Massimo’s Cucina Italiana

Met a work colleague here for supper. Absolutely blown away by service, food quality and price. Amazing cuisine! The atmosphere is potentially awesome — dining on a Tues was quiet which is a shame, however the server was more than happy to offer off-​menu items as the kitchen was obviously slow. Grilled Tagliata and mushroom risotto were fabulous. Wine selection is nice with a good variety. Located in the Italian shopping centre –definitely have to return to explore this. Massimo’s would be a great date night to be sure!

We came to Massimos for our anniversary dinner on a whim and were not disappointed.
The waitress was very friendly and attentive. She was even a good sport with our poor pronunciation with the menu!
The menu was authentically Italian and the food was simply amazing.
For a starter we had the antipasti platter which was very good — if not a little overpriced. We literally could have gone next door (to the Italian Centre) and bought the ingredients for half the price.
For the meal itself, I had the Grilled Tagliata and it was to die for. I have never had such an amazing steak at a restaurant before. It was so tender and practically melted in your mouth. It perfectly complimented the bed of arugula it was served over. It was simple but not bland or overpowering.
My boyfriend had the special which was a pasta with wild boar and a savoury sauce. It was, also, amazing and unprecedented.
For dessert we had the panacotta with a berry capote and espresso — both of which were perfectly served and delicious.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience with wonderful food. I would rate this a 5 if it were not for the overpriced antipasti platter. Everything else was well priced for the quality of food you received.
Highly recommend.

My friend selected Massimo for dinner last night and it was a great pick. Our waitress was very attentive but not smothering. We both ordered the insalata mista and the ingredients were very fresh but the dressing was just a tad on the bland side. My friend ordered the beet ravioli and was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it to the last morsel. I had the penne in asparagus sauce, which was excellent. For dessert my friend had a panna cotta like variation that was beyond her expectations and I had the nutella crêpe with coconut crème, both were very good.
Would definitely be back and recommend it to friends!

Lunch time at Massimo’s, it doesn’t get much better than that! This south side Italian cucina is part of the Spinelli Dynasty and like the Italian Centre Shops and cafes, it is full of life, warmth and aaaaamazing in-​house made, Italian comfort food.
When you enter the restaurant you are instantly drawn into the warmth of the place; old wooden doors, picturesque scenes of Italy and the smell of delicious, carb-​loaded, pizza and pastas! And speaking of which, the pizza and pastas are phenomenal, the service attentive, the wine list simple and well matched with the food.
There is lots of free parking in the lot out front (take that downtown!). And it is right next to the Italian Centre market South, so you can go for a wonderful lunch, then do your grocery shopping!
I can’t wait to go in for dinner! Buon appetito!

Finnaly found a place with very good Italian meals. Friendly staff, cozy atmosphere and tasty meals. Highly recommend!

I went to Massimo’s with my companion on 5÷10÷2013. Thank goodness I chose to not consider «first impressions»…it’s situated next door to the Italian Centre Shop on 51Ave… so, not much on the «curb appeal». However, the interior is quite nice, clean and lots of light from the windows comes through, which is nice.
The menu is a reasonable mix of Canadian and REAL Italian food. I say «real» because what we ordered was made straightaway fresh… that is, the Risotto of the Day came out piping hot, not hot from sitting under a heat lamp where it gets that little «crust» on top… this was also true of the LinguinI (UGH…again, SPELL things CORRECTLY if you ARE Italian! It should be LinguinE) alla Pescatore. This aside, the linguine were also very good and AL DENTE and freshly plated from having been cooked right then. In fact, having spoken to the wait staff, they told us that they are working to make sure things stay in this way – most of the staff is from Italy and thus they know that food in Italian restaurants is done this way, given their training and are working to not have it change. One of the waiters actually told us that when someone does order the risotto they tell the customer (especially during the lunch hour) that it will take 20 minutes to make so they aren’t thinking it’ll come out in 10 minutes (because risotto DOES take 20 minutes minimum to cook well and taste good). So, on this… thank goodness.
Our appetizer, the Calamari Fritti were okay, not as good as the risotto and linguine. The desserts were very good. The Panna Cotta was Panna COTTA (i.e., not melting on the plate as we had at Corso 32… but that I shall leave for another review). The «Apple Tart» was more of an Apple Cake, which was very good and was garnished with Pistachio cream, very delicate and not sugary :-).
Overall, for now, I am willing and happy to go back and see if this place continues to do things as they are doing them, as it should be…“all’italiana” :-)

Recently my wife and I along with another couple dined at massimos. Based on my friend’s previous experience I was looking forward to a great meal with good service. Alas, it was not to be. The waitress was very pleasant and attentive initially but once we had our meals avoided our table completely. There was no excuse for this as the restaurant was not busy and we had done nothing to intimidate or alienate her.
Now to the food: the other couple along with my wife had the caprese salad and I had their soup of the day, a blended vegetable soup.
The caprese salad, tomatoes, and bonconccini with basil, was bland. The soup was also bland, totally lacking in flavor and was the consistency of baby food. A word to the chef, tomatoes need salt, not much, but a little to bring out the flavor. Also there is no salt or pepper on any of the tables, I guess the chef thinks he is so proficient a cook that it’s not necessary, well he’s wrong he’s not that proficient and his palate is questionable.
My friend also ordered the soup and was expecting it to arrive before we received our main course. He reminded the waitress of this but she said that it would be served at the time of the main course. We were surprised but thought that this was unusual but did not wish to make a scene. After a while the three of us received our main course and my friend received his soup. This was unusual to say the least, regardless of how pretentious they want to be by naming the courses in Italian.
When we finished eating my friend then received his main course. This was totally inappropriate. .Strange that I received my soup with the appetizers and he was going to get his soup later. Proper food service dictates that they should have had their appetizers and then he and I should have gotten our soups and then every one the main course. It appears that the management have little understanding in food service.
I had the rack of lamb my wife the veal Marsala and our friends the salmon.
My rack of lamb was cooked perfectly but again could have been better seasoned. My wife enjoyed the veal and my friends stated that the salmon was good. Although they said nothing I noticed that the salmon did not have the pin bones removed. Really surprising for a restaurant that appears to try and be trendy chic italian.
While it was nice to catch up with an old friend and his wife, because of the food and service the evening was a disappointment.
Because of the service and rather ordinary food I doubt that I will be visiting this eatery again.

Massimo’s is a welcome and much-​needed addition to the south side, which generally features fewer small «craft» restaurants than downtown or 124 street.
Think rustic brick walls with bare incandescent bulbs for ambiance and service that is astute and knowledgeable. The menu is refreshingly brief and covers a few appetizers, pastas and mains.
Parma ham with proscuitto and arugula perfectly balances the gentle salinity of the ham with the arugula’s earthiness and the bocconcini’s mild sweetness. Crisp flatbread is scented with rosemary and is remarkably addictive.
Gnocchi with prawns has a spicy afterbite that accentuates its demure plate-​mates. Risotto of the day features asiago and broccoli, and smells quite wonderful, but needs to be much creamier. The rice is a bit too «al dente» and the surrounding sauce is a bit too thin.
House-​made tiramisu caps off the evening with aplombe. Well done.