Company: Meeting up with +Will Ives after work at Fairview Mall
If you're someone who knows me, you'd know that I like to plan ahead like no tomorrow. So knowing that I was going to be in the 404/Sheppard area, I had to look up all the surrounding restaurants and find websites/pictures to see how legit they were. I can't stand being situations where I get somewhere and realize that it's super sketchy or that it's been closed and they hadn't updated their website. Calabria was literally one of the only legit restaurants I found that wasn't Asian (wasn't feeling it); not surprising though as it's the North York/Scarborough area.
Their website had a 20% dinner coupon and their Facebook page advertised cheap pints and half price apps until 3PM-6PM. They also had a picture of the place on the website which showed it to be pretty big and not in a sketchy strip plaza. Good enough reason for me to go...
It was quite busy once we arrived, just around 6PM so I assumed people trying to catch the cheap apps. Seems like a nice neighbourhood place with a wholesome crowd. They had a nice warm fireplace near the entrance and there was an open kitchen with the pizza open in the back which was nice to see. We got a comfy booth for two although I felt that all the table placements were really awkward.
We started off with Bacon Wrapped Scallops as the appetizer, a compromise between Will and I. Most of the apps were seafood and Will isn't a fan and only wanted buchetta or the chicken wings. We went for this as it was sort of a combination of both. I'm not really a fan of bacon, only because I think the flavour is too overpowering when I eat it with things and that it's overrated. These were quite enjoyable though, cooked perfectly, the bacon was crispy and the scallops were soft and not overcooked. It came with a small salad which I thought was a nice touch of flavour and the tomato complemented well. There was a side of seafood sauce which I found was odd, I've never had seafood sauce with scallops but it wasn't bad, could have used a hint of lemon juice to make it less sweet.
I ordered the Stone Baked Asiago Pizza and Will went for the Lasagna as per usual. The pizza was pretty big when it came out, you could probably share it with two people and be decently full. I really enjoyed the crust and dough of the pizza, it had a distinct flavour and not too thin crust. I think I probably would've been happy if it was just a cheese pizza. I really enjoyed the tomato sauce but wish there was more of it. The chicken wan't too flavourful and I forgot that I'm not the biggest fan of sun-dried tomatoes haha.
I obviously also tried Will's lasagna and and it was surprisingly delicious! Extremely meaty and the pasta was really soft. The tomato sauce was so good and had a nice sweet flavour, I assume it was the same one they used on the pizza. Good amount of cheese and nice portion size. I think I would opt for a pasta next time. "Lasagna was the obvious choice" according to Will.
Ended the meal with the Chocolate Truffle Cake, they only had a few items for dessert but enough variety. The cake was extremely delectable, I basically ate the whole thing and Will had 3 bites. I really enjoyed the vanilla and chocolate mousse combo paired with the chocolate cake, so good. Pretty light but rich with chocolatey goodness flavour.
With our coupon, we paid $40 everything included which I thought was a good deal for the amount of food we got. Very good pricing for some decent Italian food, especially if you're in the neighbourhood. We also got 4 coupons which were basically the same deals I found on the website.
Food: 3/5 - There were plus and minuses but overall good, fair-priced food.
Decor: 2.5/5 - Spacious and classic but there was something about the layout.
Service: 3/5 - Good wait times between each dish
Likeliness to come back: 3/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way, but if I was in the area... also got those coupons.
Overall: 3/5
Website: http://calabriarestaurant.ca
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