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Vagabondo Italian Ristorante+Lounge
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
32 Wellington Street EToronto, ON M5E 1C6
Neighbourhoods: St. Lawrence, Downtown Core
(416) 862-1999
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 11 pm
Sat 12 pm - 11 pm
Sun 12 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Validated
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Come enjoy authentic Italian and Continental cuisine in an elegant and relaxing atmosphere. Il Mulino Restaurant is the perfect location for your… read more »
14 reviews for Vagabondo Italian Ristorante+Lounge
14 reviews in English
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Review from Faye C.
12/22/2011
*3.5 stars*
We were here a week or so ago. It was nice. We came here for dinner, at night, it's kind of hard to spot from the street....but we found it somehow.
We were seated at the back, which was fine for dinner, but for some reason, at about 10:30pm, they pumped up the music super loud, and we were seated under a speaker of something. We left promptly.
The food was good - I think I had the risotto - it was massive. My friends ordered the veal and chicken parm, and and gnocchi - all delish - got good reviews. We started with bruschetta and calamari.
A yummy experience, but only a so so dining experience. -
Review from Yvonne T.
I have passed by Vagabondo many times, and I finally got to dine here. It is located close to the St. Lawrence Market. The decor is trendy, they played a good mix of music, and have "party rooms" that are separated with red curtains.
Parking is validated which is a big bonus for downtown! After we were seated we were kept waiting for awhile before the server came to check on us. They have a summer prix fixe menu of four courses for $35. The portions were more generous than I anticipated.
First course: Feta Bruschetta on toasted Calabrese baguette served with garlic and olive oil, topped with fresh tomatoes and feta cheese. The tomatoes were fresh, and the feta cheese was divine. Tres yummy!
*NB* This was infinitely better than the bread basket they brought out. The bread basket was stale, and the bread was cold. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil are available at the table.
Second Course: Insalata Estate with mixed greens, strawberries, slivered almonds, goat cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette. Can you believe I was already starting to get full by the second course? This salad is the same as an entrée sized Spinach Salad at Milestone's. I loved the strawberries and goat's cheese. However, the raspberry vinaigrette was too overpowering. My word of advice - ask for the dressing on the side!
Third Course: Vitello a la Romana which is a tender provimi veal with fresh garlic, baby arugula and white wine topped with fresh slices of shaved parmesan. It is served with steamed vegetables and potatoes. The dish was swimming in oil! The parmesan cheese was WAYYYY too salty, and the vegetables were bland. The potatoes however, were quite savoury.
Fourth Course: Strawberry Cheesecake served with a chocolate drizzle. I absolutely adored the cinnamon cheesecake base. The cheesecake was quite tasty, although I found it to have a "chalky" consistency. That didn't prevent me from devouring the entire slice, whipped cream and all!
In addition to the summer fixe menu I also ordered a grilled calamari that was slightly burnt, served on a bed of mixed greens. If I had known the generous portion sizes of the summer fixe menu I would've passed on ordering another appetizer. Again, a generous portion of calamari showed up on my plate.
I also got to sample the Pizza Della Nonna, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, green olives, pepperoni and mushrooms. It was a thin crust pizza that was delicious. I did notice that some parts of the crust were burnt.
The cheese ravioli was also quite tasty, although the cheese again had a "chalky" consistency to it. I think the primary suspects in both the cheese ravioli and cheesecake chalky-ness was ricotta cheese!
A bottle of E.J. Gallo White Zinfandel was ordered for the table. It rang in at $37 for the bottle.
Verdict:
At the end of the day with tax and tip the bill came to $470 for our party of 8. A few things I noticed was that the bread basket came out after our appetizers arrived, the servers didn't know who ordered what when the courses were brought to the table (we all had to raise our hands like roll call in primary school to claim our dishes) and there was a delay in the offering of parmesan cheese and ground pepper when the mains were brought out. Positive things were that our water glasses were constantly replenished, and the hostess did a little something special for the birthday girl's dessert.
Vagabondo is a nice place to go to for a private dining area, and its complimentary parking. The ambiance and music make it a trendy restaurant. I am definitely keeping this on my list of places to book a party at. That and it is in close proximity to Pravda Vodka Bar in case you want to have an after party ;)Listed in: St. Lawrence Eats, Mangia mangia!, The more the merrier..., Pat-Pat-Patio
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Review from William T.
Scarborough, ON
7/26/2011
They have a summer prix fixe menu of four courses for $35. The portions were most generous for a fancy restaurant. However I myself did not order from prix fixe.
I ordered the Pizza Della Nonna, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, green olives, pepperoni & mushrooms. It was a thin crust pizza that was baked very well as it possessed a very thin crisp layer on the outside of the crust while retaining softness inside which impressed me as the pizza crust itself was extremely thin. Ingredients were fresh & tasted wonderful when consumed in unison. I was very satisfied with my pizza.
I got to sample some cheese ravioli that was decent. The ravioli was stuffed with what tasted & felt in consistency like ricotta cheese which I found to be quite interesting to consume as the texture of the cheese was kind of like biting into a block of feta.
A bottle of E.J. Gallo White Zinfandel was ordered for the table. $37 for the bottle. This was a most enjoyable wine to drink with my meal as it went down real easy with no tart aftertaste.
This venue is great for a private dining, the ambiance & music is trendy & has complimentary parking. I will definitely keep this place in mind as a celebration location. -
Review from Jill C.
North York, ON
5/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Well I would give this place a one star but the appetizers were delicious...
The main courses however, were not so good. In fact they were not even edible. The veal and chicken parmigiana were both hard and strange tasting like, fish, yes fish.... I do not know why or how but we both agreed on a fishy tasting chicken and veal parmigiana. They seemed to be overdone, they were so tough you could barely cut into them.. The chicken was only slightly more edible then the veal but needless to say we sent both of them back to the kitchen.
The night started off so well, the appetizers were fabulous, we got a Caesar salad that was a generous portion with a nice homemade dressing and the brochette pizza which was soo yumm!
Too bad the main courses wasn't good, we were not expecting the outcome to be so damn bad terrible!
I may go back again, even just for the appetizers as they were very good. -
Review from Karen G.
10/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ideally, I would give this restaurant 4 1/2 starts but since I can't, I rounded up.
I had dinner here tonight with five friends and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I love the vibe and decor of this place. It has dark and modern decor with funky lighting fixtures. The music was a little on the loud side but we didn't mind. It gives the place a "happening" feel - definitely not a stuffy place to eat. There also appeared to be a few more private areas to the restaurant which catered to larger private parties.
Our server was great. I don't have anything negative to say about him. He was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive but not in an intrusive way.
On to the food. The waiter brought us a basket of bread and unlike another reviewer who said the bread was cold and possible stale, our bread was warm and delicious. Maybe the management read his review and made a change.
We shared four different apps and like the other reviewers, we thought that they were superb (all but one of them were amazing). The only disappointment for me was the gamberi coco (coconut shrimp) which I found to be dry and overcooked. I like coconut but found it to overpower the shrimp.
The grilled calamari was outstanding - perfectly cooked and served on a greens on top of a spicy sauce. I can't wait until the summer when I can come back to sit on the patio with a glass of wine and this dish. The one member of our group who was not a calamari fan actually tried and enjoyed it.
We also shared the antipasto italiano (which was yummy) and the caprese salad which the waiter brought to us in individual portions (which was very cool). Each portion had two pieces of flavorful slices of tomatoes with bocconcini cheese on a huge bed of arugula (my favorite).
We all enjoyed our entrees (five of us ordered pasta dishes and one person had the salmon). I ordered the linguine monte mare (linguine with tiger shrimp and mushroom in a rose sauce). It was delicious and the portion was huge! I took most of it home since I was full from the apps. Looking forward to eating it for dinner tomorrow night.
We were pleasantly surprised by the manager's unsolicited offer to treat us to coffee/cappuccino/espressos, etc. which four of us gratefully ordered. It was a classy touch and a nice end to a great evening.
I will most certainly be back. -
Review from Keeley-Ann H.
Mississauga, ON
2/5/2011
My BF took me here for my Birthday dinner and I loved it. There are 2 seating areas for dinner. One is the more typical restaurant area and the other is a dim light more romantic area with a large bar. We sat in the romantic side of course. Our server was absolutely amazing. very tentative but not in your face. The food was really good and authentic tasting plus the atmosphere was awesome. Even though it was a quite night in there you didn't see the servers effing around and doing nothing, which was good. It made me feel like they were aware of us and respectful. I felt really comfortable and was happy that he took me here.
I would recommend this place for a nice evening dinner. Definitely want to go back again. -
Review from Chantal m.
Scarborough, ON
9/16/2011
Came here with my mom and a family friend, unfortunately as we were walking there we got drenched, also unfortunately it was still summer and the air conditioning was still on full blast when we walked in. However, it was really dead and we got seated, menus handed to us and drink orders taken almost immediately.
WE all opted to get soup for an appetizer as we were frozen, I had the soup with just the chicken broth and yummy yummy meatballs topped with scallion. It was fabulous I really enjoyed it and it most certainly warmed me up. My main was the the funghi risotto, it was very good but I think they went a little heavy on the wine. Alas it was not ruined, the portion was huge and I had lunch for the next day. My mom had the mussels which she said were very good and was the perfect amount. Our family friend had the eggplant parmesan (another app might I add) for his main and it was ginormous, he didn't even need the soup and only got through about 1/4 of the eggplant. Needless to say it was sent home with us.
For dessert we decided the split the panna cotta, it was fabulous, beautiful texture accompanied by berries. I'm not sure how much the bill was because I didn't pay but the pricing is middle of the road about 10-15 bucks per entree.
I really liked Vagabondo and since we are in the area quite frequently I'll definitely suggest we go back. -
Review from Shawn C.
Toronto, ON
7/2/2009
Off to a bad start when we couldn't have a Caesar since they were out of Clamato! For apps we had the Bruschetta which was ok but nothing special and Calamari which came with an awful marinara sauce. Had the Gnocchi, Rigatoni Agli Spinaci and their specialty Fettuccine Vagabondo. I advise staying away from the rosé sauce dishes which the last two were. Unless you really enjoy peppercorns (2-3 per bite). Sauce itself was heavy and very creamy so not to my liking either.
Also stay away from the creme brulee which was horrible. Was runny and tasted like raw eggs. The cheesecake was actually very good. Service wasn't bad but our main dishes were brought out minutes after our apps arrived which was not cool. Definitely will not return here. -
Review from Joe H.
Vagabondo is an italian restaurant a little bit east of the business district with a nice chic decor and an extensive menu.
After we got seated, we pretty much ordered a bunch of appetizers and our entrees. I ordered the grilled calamari, the bruchetta, and the procuitto with pear. As for entrees, we had a combination of the gnocci, seafood linguine, and the angel hair goat cheese pasta.
When we got our appetizers, I must say that I was really impressed. Let's start with the grilled calamari. One word... Amazing. There were two squid cut up and dressed with a balsamic vinegar glaze. The slight burntness of the grilling and the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar was a superb pairing. The bruchetta was quite nice. Fresh bread with a nice medley of tomato, onion and spices on top. Be sure to go heavy with the parmesan cheese! The procuitto was actually not the greatest. It seemed to me the same grade as the stuff you get in vacuum packages at costco. However, the flavour pairing of the procuitto and the pear and honey glaze was quite nice. Throw that on top of a bed of mixed greens and asiago cheese and the dish made up for itself. I wish they used a better procuitto.
At first, all the entree dishes that came looked a bit on the slim side, but after a while of digging, you soon realized that the plates they served them in were pretty deep. Quite a nice surprise when I was having trouble finishing my own plate.
The entrees were a bit hit and miss. The birthday boy ordered a seafood linguine (which i tried, i know i'm going to hell). Out of all the entrees we ordered, that was the best. I would have traded if i could have. The actual name of the dish was "Linguine Monte Mare". The seafood linguini was nice and light, with a hint of seafood in the sauce. Combine that with a nice bed of shellfish and it was quite a nice dish.
The gnocci was quite a bland dish. All it really contained was a bed of gnocci, with sauce (pick your sauce, they had tomato, creme or rose). A little bit of colour variance, or vegetable garnish would have gone a long way. I felt i could have just boiled up a bag of gnocci and opened up a bottle of classico and duplicated the dish exactly.
The angel hair goat cheese pasta ("Capellini Termine") was actually quite pleasing to the eye. Generous chunks of goat cheese, with peppers, herbs and pine nuts sat elegantly on top of a bed of angel hair pasta. The angel hair pasta that it came with kinda reminded me of asian chow mien noodles, so that kinda threw me off. but I think the worst thing about the dish was that the amount of goat cheese they put in took over the dish and was extremely overpowering. Eventually the cheese melted into the pasta and created a giant goat cheese sauce that was not exactly the lightest thing.
The only thing that bugged me about the service was the lack of it after the entrees were served. When I worked in the industry we were told to check up on the table about 5 minutes after you served the entree. This was non existent. As you know, my pasta was quite a hard one to put down and water would have been a godsend.
If I had to go back to Vagabondo, I would defiantly recommend the appetizers. I would actually suggest this place as a casual wine and app date. With nice window seating and a beautiful and tasty selection of appetizers, Vagabondo serves up a stylish starter to the night that would impress anyone. -
Review from Joanne W.
Updated - 7/8/2010
After a year of not coming here, I came back to Vagabondo for a re-visit since it was a gorgeous day, and we wanted a patio.
We were placed in the front patio - quite chic and beautiful. It allows you to look over to Berczy Park across the street. We had a waiter with a cute Australian accent who was friendly and checked up on us every once in a while.
We initially ordered the antipasto salmone ripeno.. However, the waiter accidentally brought over another antipasto dish... We told him that we didn't order it, so he took i back and also told us that there wasn't any smoked salmon in the kitchen. Bummer. So we opted for the calamari fritti. It wasn't that amazing - I think I've had better calamari at Hot House Cafe or whatever.
Anyhow, my friend orders the Fettuccine Alla Pescatore, and I order the special of the day (I believe it was a Rigatoni Alla Vodka). I was actually surprised by how much seafood they had in my friend's fettuccine. My rigatoni was great, and quite filling -- couldn't even finish it.
We ended off the meal with a mango berry cheesecake. Good, but I feel like I've had better cheesecake as well.
All in all, a great atmosphere. Quite surprised they didn't have the different sizes for pasta anymore though.Listed in: OMNOMNOM italian cuisine
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/11/2010
Great chic restaurant. Ambiance was exceptional. Service was okay, but the food was pretty good. You… Read more »
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Review from Tina N.
Toronto, ON
12/23/2009
This restaurant has a great atmosphere which was very nice and relaxing as it was located in a quiet part of downtown Toronto. The waiter was absolutely amazing! He was sooo friendly and attentive to our needs! His service was unbeatable! Regarding the food.... I had the Veal Piccata and it was incredible! The meat was really soft and tender and literally melted in my mouth (wish i could say the same about the potato and vegetables though...just meh). The dish that my friend ordered also looked great as well. He had the Salmon Filet which he said was excellent! The Fried Calamari was delicious and probably the best I've ever had (they were big and crispy!). Overall everything went smoothly and it was a superb experience.
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Review from Monica K.
North York, ON
2/11/2011
Delicious food and friendly service, good for birthday dinners.
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Review from Pati P.
Toronto, ON
8/19/2009
I want to note the positives first (there aren't many) - the food is quite good, besides the cold pizza my friend was served. The staff is extremely friendly, helpful and attentive. The service itself is sloooooow. We waited 1.5hrs for our mains to come out and weren't even comp'd some apps for the wait time. So here's the experience:
I made reservations here for the patio for a group of 14 for my 30th birthday. Two different people contacted me on 2 different days to confirm my reservation. Upon arrival, I noticed that the patio was full. When we got inside I was told that unfortunately they had the patio booked 2 weeks prior and they were going to put us in their best private room. Off to a terrible start as two employees confirmed my reservation 3 and 2 days before. To me, it was a guaranteed group so they filled up the patio before we got there. As mentioned before, we waited 1.5hrs before any of us got our main dishes. There were a number of issues that arose throughout the evening and we had made numerous requests to speak with the manager. Each time, the manager sent a server to take care of the matter. Close to the end of the night I was so fed up with the managers attempts at evading dealing with the issues that I approached him myself. He allowed me to voice my disappointment with my experience, however, I had to demand to have my meal refunded and also to use the card he gave us for "next time" on the same night. There is NO WAY I will ever return to or even recommend this restaurant to others. It's very unfortunate, because the food is quite good, the staff is great (albeit slow) the patio is great, but the management is terrible. -
Review from Amy S.
Toronto, ON
4/17/2010
Ordered a grey goose & red bull, but they only had intense extreme and served the whole can rather than a side car which was $13.
Shared grilled calamari which was lukewarm and a bit rubbery.
Ordered pizza w roasted red peppers & bacon which was lovely. I especially liked the tasty golden cheese & Parmesan.
My date ordered vodka rigatoni which was delicious, but quite heavy.
Didn't order dessert.
Ambience may have been better..the syncapated beat of the music was annoying. Also sound & smell of someone scrubbing the tiles sounded like brushing teeth :)
Our menu had some funny scribbling inside which we found amusing. The server seemed very hurt that someone "defaced" it. We thought he overreacted a bit .
Bathroom was easy to find & clean, nice.
The outdoor patio looked like it would be nice for summer. There were some smokers sitting out there. I think there were heater lamps...it was chilly. We were there on a Friday night & hardly anyone there.
May go back to hang on the patio on a warm summers night.
