Joia Ristorante

We enjoyed a nice meal at Joia, good attentive service, well prepared food, decent choices on the menu.
They accommodated an appetizer portion of the gnocchi, which I really wanted to try. My wife had two Apps instead of an entree; Portobello stuffed mushroom & grill calamari which she really enjoyed.
We shared a chicken pesto feta pizza, which Kai our server recommended, very good choice.
I had the veal portafolio which was a great preparation and good variety of complimentary vegetables on the plate, plus a very savoury dish, made to order.
This is an established restaurant, with many Moses reviews, but I was impressed with our experience.
Great wine selection, little pricy

You know those restaurants where the theme is the staff are rude? It's like this restaurant has taken on that theme without informing the customers. We were rushed as soon as we were seated. Expensive for what you get. The food is ok at best. I knew of this place and it's decades of existence so was looking forward to a nice night out. We will never be back. How has this place been here this long?

I would like people to know that when they read this review I speak from the heart and really enjoy good food when it is presented to me with care and quality produce.
My opinions and views are not with favouritism or with regret, but with honesty so here goes.............

Joia Ristorante is a ristorante that shouldn't have any expectations put on it. If you are looking for a ristorante or regular restaurant in Aurora Joia fits the bill. A established ristorante that has firm roots in Aurora for over 20 years should have learned more then what it is willing to give and preset to you at your table. Joia should actually care about what it puts on the plate.

Joia isn't a Italian ristorante, nor is it a high end ristorante. It's just a establishment that is trying to play the part. The food isn't surprisingly over the top nor is it mouth watering. It may look fancy on the plate but lacks taste, flavours, substance and overall pride.

Let me be honest, I took my wife out for a romantic dinner out. Drove over a hour to walk into something special and to be mesmerized. I was expecting these flashes of flavours, for my belly to be content with all the high hopes that I read from yelp. But it was a disappointment on all levels.

Here is what my wife and ate for dinner:

Cesar salad wasn't more then unseasoned dressing with no cheese or anchovies to brighten up your pallet. Portobello mushrooms that tasted like they were out of a can. Cozzie marinara was totally off base and wasn't worth the hassle. Veal Marsala was out dated and hard to eat when it seems they use the same sauce for the portobello ripieni. Over priced wine list that no one should have to pay $30.00 for 1/2L of 17.00 Chianti.

Please don't get me wrong or think I am bashing Joia, I enjoy great food and I am willing to pay for it and when it's amazing I rave and when it's totally average I have to say it. This ristorante needs to either be a totally Italian ristorante and start from scratch and learn the basics of real Italian cooking and not try to be a ristorante that just gets by on wishful thinking of being a Italian ristorante and just serve high priced wine and below average food at a high price. Because Joia has that hitting on all cylinders.

I will not go back or recommend this ristorante if you want real Italian food. But if you want to be over charged and feel like you have wasted some hard earned money it's the place for you.

The food is mediocre and overpriced .Bread is not served with pasta .Place is very noisy ,chairs are not comfortable and service is not what we are used to .When it's rated as the best restaurant in Aurora ,I won't be eating anywhere else in Aurora .Had an excellent bottle of wine .No I would not recommend it .

The service levels at this establishment are horrendous. Love the food, but unfortunately it is not worth even going to go through the absolutely crappy service. So many other restaurants very close, go check out all the others.

We got takeout as we couldn't dine in due to the COVID pandemic. We had fried calamari, which they fried up just before I picked up the order to keep it hot and fresh. We had the seafood pasta and the stuffed veal 84. The veal was a bit tough and overcooked. The seafood pasta was good enough. Portions were generous. I've eaten in at the Newmarket location pre-pandemic and the food was better so maybe this just reflects the takeout experience.

Went to Joia last week and this was my third visit, the place is real nice and the servers and management are very friendly and professional.
The place is trendy and the clients are always professional and dressed to business casual.
Their Margherita and pesto pizzas are the best i've had, and will always come back to this place whenever i'm in the Aurora area.

Fantastic first experience at Joia Newmarket today. I attended with a friend and we split the calamari and bruschetta. I had the fish special which was orange roughy and my friend has the meat special which was a veal parm.

I have to say what I noticed the most was the amount of wait-staff. There were so many waiters on hand and it showed, as our food came out fast and everyone was very attentive.

My fish was to die for. A little spicy, cooked very well. My friend was also happy with her veal parm - very cheesy. The calamari was a huge portion. If I have to suggest something - the bruschetta is not traditional. Rather it's sliced tomatoes on a pizza. I would pass on it. But otherwise a great dinner.

I really enjoy this spot. It's warm, friendly and the food is delicious, and their presentation is lovely. I have never had poor service or a mediocre meal. Special mention to Lucien, who handled my father with absolute grace and dignity (he had a stroke which left him with some deficiencies). I highly recommend this restaurant, it has become our go to in this area.

This is my third visit to Joia.

It has been a favourite for parties for us to go to.

First, the place is immaculately clean. The place looks good, and it smells good. Not too loud, and friendly.

Joia has a great menu with lots of wonderful things to order. Pasta, risotto, pizzas, lamb, steak.

The table was well served and the appetizers were great.

I have to eat gluten free, and this made my last visit challenging. The options that were previously available weren't during this visit.

They were out of buffalo mozzarella, and I was told that there was only one option now available to me. I didn't want pasta, so I asked if they could do me a steak. The steak was very good, as were the vegetables served with it.

The environment was good, but there had been an error made during the reservation, so the whole meal seemed rushed and that they were doing their best to get us out of there.

One late attendee was told that they couldn't make a pizza for her because they thought that the pizza oven was off. It wasn't.

The waiter reached over people while they were eating and got in the way of their eating while trying to fill glasses and take away dishes.

It seemed to me that they didn't really want us there for the majority of the meal.

I think it is really the service that affects my review.

Great food, but not really inviting or friendly. Very different from our previous visits.