients was to die for.

The food was excellent. We had the broccolini friti and the pate to.start I had the steak special and my husband had pasta. Everything was tasty and well executed. Be warned if you are watching your carbs that the only mains are pasta dishes. They had one protein, a steak, as the daily specialMondays are half price wine night which meant the restaurant was full in spite of it being early in the week. We were seated beside a table of five that were taking full advantage of the half price wine and getting louder by the bottle. We literally had to shout to hear each other. In spite of the delicious food, we could not wait to get out of there and would never go back. Too bad.