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Da-Maria Pizzeria & Spaghetti House
Categories: Restaurants Pizza Restaurants Italian Pizza, Italian [Edit]
4 Kenwood AveToronto, ON M6C 2R7
(416) 653-1043
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
6 reviews for Da-Maria Pizzeria & Spaghetti House
6 reviews in English
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Review from Christopher P.
Victoria, BC
5/17/2011 1 photo
I first came here a year ago. My partner and I at the time were absolutely starving and, based on Yelp ratings, decided to step in. It was the best food-related decision of that trip, and one that I've repeated every time I'm back in Toronto.
If you want a high class, elaborate, fancy dining experience go elsewhere. If you want food prepared for you using classic Italian recipes that've likely been handed down for generations then this is a terrific place to be.
Every meal I've gotten here has included a nice green salad. Bah - a green salad you say! Who cares? *I* care because rather than damaging the greens in some heavy-handed salad dressing you instead get a nice drizzle of very clean, very flavourful, olive oil and vinegar. I've spent (too much...) time getting to know my oils and vinegars and what they're using is nice stuff that really enhances the flavour profile of the salad components. You also get the salad as an appetizer and it's a full salad - you're not subjected to one of those nasty little salad/garnishes that some restaurants feel obliged to provide as part of their 'appetizer course that isn't the same size as a regular appetizer because it came with your meal' kinds of plates. There, I'm done waxing on about the salad.
The gnocchi is heavenly. It's pillowy soft with delightful flavours. You don't get a slimy bowl of pasta, setting Da-Maria's aside from the depressingly large number of places in Toronto that sell pasta-drivel as gnocchi. I admit to having a particular love of their lasagna, largely because it's made as it should be. You get several layers of the pasta, with a light amount of cheese, sauce, and herbs. As a result, you really get to enjoy the flavours and textures of each part of the lasagna, instead of any particular piece of the meal overwhelming the rest. My partner swears that this is exactly how she was served lasagna in her trips to Italy; it's authentic style is what draws her back, time and time again.
As befits a good Italian eatery with a real Italian nonna running the shop, portion sizes are absolutely huge. She may also come out and warn you that, "you're not eating enough!" Also, it's not uncommon to see the serve staff's child playing, running around, and watching TV in the dining room. I like this: it makes the restaurante feel more homey, more real. I can appreciate, however, that not all people want to listen to children's cartoons as they eat.
Now, is there anything that I dislike? Yes, two things.
First: I've never, even once, been able to get an order of tiramisu. My love of this dessert knows few bounds, but one easy way to hit the boundary point is for it to be unavailable for purchase. The best way to finish a nice lasagna meal (as far as I'm concerned) is with tiramisu and so I've never really 'concluded' my meal as I'd like. Yes, this is a personal gripe but I've been at Da-Maria's often enough that I should have gotten an order of this desert at least once!
Second: I have a deep, almost visceral, reaction when I'm served bread with cold/almost frozen butter to spread on the bread. Each time I've come to Da-Maria's I've run into this. I understand how this happens (it's kept in an overly cold fridge until provided to customers) but it means I can never actually enjoy the butter because it's clumpy on the bread. Restaurateurs ought to always serve butter at room temperature or simply not provide it.
So, should you come here? Of course! It's a real hidden gem, holding terrific food, a great homey atmosphere, and great prices. If you want to enjoy some real Italian cooking in an authentic and unpretentious restaurant, this is a delightful place to come. -
Review from Elaine K.
I really wanted to love this place. It's walking distance to my house, it has pretty cheap Italian sandwiches, delivery and takeout open till midnight. But the service is just so awful.
The first time we came here, we ate in the dining room. The whole place reeked of cigarettes, but that wasn't their fault, there were two ladies smoking every 10 minutes outside and sitting around drinking pop inside. We got our menus and ordered from a nice old lady who disappeared into the kitchen. I ordered the penne arrabiata and he ordered a pizza of some sort. I got the salad that came with my meal and ate that. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. A couple of single older men came in and got their food before we did. All told, it probably took us 30 minutes to get our meals. The pasta was pretty good, a nice sauce, but nothing mind-blowing. He did not enjoy the pizza. We got our bruschetta after we finished our meals, since they forgot. It was soggy, but made for good leftovers.
Visit two: takeout. I called them and ordered one chicken sandwich, one meatball sandwich for pickup. No cheese. They said 20 minutes, which seemed like a long time, but I was starving and lazy. I walked in after 20 minutes to be told that the delivery guy accidentally took my meal and would be back soon. I waited for about 10 minutes and chatted with one of the ladies making meatballs. Finally, the sandwiches came back and they gave me a free coke for waiting. Which is.. kind of a crappy consolation, in my opinion. I got home and nearly cried when I discovered there was cheese in BOTH sandwiches. Still super hungry, I picked the cheese off the chicken sandwich and ate it. It was really really good, but not worth all the trouble.
Because I love breaded chicken sandwiches, I will probably be back again but with the following caveats:
- I will always order in person with the son/grandson who seems to be running the place now, instead of talking to the old guy on the phone
- I will make a huge deal about being allergic to dairy
- I will order only when not super hungry, and when I have time on my hands. -
Review from Jing K.
Toronto, ON
This is my next addition to my Best of St. Clair West list but I'm hesitant to rave about this place not because it isn't worth the four stars, but because I don't want to let the secret out.
I don't want to tell you about the chicken sangwiches. You won't like the homemade sauce (on the side so the bread survives the walk home), the tender chicken cutlets or the just crusty enough bread. You might even hate the melted cheese and sauteed mushrooms topping that I always get.
Don't even bother with the pizza. You'll encounter more delicious homemade sauce on top of a crust that is neither too thick or thin (I think their secret is pre-baking them). A terrible combination of toppings is green olives and bacon.
Your dogs will hate you for bringing them to the take-out door because sometimes they get some fresh pepperoni thrown their way if they perform their tricks.
You especially don't want to order on Tuesdays when there is a discount on the take-out.
In the words of the famous Canadian serial commercials, "you won't like it". -
Review from Damian W.
Toronto, ON
5/12/2009
This place should really be called "That 70s Restaurant". But luckily for them, I was born in the 70s, so it's all good.
The food: Pretty damn good, actually. Someone's Nonna is cooking in the back, which is pretty darn exciting if you know Nonnas like *I* know Nonnas.
She might actually be the titular Maria, but it's hard to tell since it seemed to me that she was in indentured servitude and not allowed out of the kitchen.
This place is clearly family run, and though it's not listed as being a venue for dinner theatre, that's what we got. For example:
--When we walked in, we were brusquely asked "Are you eating, or just
here for coffee?"
--Later, a group of 4 came in and decided to sit on the patio. The waiter
came in after taking their order and a man who I can only assume was
the manager/owner started questioning their order of 1 pizza: "What,
that's it? For all of them? 1 Pizza!?"
--Later still, that same manager/owner got involved in a heated
discussion with an older kitchen-serf (possibly his father or an uncle).
They were having a disagreement about food prep, and the
manager/owner blurted out that "If you would stop arguing, you'd have
chopped them by now, come on, what the hell are you doing?".
It was like the Italian Fawlty Towers! I kept on expecting the manager to hit the waiter with a spoon, and then excuse him as being from Barcelona.
But again, the food was actually VERY good. Perhaps not a 4-star good (and hey, 3 stars ain't nothing to sneeze at), but I'm awarding an extra star for being the best live sit-com on St. Clair. -
Review from B D.
Toronto, ON
4/11/2011
I have ordered twice in the past month and they screwed up both times. During a recent teenager party I ordered party sized veg pizzas. The delivery guy came- surprisingly, on time (the previous time it took 2+ hours to get an order) and I sent the pizzas downstairs, paid him. A while later 1.5 pizzas re-emerged- both had pepperoni on them. Almost all the teens I know are vegetarian now- so I have many slices of cold useless pizza now. Yuck.
I am sticking with Regina on College- always good. -
Review from Eric J. R.
2/20/2009
Have you been into the dining room? It's a trip, but the old lady can still do a nice gnocci. Try it, you'll be surprised.
