Grazie Ristorante

I’m never in the Yonge and Eglinton area. But when my best friend from Korea (who was only visiting Toronto for a few days) told me she was madly craving for pasta(s), my mind went totally blank!  Believe it or not this was rather a difficult task narrowing it down to just ONE Italian restaurant that serves amazing pastas.

So not having too much time to research I decided with Grazie Ristorante.  From reading a few reviews it was safe to say the general consensus gave a positive feedback – which probably explains why they have been around for such a long time.

Grazie Ristorante has 2 locations: one in Vaughn & the other location at Yonge & Eglinton. I called in advance to make reservations for dinner but apparently they only accept reservations for lunch and walk-in’s only for dinner. When we arrived on a Tuesday night around 6:30pm, the restaurant was more than half full – very lively atmosphere.

Bread to start: My friend appeared to really enjoy the bread. Although we both agreed it was very chewy around the crust, it was very moist around the center.

Special Appetizer of the Night: Fritto Calamari

  • I found the fritto calmari to be somewhat disappointing. Especially since it was suppose to be a “special of the night” I was hoping to be blown away.
  • The strange thing about this dish was it was presented piping hot. However, the battered part of it was not crunchy nor crispy – rather it was very chewy ….

Grazie Ristorante offers 3 different types of pasta sauce:

  • Sugo di Pomodoro (Tomato Sauce)
  • Pasta con Aglio e Olio (Extra Virgin Oil & Garlic)
  • Sugo di Pomodoro Cremosa (Creamy Tomato Sauce)

Napoletena ($15.50)

  • Linguini with shrimps & clams
  • I confess I have a soft spot for any types of pasta belonging to the “Tomato Sauce” or “Creamy Tomato Sauce” categories.
  • This was an obvious choice for me. Love Linguini. Love seafood. Love tomato Sauce. What more can a girl ask for? =D
  • The linguini was cooked perfectly. Each noodle had more than enough tomato sauce to go around it. Portions were very generous.

Basta ($14.75)

  • Spinach linguini with shrimps, green onions & parsley

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake ($7.50)

  • Four layers of moist banana cake with creamy mild chocolate cream between topped with a chocolate, cream cheese, whipped cream icing.
  • Even though our tummy’s were at maximum capacity we caved in and decided to give our palettes a little “cleanse” haha
  • This chocolate chip banana cake was not overly sweet yet it was decadent and savoury. Loved the chocolate cream in between the moist layer of banana cake. It was like eating a marshmallow!

Final thoughts? The pastas were downright satisfying. Generous portions – made perfectly. The chocolate chip banana cake was so irresistible. The special appetizer of the night was a bit of a let down but I would totally skip that next time and start with the pastas.  Overall I had a very delightful dinner with my friend ~ can’t wait to come back and try the creamy tomato sauce pastas!

Grazie Ristorante on Urbanspoon

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Leave a comment

  1. caseylee18
    April 3, 2013 / 11:13 pm

    mm, the pastas look bomb and banana cake looks like a nice touch to round everything off

    • Grace
      Author
      April 4, 2013 / 6:34 pm

      the pastas were AMAZING!

  2. Mary
    April 4, 2013 / 8:35 am

    Love this place because my office always gets take out from here when we work overtime. Even in a take away container the pastas taste great! 🙂

    • Grace
      Author
      April 4, 2013 / 6:36 pm

      take out?? wow thats like heaven in a little container haha

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