Padella Italian Eatery

Came to celebrate a birthday, and it was absolutely the right choice. We ordered 2 bottles of wine, 4 apps and 4 mains, and each dish simply put was ….. outstanding. Giovanni, is a gem! We loved his personality and vibe. It will definitely be our new go to for authentic Italian on Avenue. Definitely one of our top 5 Italian eatery’s in the area !

What an experience! the environment, the food, the GREAT service! Something that I have to point out is the quality of the pasta. You can taste how good and how serious these people take their job. I will definitely come back soon! This restaurant deserves 5 stars.

Great little restaurant for some amazing italian food! We had the seafood linguine, burrata with cheese, the Padella pizza and fritto. Everything is beyond expectations. The staff is also friendly and helpful. Highly recommended.

Highly recommend! I had the seafood linguine and it was delicious. The staff were very friendly and you could tell they cared It was on the quieter side when we initially got there but got a lot livelier as the dinner went on.wouls definitely go back to try their other food! Price was also very reasonable

Great and intimate restaurant with food made fresh right there. The owner works the floor and makes and effort to great every guest - you really feel taken care of! Food is delicious too, but make sure to give it a second to cool down before biting in as it is served fresh and hot

Italian restaurant with a true Italian vibe. Giovanni makes the best Tiramisu I've tried and their pasta is to die for. Definitely going again soon!

Amazing local Italian restaurant!!! I wish I could gatekeep. Will be back for sure. Portion was good, tastes amazing, we had black cod that wasn’t on the menu, absolutely amazing. Great for a date, and the service is top tier.

We once ordered pizza from this restaurant and loved it, but then we lost the location and couldn’t find it again for a long time. And finally, we found it and came back. It’s a wonderful restaurant — the food is delicious, and the owner is a charming Italian who always makes sure you’re enjoying everything. It’s small, cozy, and incredibly atmospheric, just like being in a little home in Italy. Highly recommend!

They got shut down by the health department Red notice! I have never eaten there!! I'm sure the food is good! But too pricey for me

The most delicious veal and fish! Service was excellent and attentive! Not too noisy which is special these days Everything is superior ! Ambiance was special nice white fresh table cloths You will NOT be disappointed Anna

A small Italian eatery with a cozy, homey feel. Overall food was great, albeit a bit pricey. But I'd say some dishes are well worth it so be careful where you tread. PS go for the conservative choices. Swordfish Carpaccio on Cantaloupe: This was the special or item on rotation and as a special it was a bit lackluster. Carpaccio was tasteless and seasoned to meh. The cantaloupe was not yet ripe, perhaps to provide a crunch contrast to the thin swordfish slice. In retrospect, a white fish would not provide as much flavour to a carpaccio. Octopus: Delicious and a staple to the restaurant, hence why I recommend sticking to the conservative choices. Octopus is chewy with a nice charred taste. The rest is a good mix of greens and tomatoes. Fresh Ricotta Gnocchi: The pasta dish was great. Gnocchi was chewy, sauce was tasty and ricotta cheese added creaminess to the mix when you chose to add it. Chocolate Lava Cake: What a chocolatey delight, I'm surprised that it came with vanilla ice cream. But this dish was perfect for any chocolate lover, with gallon and gallons of chocolate.

Our first time here and we loved it! From the time of confirmation of the reservation until the time we left the restaurant the service was warm and welcoming! The appetizers and mains were absolutely delicious! it's no wonder they have regulars that eat there weekly. We also enjoyed the very personal service and the fact the restaurant was intimate so we could enjoy good conversation. if I could give them a 10, I would! Looking forward to our next visit!

Our party of 6 went here around 8pm and sat down immediately. The service was excellent, our waters were never empty! Two people had the special and enjoyed it, and 2 of us had the gnocchi which was amazing! We were told the chicken would take about 40 minutes to make, and when one of us declined the chicken because of that, they offered to add chicken to a pasta dish to make a quicker dish. Overall a great experience and great dinner!

To avoid sounding repetitive, I found Padella best suited for people who enjoy under seasoned dishes, which allows an ingredient's natural flavours to shine, but was too plain for me. Some restaurants add a lot of toppings to their beef carpaccio ($16), the only garnishes at Padella were well-drained capers and shaved parmigiano; even the greens were left undressed. Indeed, we could taste the beef, it just doesn't taste like much without seasoning. Similarly, the pan seared octopus ($16) and cannellini bean salad barely had a lick of salt so the flavours were derived from the herbed olive oil. I just couldn't get used to the octopus' texture, which was too soft. Sure, you may be thinking tender octopus is a good thing. Yet, when the seafood flavours disappear and the springy texture almost becomes mushy, it no longer tastes like octopus. The clams to linguine ratio in the vongole ($19) was impressive: equal amounts of seafood to pasta. Moreover, both ingredients were prepared to perfection - the clams just cooked through but still juicy and the pasta retaining that lovely chewiness. If only the sauce wasn't so acidic - it's like the chef forgot he added lemon and did a second squeeze, then the person at the pass added a third helping - rendering everything so sour that even the garlic and white wine were masked. This could have been an amazing dish with a quarter of the lemon and double the salt. Only the spaghetti carbonara ($18) had a decent amount of saltiness from the guanciale, pecorino, and parmigiano. If you like bacon, this dish is for you as Padella doesn't skimp on the guanciale. Combined with the egg yolk, the cured pork's fat creates a rich smoky sauce that covers the fresh spaghetti. For me, I would have like more pepper to balance out the flavours.

This could easily be a five star review but it falls a bit short on the food. The ambiance is chillaxing - though can get pretty loud, and the service is spot on for this simple and small Italian restaurant. Padella is one of the many new restaurants that fill the Avenue Road corridor between Wilson and Lawrence. You have to be a standout to survive the ever changing gastronomic landscape of this trendy upper Toronto Neighbourhood. Stepping through the single door you are confronted with a heavy curtain (used as a pseudo-second door that usually baffles the wind and cold). Once you navigate that, you enter a small restaurant that is BZ! Almost every seat was taken. Ended up at the table next to the swinging door of the kitchen. The aroma of the place made me hungry and I wanted to try so many things. I ordered the Padella Pizza - can't go wrong with ordering a meal named after the restaurant, it's kind of my thing when trying a new place. My bud order the scallopini and I also ordered the chopped seafood appetizer. A couple glasses of wine to complete the order. The appetizer was ok. Lots of various seafood served on makeshift radicchio bowl but I found it more salty than it needed to be. The wood-oven Padella Pizza was better than an Il Fonello but not stellar - simple prosciutto and spinach. The scallopini was covered in chopped mushroom but my bud seem to somewhat enjoy it. I watched the other patrons and what they were having. Next time back, I want to try one of the many pasta dishes they have. As this is Avenue Road, parking is at a premium and the Parking Enforcement Officers are aplenty here. Watch out. Cheers.

Best Italian food in the area! Owner is very charismatic and has a great service! Ambiance is cozy

Lunch with a friend and dinner with my Son in the past two weeks at Padella won us over. Ambience, service, and delicious appetizers and entrees. You'll luv it.

One of my favorite Italian restaurant. My go to is their Margherita Pizza. Simple ingredients yet makes such a statement with your taste buds. Light and delicate, a real good eat. Here is the last slice left.

A great intimate restaurant. Lots of options, reasonably priced with vegetarian options always available, prompt service even considering that we were a group of 14. Owner is very receptive regarding any requests. Highly recommend.

Owner is really nice, place has a nice coziness to it, food is great! Nice intimate place

We used to go often before Covid as the food was delicious. This was our first time dining there post Covid. The service was excellent, but the food was very disappointing. The spaghetti with shrimp was sampled by all of us at the table.Everyone found the shrimp rubbery and the spaghetti so heavily salted it rendered the pasta inedible. There was no sauce on the spaghetti, just plain boiled, heavily salted pasta. Veal Marsala was ok but on the bland side. Considering the price, and the disappointing food, we cant imagine a return visit.

Enter into a cozy galley-style dining room that feels casual and welcoming. Dark walls, wood bar at the rear and oversized lighting fill the space. They do not take reservations but we were seated immediately as a table of 5 at 6:00pm on a Sunday. You may do best to be early...the restaurant was full at 7:00. Our host welcomed us like an old friend. Our waitress was equally charming and brought out our water and their house seasoned beans immediately. They were a lovely accompaniment to the house made warm foccacia that came out shortly after. For my appetizer I had their daily special -- eggplant parm. Definitely tasty and classic with a red sauce, but a massive appetizer. It could have been a small main. For the main I had the Penne Olive Nero. A different pasta than your usual red or white sauce. It had spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomato, and of course, olives. The pasta was al dente and the sauce was maybe a bit on the salty side, but I enjoyed it. Others at my table ordered the gnocchi (which was homemade) and the seafood fettuccini. Of the two, the gnocchi seemed to make the better impression. I was SO full after this but being a sucker for gelato I tried their house-made lemon. It was so smooth and had the perfect tartness. A refreshing end to a good meal.

Tried it for the first time and we loved it. We had Caesar salad, octopus, pizza?risotto and Carbonara and it was all delicious! Great service and very family friendly! Will be coming back to this nice little gem!

I've had it in my mind for a while to look for some neighbourhood gems to try out since moving to the area. It's always nice to find a great hangout close to home with great food, drinks, and proper customer service. Padella check all the boxes for me! I had their Funghi e Rucola (sautéed mushroom salad) and Fritto Misto (fried calamari appetizer) to start. Both were fantastic. I love mushrooms and this salad was a great starter! the vinaigrette and crisp arugula all complimented each other well. The calamari really stood out because of the fried sardine on top, which also had a generous amount of meat and nice saltiness to it. The aioli had a hint of lemon which complimented to calamari perfectly. I should add the table bread and bean snack is also very good. For my main course I ordered their special for the night which was a squid ink spaghetti served with a light rose sauce and topped with shrimp and lobster. I thorough enjoyed this dish. There was generous amount of lobster in the dish which tasted moist and fresh. The shrimps were a generous size, although, I could have had a couple more. I cleaned my plate though! My friends had the Linguine di Mare which I did try a bit of. If you love a good seafood pasta and tomato based sauce you will not be disappointed with that one either. To end the night I had their tiramisu. I always have to try a home-made tiramisu. It was good, however, I found it was served a little too cold for my taste which made the marscapone feel chunky to me. I prefer my tiramisu more on the creamy side in this way. But, it was well made and I would order it again. The wine list isn't exhaustive, but the Cab Sauvignon (Canadian) I had was enjoyable. Perhaps I will try one of their Italian reds next time. The service was amazing. I did not feel rushed through my meal. No pressure to get to dessert and get out. The restaurant felt inviting and intimate. I believe the owner or at least the manager was there when I arrived and he basically treated me like family. Kind, accommodating, great conversation. I will be back for more girls' nights out here! It also would be a great date night spot or to the someone for a special occasion. Padella really checked all the boxes for me.

Very good Italian food. Local and easy for those in the area. Food is hot; quality ingredients. Definitely would recommend and will be a repeat customer for a long time!

While the food was excellent, the owner was unbelievably rude and chauvinistic. This would be one of my favourite restaurants but the horrible customer service has ruined it for me and I refuse to go back.

We loved the warmth of the hosts the lovely buzz of all the customers who were raving about the halibut fish and the house special. We were 4. We had appetizers and main dish and for sweets their homemade tiramisu and cheesecake I just love how charming and quaint this restaurant is. It is really a hidden gem.

We live in the neighbourhood and thought we would try Padella on a recent weekend. The person who answered the phone was terribly rude and gave us a lecture about how we were basically losers for trying to make a reservation (they don't take them, just say so!). I think the restaurant experience starts before you actually arrive (and so do the best restaurants). So for me this restaurant failed and I would never go to a restaurant, no matter how great the food and ambiance, that can't respect its guests. Pass!

Great Italian food! Have had quite a few items on their menu and were great - would definitely recommend.

This is a really great place and highly recommended. I was expecting an average little Italian eatery and was very pleasantly surprised. It has excellent food and terrific service. The beef carpaccio was excellent and the grilled sardines were beautifully done. Portion size was excellent value for the price. The host and wait staff was very attentive and accommodating. They were even willing (in fact offered) to go off menu to accommodate a request. The place is small and fills up quickly. Be prepared for a short wait if you go at prime time, but it is worth the wait. We have lived in the area for about 15 years and this is the best Italian restaurant in the area - and we have tried them all.

My girlfriend and I were looking for a local neighbourhood restaurant on a recent weeknight, and we came across Padella. I can say without a doubt that our meal here rivalled or surpassed most experiences we have had at other Toronto Italian restaurants. Everything, from the service to the food, was fantastic. The flavoured beans served as a complementary appetizer were delicious. We both had their soup of the day - an asparagus and green apple puree - and it was the perfect blend of flavours. For dinner, I had the orecchiette with meatballs and my girlfriend had the bolognese. Both were amazing. One of the best Manhattan cocktails I have had too! Service was very attentive, and I believe were served by one of the owners. He was extremely friendly and accommodating to my girlfriend's gluten allergy. They have gluten-free pasta and he said they can do most dishes gluten free. We will 100% return and I recommend others in the community visit and support this new restaurant! Hopefully it will remain for years to come.

I thought the food was comparable to some of the popular Italian restaurants available downtown. They serve fresh pasta which is great. Service was also spot on and friendly. I would definitely go back!

Went there with my wife and after an hour of waiting for our food, we asked the waiter to check on it. He never got back to us. I told the manager that we're leaving and he made excuses instead of apologizing. I asked for the bill so we could pay for the appetizer and was charged $24. It was insulting, aggravating, and I'll never go back. The appetizer was average at best and it's overpriced. I really wanted this to be a local spot we could go to (there are so few of them) but it isn't. Don't waste your time or money. Drive the extra 5 or 10 minutes and you won't have trouble finding something better.

Overall decent Italian food. Very good service and quick to prepare the food. Great ambience. Mac and cheese was slightly watery with the cream and oily. The pasta carbonara had too much bacon and an overpowering Smokey flavour. Gnocchi was amazing could definitely tell it was homemade! The gnocchi melts in your mouth.