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- Hours:
Mon-Wed 11 am - 10 pm
Thu-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Background
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Ferro Bar & Cafe
18 reviews in English
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Review from Emma A.
Toronto, ON
10/26/2011
I love this place. It has been around for years and the food has always been great. There is a ton of choice - tons of different kinds of pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, and more, and all of the servings are quite large for the price. The dipping sauce that comes out with the bread is heaven - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parmesan, and some sort of spicy oil. I could eat it for an entire meal.
It's packed a little tight sometimes (doesn't have the most comfortable furniture in the world) and sometimes it can be a bit too loud when they have the TVs on and the place is really full, but on the whole it is almost always a pleasant experience. They've owned the building next door and have been planning an expansion for years, and I cannot wait for it to happen - a bit more space would be great. And maybe they'll be able to bring back the pool tables, which they sadly got rid of about 10 years ago to make space for more tables.
Either way, it is a great spot if you want a casual, tasty meal. -
Review from Rosie S.
12/8/2011
The food is great - we used to go here all the time for "date night" when we lived on the west side.
The service was slow - they seemed VERY understaffed. Not just slow, but a little on the lippy side too, which drives me crazy. SERVICE industry.
They don't take reservations, and there is a raging/aging hipster vibe. Very loud, though you'll recognize all the music.
All in all, it's just a bit weird. Something just doesn't jive.
Food is good but doesn't seem to match the spot, tone/feel of the resto or the attitude of the waitstaff. -
Review from Dave M.
5/18/2011
Feeling some Italian, my friend and I stopped in at Ferro on a busy night not too long ago.
First to note is the decor. Just wonderful. The ceiling painting is so old-school looking, it's great.
We were seated near the back of the place, and waited for a little bit for someone to come by, but nobody did...until a waitress came to re-seat us to the front of the restaurant, as they were closing the back section for the evening. What the hell? Anyway.
The spot where we were re-seated bugged me. It was right next to the bar, and some sort of game was on, and that area was way too noisey. That would be my only real complaint about Ferro. Most of the restaurant wants to be a nice and relaxing Italian restaurant, and the one corner wants desperately to be a noisy sports bar.
Once we got the ball rolling with our orders, things got better. Though the waitress came by very rarely, and often long after our glasses were empty, we got what we ordered, and she was pretty friendly.
The food itself was great. We ordered one of their specialty pizzas, and the seafood platter to pick away at. No complaints whatsoever in this department.
Overall, mostly a great atmosphere, and great food. Loses points for the crappy "Sports Bar Section", and not-as-great-as-the-food service. I'd return. -
Review from Emily M.
6/23/2011
Cute little place with kind of a 90's feel. (As I write this I don't even know what that means...but that's how I'm going to describe it anyways).
I've been here as part of a larger group (bday party) and with a few girl friends for dinner/drinks. They have a very small front patio with only 3 tables, but very nice if you can get a seat!
They have a few decent veg options. And they do their pasta just right - al dente, yes! But it sometimes pains me to pay $17+ for noodles and vegetables when I know I can do this for much less myself. But I remind myself, I go for the whole experience, right??
But I think the KEY to enjoying this place (as I have witnessed a few others do this) is to share dishes among friends, split an antipasti, pasta and pizza.
FYI some of the anitpastis are very generous in size and could easily fill you up. -
Review from Alexandra S.
Toronto, ON
9/25/2011
Ferro is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The Magic Mushrooms are amazing and the antipasto plate is delicious. Sometimes the staff gets distracted by their "coolness" but worth it for the generally good service and excellent food.
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Review from Kenny T.
Toronto, ON
6/15/2011
Great neighborhood go-to spot. Funky decor and always packed, which can be a bit dark and noisy, but there is always great energy!
I have done date nights and big groups and the place is great for both.
The entire menu is delicious and well executed. You will find something for everyone. Reasonable wine list as well. I recommend family style so you can taste a few items. The portions are extra generous, so don't over order.
Looking forward to see how they expand in to the new space... -
Review from Lauren W.
Toronto, ON
7/28/2010
*2.5*
I used to love this place, and it saddens me to have to write a semi-poor review.
They do have good pastas and pizzas, once they had a "Seafood Pizza" which was on a special menu, that was absolutely incredible. Who would have thought seafood on pizza could actually be so tasty?
Now as for my recent negative experience. We were there for a friends birthday, and my sister ordered a pizza with Gorgonzola cheese. Once the pizza arrived at the table, we immediately smelled a foul odour emanating from her pizza. Hesitant to even take a bite of her smelly pizza, she finally did, and believe it or not the pizza tasted as foul as it smelled.
She called the waiter over, and explained the situation, and his response was "that's how Gorgonzola cheese smells." Clearly this is no proper way to handle a situation of the sort. When she asked to speak to the manager (who I believe is also the owner) he pretty much had the same response and did not offer to take the pizza off the bill. Unacceptable.
Luckily amongst the 5 of us, there was plenty of pizza and pasta to go around, but this experience has left me outraged.
Not gonna lie, in time I will probably return since the food is really good, and it's a fun spot to eat at. But a brush up on proper customer service is definitely needed here. -
Review from Sari G.
Toronto, ON
4/4/2010
This is probably my favourite restaurant in Toronto. The pizzas are terrific. The salmon is prepared perfectly. I've brought out of town guests to it and they just raved about it.
As for prices, they are consistent with other Toronto restaurants but here the portions are very generous.
The ambiance is fun and hip without any pretentiousness. A definite winner in my book. -
Review from Jen K.
Toronto, ON
1/16/2010
Superb Italian food meets cool, funky decor and a relatively hip clientele at Ferro Bar and Cafe on St. Clair Ave. West. Exposed brick, wrought iron decor and a bar with a ceiling so cool I couldn't stop staring.
Come here for the food. The rest is just gravy. Mushrooms garnished with a garlic cream sauce (the 'magic mushrooms' really are magical) , a selection of antipasta, fresh fish that melts in your mouth. Recommend the Pizza Verdura (if you like goat cheese), the minestrone soup (super fresh and healthy) and filetto rosso (mouth-watering Atlantic salmon with a sweet red pepper sauce).
Service wasn't great but does it really matter?
Relaxing, trendy and all around amazing. Wish I'd had expandable pants. -
Review from John I.
Toronto, ON
3/14/2010
A common, bistro styled place that serves Italian inspired food and drink. The veal dishes were excellent and I enjoyed the tomato salad appetizer. The ambiance is good and quite lively. The service was impeccable and very genuine. The server had good knowledge of the menu and had a nice sense of humor. The wine list by the glass looked a bit skimpy, but we tried a decent Malbec.
Ferro is A-OK in my books.
P.S. The portions are quite large, so have a good sized appetite! Enjoy! -
Review from Brenna K.
Toronto, ON
7/21/2009
I went here for the first time and we experienced the worst service ever. After being seated we waited about 20 minutes for anyone to come to our table. We were actually going to leave but decided to wait it out. We were done our appetizers before they brought us our water or wine. No apologies given. One of us was also missing cutlery and a wine glass after food was delivered. They were not coping very well will the high volume of customers on a Wednesday night.
That being said, I would still recommend this place as I think it was just an off night. The food was great and they had a good wine selection. The prices are also very reasonable and the portions are generous.
I wish I could give it a 4 but the service was so terrible that night. I would and probably will give it a chance to redeem itself because we did enjoy our meal. -
Review from Erin H.
Toronto, ON
9/12/2008
This restaurant, which probably hit its peak of popularity in the early part of this millenium, is just plain good.
Despite its days gone by kind of feel, Ferro is one of my middle of the week faves. This Italian restaurant serves up unadorned, down to earth, Italian food. The staff is extremely friendly and the service is great.
The MUST HAVES on the menu are the Magic Mushrooms, Seafood Platter, and the Minestrone soup, but everything is great. -
Review from Lola L.
Toronto, ON
6/29/2010
I have been here twice now, and I absolutely love it. My boyfriend and I stumbled on to this place a couple of years ago and recently went back to see if it stood up to our memory. It did.
The staff were so helpful on the phone, taking reservations and accommodating us even though they were busy. They also have a great wine knowledge and selection.
The decor is interesting, consistent, original, and pleasant. And most importantly, the food is just marvelous, with a varied selection and large portions which hold up when reheated as leftovers. The lobster linguine is divine. I wish I lived nearby so I could pop in for a bit of pizza or white wine on the patio whenever I felt the itch. -
Review from Joanna L.
Toronto, ON
10/22/2009
A friend of mine brought me to Ferro a few years ago for lunch and I've been coming back ever since.
The iron work decor inside the restaurant is just lovely and the atmosphere is great for grabbing a bite or a latte with a friend or for celebrating your birthday with family.
Admittedly, the prices aren't exactly 'bargain basement' but the atmosphere and food quality make up for it.
They've got this "to-die-for" magic mushroom crostini appetizer. --mouth watering as I write this.
Ferro is one of my favs. -
Review from Jes L.
Toronto, ON
2/8/2009
A neighborhood secret and amazing gem tucked away near Corso Italia. While many would claim Terroni is the best of the best in Italian joints; my vote is for Ferro. I prefer the authentic southern cuisine; fresh selections of fish and seafood matched with velvety sauces.
I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't delicious. The wine selection is excellent, and the set menu takes the guess work out of pairings.
A perfect place to graze and drink on a beautiful summer evening with friends or co-workers or a special someone. -
Review from Ms. J.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 7/11/2010
Went to Ferro's again in the first part of June 2010. I've been eating here off and on for the past 10 years and introducing various people to this place. So it was to my profound disappointment that the regular Capellini pasta, tiger shrimps, and mussels had changed. My problem was with the "off" tasting shrimps. Shrimps should never taste anything but delicious. I asked the cook/part owner (who I've seen for years) why not only one, but three of the six jumbo's tasted like that. His answer was that they stopped grilling them a few months back, but he would hook me up and grill them. Fast forward, and now I have a skewer of five "new" grilled shrimp, this time two of which taste off! This sort of thing really ticks me off. The customer is always right, and in this case they had bought a batch of bad shrimp. To finalize matters, all my mussels tasted fine until I got to the last one. It had that vile taste that everyone who has ever eaten a bad mussel will know. It wasn't like it was even closed, and it left me disgusted beyond words.
Ferro's you should have taken that dish off the bill, but I didn't press matters, because like I said I had been going there for years. However, as it stands, they won't be seeing me for a while.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/23/2009
Delicious Italian food, and unparalleled ambiance, all in a casually hip package on St. Clair West.… Read more »
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Review from Alan K.
London, ON
1/13/2011
It was crazy-busy when we arrived so we had to wait for a table. But once we were seated, it was worth the wait. For apps, I had the magic mushrooms and they were a little difficult to eat but very tasty. But main was magnificent. It was a linguine dish with a lobster tail, scallops, and veggies and it was perhaps the finest pasta dish I've had. The service was surprisingly quite well organized even though it was insanely busy. And the servers were pleasant to interact with which is always a plus.
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Review from Ryan S.
Toronto, ON
12/9/2009 3 Check-ins Here
This was our second time to Ferro. We were impressed the last time and it's so nice and close. This time we were going to celebrate our anniversary and, so, the stakes were higher. The atmosphere is awesome. This time, we sat nearer the back. Last time, we were on the patio. Not really an option in November. I mean, I like the winter more than the next guy, but it's not going to happen. It was great to just be there.
On to the food. I just noticed a previous reviewer mentioned the mushroom crostini. We didn't have it this time, but we did last time. Wow! This time, we shared the carpaccio. It was so good. The flavours were balanced really well and it was so tasty. As an appetiser, I would recommend sharing, since you might not fit dinner in afterward, unless you happen to be famished. I had the rigatoni Bolognese, which blew my mind. It was such a simple dish, yet it was, dare I say it, perfect. My wife had lobster linguine with scallops, snow peas & red pepper. She adored it. I tried it. It was really good, but I was not in a seafood mood that night. If I were, I would have loved it. She made them take the calamari out though. That would have made it even better. On to dessert. When we had the pleasure of visiting Italy last year for our anniversary, we went on a search for the best tiramisu. Venice won. The tiramisu we had at Ferro did not quite measure up to that, but, come on, we're talking Venice here. I digress. This tiramisu was as good as any we had anywhere else in Italy though.
Price-wise, think you are going to have a remarkable meal with a real Italian flavour and then try not to look at the bill. Seriously, it is not really a bargain basement night out, but it is totally worth it. It also won't break the bank either. Did I mention it was worth it? So completely and entirely worth it?
Ferro may end up being economical enough to be your neighbourhood hangout, but you will sure wish it could be.
