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Briscola - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
501 College StreetToronto, ON M6G 1A4
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market
(416) 964-1555
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- No
CalamityJane T. said: "After a late meeting the other night, my friend offered to take me to dinner. As I was tired and I LOVE to eat, I was no match for any sort of argument. I had a craving for some really good Italian and initially thought of a few swanky…" read more »
8 reviews for Briscola
8 reviews in English
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Review from Kent P.
Updated - 6/29/2011
Came back to Briscola on a quiet Tuesday night. Again - great service and food. Got to sit at the ornate couch booths with high backs- comfortable but difficult to get into.
We shared the fried olives with parsley and orange zest and I had the small serving of the spaghetti pomodoro which was light and refreshing. The tomatoes were fresh and it tasted clean. A little bit of basil in there.
For a main I had the Sausage and Pepper pizza. I capitalize both those words because they're so important to me. The crust was about as thin as possible - asked for a side of chili oil to give it a little bit of an extra kick. Big size.
Tiramisu was big enough to share between two people - but nothing really to write home about. Didn't matter, I was stuffed.
They have a prix fixe menu with three courses for $30. Deal. This place is very underrated.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/27/2011
Needed a last minute late night dinner on a Friday night - Briscola had an opening. Lucky me.
Space… Read more »
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Review from ritchie c.
Toronto, ON
3/21/2012
Really run of the mill menu with your below-average execution. I can't remember a single thing that stood out from the meal. However! I do remember our pizzas coming out way undercooked and chewy and our apps were so salty we had to send them back.
Despite all that, the service was great, and our waitress was super nice, but even her super human attitude didn't save this meal from tanking.
My foodie date was not impressed with my restaurant choice. She never spoke to me again. Thanks Briscola. -
Review from Precilla C.
Scarborough, ON
Came here this year for my birthday with a group of friends. The space was elegant and lovely. We were seated in a comfortable, cozy booth.
We started off with some bread, served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The bread was pretty ordinary, but I loved the balsamic vinegar, which was very thick and sweet. My major problem was that they didn't serve enough bread for the 6 of us (the basket only had 4 pieces) so I had to ask for more. For a restaurant of this class, this oversight was pretty shocking to me.
Now onto the food:
The bruschetta of the day topped with mushrooms and some kind of cheese that I cannot recall. We got two orders of it to share between the 6 of us. This was decent, but nothing extraordinary. The crostini was a little over-toasted and too crunchy for my liking.
Eggplant parmigiana with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella: gorgeous presentation with layers of eggplant unfolding like a flower. From the bite that I tried, it tasted pretty good too. My friend really enjoyed her entrée, until she saw the bill later.
Lombardia pizza with spicy Italian sausage, caramelized onions, basil and mozzarella: I liked the thin, crispy crust, but that's basically the only positive thing I have to say about this pizza. Everything else was utterly unimpressive. The pizza was dry, as was the sausage, and the herb overpowered all the other toppings. My boyfriend kept commenting about this "nasty cheese taste", which I couldn't detect. Regardless, the pizza was definitely a major disappointment for us, which is a shame because I love thin-crust gourmet pizza.
Orrecchetti with hot sausage, rapini and Pecorino: I don't think anyone at the table enjoyed it too much. We all thought it was dry and bland. I guess my friends prefer saucy pasta, but I've actually had non-saucy pasta that I really enjoyed, so that wasn't the issue for me.
Pappardelle with bison bolognese and ricotta: I actually enjoyed this a lot. The bison bolognese was thick, rich, and coated the pasta well. There was an abundance of bison meat (although it tasted like beef to me). The bolognese was very delicious.
Substituting for my birthday cake was Briscola's signature panettone bread pudding with dates, pistachio and vanilla gelato. I have to say that I absolutely loved it. I have a soft spot for anything warm and gooey with caramel, and this fit right into that description. The bread pudding was delectable, and I loved the addition of dates and nuts.
And then the bill came and we all cringed. On Briscola's website, it clearly indicated that "an automatic 18% gratuity is added to groups of 7 of more". Apparently, they slapped on that 18% even though we were a group of 6. We weren't pleased about this at all. I normally don't have a problem paying a higher gratuity if the service was good, but I thought that the service was not remarkable at all. The bread issue aside, our server wasn't particularly attentive, and it was hard to flag her down. However, since it was a special occasion, we didn't want to make a big fuss over the bill. Though in hindsight, I wish we had said something at the time. Too late now!Listed in: 30-Day Yelp Challenge
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Review from Mel C.
9/26/2011 2 photos
I came here on Saturday with five other people for my friend's birthday dinner. We had some difficulty finding the restaurant since their logo was very tiny but we found it after passing by it the second time around.
My friend made reservations so we had no problem getting seats on a busy Saturday night. We were seated in a U-shaped booth which I personally disliked because I didn't have enough room but all my other friends were fine with it. My first impression of the restaurant was that the interior was nicely decorated and there was a great ambiance.
They gave us free bread which was nice except they gave us four pieces when there were six of us so my friend had to ask for more.
We ordered the appetizer special which was a mushroom bruschetta. It was tasty but not worth $10.
Then came our main meal which were the eggplant parmigiana, orrecchetti, pappardelle and a sausage pizza (it's not on their website but I think the name is Lambordia).
The eggplant parmigiana ($20) came with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella. It was very delicious and worth its money. I would actually recommend this dish.
I ordered the orrecchetti ($21) with hot sausage, rapini and pecorino. Nobody at the table including me enjoyed it. I suppose most of us just prefer pastas with sauce but even so, this dish didn't wow us. It actually reminds me of something taht my mom makes with leftover pasta at my house.
The birthday girl ordered the pappardelle ($23) with bison bolognese and ricotta. The general consensus was that this was one of the better dishes. I think it's okay.
The pizza ($18) came with sausage and basil. It sucked. It was a nice size for the price and it'll be filling but it just didn't taste good. The dough reminds me of Pizza Pizza's pizza.
Lastly, we got the panettone bread pudding ($8) with dates, pistachio and vanilla gelato. It was very delicious, gooey and warm and I would recommend this dessert.
You may wonder, why am I giving them such a low rating even though the food wasn't horrible?
1) The free bread. With the prices they have, they shouldn't be cheap with something like bread.
2) A couple of times when the waitress refilled our water, she dripped water on me.
3) Food was mediocre.
4) Seating was uncomfortable.
5) The bill. On the website, it says that "An automatic 18% gratuity is added to groups of 7 or more." We were a group of 6 and they charged us the 18% gratuity. I find it almost rude when restaurants add their own gratuity. It's like they're telling us what they deserve. I like to tip accordingly and I don't appreciate restaurants adding their own gratuity unless if it says so on their menu/website that they add it automatically.
This is why I gave them 2 stars which is unfortunate because I think I would've enjoyed this place if I went with one or two other people for lunch. Since I had a bad experience here the first time, I don't think I'll be coming back. Also, the bill thing is a deal breaker for me. -
Review from Kavi G.
Toronto, ON
6/20/2011
Pricey little joint wedged between other restos at the mouth of Little Italy. Food quality is good, but portion sizes could be better given the price point.
Wait staff is very friendly and accommodating. Enjoyed their pizzas though the dough is a little salty (if that really matters to you). I've heard that the spaghetti is great as well.
Didn't get a chance to eat indoors, but I did relaxed on their extended patio which had been setup for Taste of Little Italy. -
Review from andrew a.
3/4/2011
i am #1, once again.
Great decor,great music, great service, great food. (the 4 greats)
fried olives, ok not bad. fried artichokes, awesome.
stratchiatella (did i spell that right?) AWESOME
seafood primmi (some kind of pasta) very very good, tasted like the ocean
secondi- seafood stew, meh, not as awesome as my friends osso bucco, too many weird herbs which took away from the dish, i told the server so hopefully the kitchen fixes this,but it was loaded with stuff and the broth was fantastic, just that stupid herb mix kept messing it up. but still really good
it was a great mix of fantastic service, great food and great ambiance -
Review from Maria P.
Toronto, ON
3/31/2011 2 photos
I've only been here twice and both times were on a Wednesday -- It was packed on both nights, which gives you an indication as to how popular this place has become already. The food was incredible. The tuna carpaccio and mushroom risotto are my favorite. Oh, and the fried artichokes...So, so good. Pizza was great as well. I'll be coming back to try the rest of the menu.
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Review from Susie G.
7/22/2011
Decor: casual trendy but not in a snooty way. Cool white leather booths with really interesting light fixtures. Loved it all around.
Service: excellent.
Food: totally awesome.
We ordered:
Fried olives - well executed but I didn't really care for it. then again I'm not a huge olive person.
Fried stuffed zuchinni flowers - absolutely perfect
Stuffed figs - great. wonderfuly balance of flavors.
short ribs and seafood stew - didn't try either of these but the people that ordered them were both extremely happy with their dishes.
spaghetti - extremely simple but very well executed. really liked it.
maltagliati - i loved the pasta and the flavors but agreed with my italian colleague that the mascarpone cream they added was out of place and it would have been better without it.
quail - totally awesome. highly recommend it.
sea bream - really really good. I'm not a huge fish person so I didn't like it nearly as much as the quail but I thought it was as good as fish can be.
