Casa Rugantino

Rugantino special is a favourite for my family. Picked one up this past Thursday, the renos are complete and the restaurant has doubled in size, they did a great job!

I had dinner at Casa Rugantino outside on a comfortable summer evening with a pleasant breeze which complimented the restaurant very well. The ambience was classy, tasteful, and polite. The waitresses were very friendly and welcoming. Although I am no expert in Italian food, it was the best Italian meal I’ve ever had. I ordered the special Lobster tail Fettucini which had a great Alfredo sauce flavor on it. Great food, decent price, will visit again.

The food at Casa Rugantino is great but the service is terrible (if you’re served by the two young waitresses). The waitresses would seat me and my boyfriend last even when we have reservations and when we arrive before the other guests. They always seat us at the worst table too (the one closest to the kitchen). I think the two girls are racist because my boyfriend and I aren’t white while 99% of guests are. It wasn’t always like this though. Long ago when it was the owner/​mum that waits tables, she would be really nice to us.

My wife and I ate here recently. We both really enjoyed our experience at this restaurant. While it is extremely small, everything is freshly prepared. Our server was incredibly friendly and very attentive. My pizza was pretty good and my wife’s cannelloni was fantastic. Our desserts were amazing (tartufo for me, cherry cheesecake for my wife). Next time we are in the area I’m sure we’ll be returning. I Highly advise making a reservation as getting a table without one is near impossible.

Casa Rugantino was great – I was really please with our dining experience.
We had a large group of 11, and they were a) able to accommodate us (we called a week before) and b) accommodated us well in their small space. Nice work, guys.
We had a range of vegetarians to meat-​eaters, so we ordered: bruschetta, an apperitivio, cappellini, carabonara, spaghetti and meatballs, steak tenderloin, and some things in between. Their wine selection was also great.
They sold us on dessert; I definitely recommend the tartuffa, raspberry is best. The lemon sorbet looked amazing, but alas. I guess next time.
The good: solid experience.
The bad: the bread was ok, kind of meh.
Protip: the oil/​vinegar bottle on the table is, in fact, for use. It’s pretty, for sure, but use it, fool! Gotta douse that bread in tastiness.

came here for my birthday with my boyfriend.
I ordered the carbonara and he ordered the daily special pasta. tasty.
I enjoyed the family-​style atmosphere and the waitress was very friendly.
They gave me a free dessert (icecream)! yummy!

As soon as I saw the Peroni sign I knew I had to visit this place. What a great find! Really tasty Italian food with an authentic atmosphere. I agree with the previous reviewers that the bread did not taste as great (as the ones I tried in Italy), but one cannot ask for too much in a town like Waterloo…
This place is a bit pricy, but the experience of enjoying a delicious plate of aubergine parmigiana on the patio on a warm spring day totally makes up for it. I would surely visit this place again.

I’ve had a number of good dinners here. It’s not terribly creative, but if you want reliably tasty pasta dishes, then Casa Rugantino is a good place to go.

I’ve enjoyed dinner at Casa Rugantino twice in the past two weeks. Both times I ordered mussels as a starter, making a special request to exclude cream from the sauce. Each time my request was pleasantly accommodated and the dish as wonderful, delicate tomato sauce with herbs and sautéed vegetables. I’ve sampled 3 pasta dishes and their specialty chicken as mains, all were excellent. Considering the quality and consistency — Casa Rugantino offers exceptional value. It’s family owned and operated, Ronda served us both times and she is just fabulous. I will be back again and again!
On a special note, one of my friends and my girlfriend both had special dietary considerations, Ronda and the chef were both so helpful in accommodating our special requests. Many thanks.

I highly recommend this restaurant — 5 stars! If you are looking for an authentic Italian experience with personality and delicious food you need to try this place. Everything is made from freshest ingredients daily. You do not want to miss out on this quaint little restaurant in Kitchener. The owners, Johnny and his wife Shelly have owned this restaurant just under a year and what an amazing experience we had the other night. First we started with an assortment of meats, cheeses and olives dish for the table, and it was fantastic. The Caesar salad and dressing was from a homemade recipe that was truly one of the best I have had. For one of our guests by request they added anchovies to the top. We had a party of 10 with different entrees from Pizza, a lobster, seafood and pasta dish, Mussels which were so good that one in our group doubled the order and had it for the main course. I had the Beef tenderloin with a cream sauce that was just amazing. Others in our group had the pizza and said it was outstanding. Desserts were just as scrumptious with an authentic Tiramisu and since we were there over Thanksgiving they had a really great pumpkin cheesecake. Truly a hidden gem — reservations are a huge plus — thank goodness they could accommodate us!

Intimate little place in Belmont Village, this restaurant is chronically busy. If you want a seat at lunch show up by noon; reservations usually necessary for dinner.
Fresh and very delicious pasta for lunch, definitely the best quality italian I’ve had in the tri-​cities area (and I have tried quite a few places). However, more a $$$ price point, than a $$.
I am looking forward to trying some of the other dishes and the desserts when I return for an evening meal sometime in the next month.

For dinner, my friend expressed a desire for pasta, so I decided to try out Casa Rugantino after doing some research online. The family-​owned restaurant was small and charming.
Now onto the food.
First of all, the complimentary bread wasn’t very good. It tasted like the ones that I can buy at the grocery store and then warm up in my toaster oven.
Lasagna: layered with ricotta, romano and mozzarella cheese, ham and a meat sauce baked in the oven. My friend commented that there weren’t enough layers of pasta, and I would agree with her. The ham was also nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, the flavours were authentic and delicious, even though it wasn’t the best lasagna that I’ve had.
Sacchetini alla gorgonzola cheese: tiny shell like pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese tossed in melted gorgonzola cheese. The pasta were really cute and reminded me of wontons stuffed with ricotta cheese (which I love). The sauce was absolutely scrumptious and perfectly cheesy, but unfortunately it was also overly salty. Nevertheless, we finished both of our pasta and enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
By the end of the meal, we were pretty stuffed and couldn’t get any desserts. The pizza that I spotted from other tables looked awesome and I would definitely try one next time.