Mondello Ristorante

I have been to this restaurant twice, both for special occasions, and both experiences were an excellent example of how a perfect dining example should be. This is a review my most recent experience.
My wife had chosen this restaurant for my birthday. We had a group of roughly 15 people. Service was prompt and friendly. Andrew was looking after us that evening and was the perfect host. I can understand how frustrating it may be to look after a table party goers as people tend to get lost in conversation and not pay attention to the menu and drinks forcing the waiter to come back forth, but he handled it with extreme class and patience.
The atmosphere was nice– friendly but classy. Staff was knowledgeable about the menue and greatrecommendations were made.
The food here is top notch. I ordered the lobster risotto, my wife ordered the braised beef ravioli, and appetizers of meatballs, arancini and calamari were passed around. Every item I tried on the menu was delicious and cooked perfectly. Not one detail was overlooked.
Every one of my guests commended the choice of restaurant and expressed intention to return.
Excellent experience. Management, if you are reading this, thank you for your hospitality on my birthday. Your restaurant is truly a benchmark in Mississauga.

Excellent service, the two ladies were very attentive to our needs and food was very good. Loved the Penne alla Vodka and the Spaghetti Incazzato. I recommend this place!

Good food in a relaxed environment
Mondello is an Italian Restaurant in Streetsville on Queen Street. The menu is pretty basic and the food we had was good. But wait, is that a hair in our soup? Or is that two hairs? Or was that the ginger in the carrot purée soup? We’ll never know because we didn’t want to ask, however it did put a damper on our eagerness to finish our meals. But for now we’ll go with ginger that looked very close to hairs.
The Italian Salad was wonderful and the service very friendly. We didn’t try much else on the menu but I would give it another chance. They have a full menu with Pizzas, Pastas, Meat and Fish dishes. They do provide good value and in all fairness to the restaurant, we really should have found out what that was in an otherwise tasty soup.

Came here for my birthday dinner with a bunch of friends. Took a little bit longer to get seated at our table (even though we had reservations) as the restaurant was packed. Regardless, we Had a great time here. The restaurant has a very nice ambience– small, cozy, and nicely decorated for the holiday season! The food was delicious too. For appetizers I ordered the bruschetta which was so-​so. For mains, couple of my friends and I tried the gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce. It was perfectly made-​the sauce was cheesy and the pasta was cooked to perfection. Just loved it. For dessert, we tried the Tiramisu which came in a really cute cup with some hot Cappucino to drink. Overall a very good experience at this restaurant. Will definitely return for a date night here

A cold fall night in Streetsville brought my party of 4 to Mondello’s. It was romantic and pretty, appealing if you arrive for date night or a small get together. As it was quite late, there were only a few other people dining, and it was a quiet evening. Our server was personable and took care to make sure we were having a good evening. Despite the lull, our food took a long time to arrive and most of it was unfortunately underwhelming.
A small plate of bread and oil arrived at the table, which was appreciated while we waited for our meals. The bread was not very fresh, however, probably as it was the end of the night.
We ordered several pizzas for the table, including the ubiquitous margherita, a spicy sausage and pepperoni, and a Mediterranean inspired pie. The margherita was far from traditional, with grated cheese and basil oil. The spicy pizza was heavy with oil and cheese, although the Italian sausage was good.
The best part of the meal was the calamari appetizer, actually. The seafood was cooked and seasoned well, and came with a yummy sriracha aioli. We demolished it in a matter of minutes.
I’m 50 – 50 on this one, but with the pros (nice atmosphere, good app, great service) I’m willing to give Mondello’s another shot.

The service was friendly, efficient, and prompt, but the place was unbelieveably noisy. To be fair, this was Saturday night and there were 3 groups there (and we’ve only been there once), but I don’t remember ever being in a restaurant where I had to yell across a small table.
The grilled calamari (an option in place of fried) was excellent, but the seafood pasta, while generously porportioned, was not very flavourfull, and had a mild fishy taste (not the type you want).
The lamb was good, but the sauce was insufficient.
Can’t help coming back to the noise. When it’s that loud, it’s hard to enjoy yourself enless your comfortable holding your conversations at a yell.

We came here for our anniversary dinner because we wanted to try something different. My husband and I don’t eat meat from outside unless it’s halal but we still wanted to explore a different restaurant with some sea food or vegetarian option. All I can say is our anniversary dinner was perfect! The staff was incredibly warm and welcoming right from when we entered till the last minute. We had quite a bit of sea food options and everything was quality.
The food was excellent, so delicious. I’m really glad we came here!

I’d say this review trends a bit higher towards the 4 than the 3, but I just couldn’t give it the 4.
We made reservations for a party of 4 on a Saturday night. Good thing too because the place was packed! I’ve actually tried to get in to this restaurant without reservations and been turned away because it’s so busy.
The restaurant itself is nicely appointed. We were seated in the back at a cute little booth, allowing us to look out at the whole of the restaurant.
The service was friendly but a bit slow at times. It seemed that any time we wanted to order (drinks, entrees, and dessert), we had to wait for a fairly long time for our server to notice us. However cleaning up plates was very efficient.
We also had problems with the restaurant running out of items we wanted. One person in the party ordered their ravioli and was told upon ordering that they were out of it. It really bothers me when restaurants don’t tell you up front what they don’t have in stock anymore. Otherwise you are happy with your choice and then need to make a split decision because the restaurant doesn’t have it. Two of us were also drinking Coke Zero and they ran out of that half way through the meal too.
In terms of the food, I’ve been to this restaurant a few years ago and remember the food being better than this visit. I had the wild cheese tortellini and found it to be a bit bland. My husband had the bolognese which I also found to be a bit bland. The bruschetta was delicious and the tartufo was good as well so it was just the pasta sauces that could have used a bit more salt, or extra oomph.
Comparing this restaurant to Michael’s Back Door on Lakeshore, I’d prefer Michael’s Back Door.

Really great food and top notch service! Love the pizza here its pretty fab and the salads are great too. This is authentic Italian which I appreciate. I am always struck by the level of service here, they seem to be really well trained and really seem to care about your experience.

It’s a beautiful restaurant with some amazing staff. The food is prepared fresh and they make most of their pasta from what I can remember.
But it’s just ok. The risotto fungi was ok. A little bland. The ravioli were ok. Too al dente. Spaghetti with meat sauce was ok. Nothing memorable.
Go to Andiamo three doors down, much better and more flavour.

Went here for a bridal shower over the weekend and I was impressed.
The restaurant is very clean. The staff are great and very organized. Overall I was surprised how smoothly everything went considering the whole place was booked for the event.
They served bruschetta for sharing. It was delicious. the tomatoes were fresh and the bread was soft and fresh. The menu says it has basil, which I would have loved, but it was no where to be found. The salad was a no fuss garden salad. I didn’t care much for it as there was far too much balsamic vinegar added. For my main, I had ordered the Penne alla Vodka and was really excited for it but ended up a little disappointed. The dish was really lacking in flavour. It was a little on the bland side and I felt the need to add salt and pepper through that didn’t make much of a difference. One of the other guests I sat with had the eggplant parm which I tried a bite of. I wish I had ordered that instead. It was light, not oily with just the right amount of breading.
The food was just alright, but that might have been due to the fact that the restaurant was full for the event. I will definitely give this place another go.

Mondello I love you!
My first 5 star rating.
Exceptional food from apps to dessert.
You know a place is credible (also, amazing) when the chefs are able to improvise to the client’s wishes.
Service was impeccable, timely, professional, attentive and genuine. Thank you Luis? I’m sorry if I butchered that.
The place is clean and not overly pretentious and THEY LET THEIR FOOD DO THE TALKING.
We came in sweatpants from a long day at work and at the gym and the patrons made us feel so welcome. We’re here for the food dammit and they gave us what we wanted.
Our favourite Italian restaurant has since closed down but I think we’ve found an amazing contender.
Appetizers Ordered:
Bruschetta — The tomatoes were gorgeously seasoned, the cheese and balsamic ratio were harmonious. The middle of the baguette was a bit soggy and was falling apart but no complaints because we destroyed it in seconds anyway.
Calamari — The squid were cooked perfectly. These guys know how to cook their seafood (see fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp) Most restaurants overcook them and get too gummy. The breading was great. My boyfriend who prefers heavier breading wanted more but I thought it was great.
Entrees Ordered:
Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp — I have never had more succulent and juicy shrimp in my entire life. I dreamt about this shrimp days after I had it. I wish I had more. The Alfredo was divine, creamy and the portion was great for $ 15? $ 17? I don’t remember. It’s heavy and you get your money’s worth.
Veal Parmigiana substituted mashed potatoes with penne and tomato sauce — my boyfriend loved the Alfredo I got and will probably try and order that instead of the penne. He barely paid attention to it as he was looking at my Alfredo the entire night. The substituted pasta was a small serving, that was his only gripe. Minute, because he seemed to have enjoyed the veal. He loved the Alfredo though.
Desserts Ordered: (all desserts are $ 9)
Profiteroles — cream puffs coated in a coffee flavoured icing? DELICIOUS! I wish I could’ve had more but I was stuffed from the Alfredo.
Torte de la Nonna — lemon custard with almond slivers. I was hoping for more tangy lemon zest, because I have a love affair with lemon flavours but understandably so. I am unfamiliar with this dish but I was happy to try it. The texture was amazingly soft and warm. Wish I got gelato on the side to have the perfect duo.
Looking forward to trying new items here Mondello!
I can’t wait to review your pizzas!

Mediocre visit at best. First time here. Looked nice from the outside and had high hopes for this restaurant.
First impression: Walked in and was greeted with a nice décor and dim lighting… unfortunately, this ambiance was accompanied by a strong stench that smelled like the old trough urinals at Maple Leaf Gardens. This filled the entire restaurant for our entire meal.
Ordered the calamari and arancini for appetizers. Taste was okay but calamari was lukewarm at best and the arancini was cold inside.
Entrée consisted of spaghetti carbonara and pasta with ala vodka sauce. Entrees came out piping hot, which was nice, but the carbonara was on the bland side and the sauce lacked that smoothy, creamy texture which a carbonara should be. Instead, it was actually clumpy, like a bad mac and cheese. The ala vodka sauce, on the other hand, was overly salty and almost overpowering.
Dessert was the only pleasant surprise. Mango sorbet was served in a frozen mango skin, and the made-​in-​house crème brulee was actually very good. But who knows, maybe only the dessert experience was good because the urine stench had faded a bit.
Don’t think I’ll be returning any time soon.

Definitely a great spot for Italian food, but just on the pricer side of things. However you do get what you pay for, great food, awesome service and beautiful décor. Still thinking about the pizza and riceballs… hummm so good.

Delicious! Food is always amazing — I always order something different and have not been disappointed yet. I have had the gnocchi in past, and was tempted to have it again, but instead had the carbonara. Portion was big enough that I got a small take home package, so I get to have it again (good thing, because I want more of it!). Fresh bread is always served to the table, with the most amazing balsamic (and oil, but with balsamic that rich, who noticed!) Hubby had the feature pizza: love it. Kids had great pics as well. Although the food is excellent, the service is even better. Our waiter was a pro at our table for 8 — kids and adults alike. He was so polite, quick to smile, thorough, attentive, and professional. One of the guests made a comment about how well spoken he was. Our wager amongst each other was «hold old is he» — guesses were all 25, 26, 27 years old. I asked him when he came back to the table — answer was…19! (we were even more impressed at that point!) Management is doing something right: such a great team.
The desserts are a bit wonky — don’t seem in keeping with the main menu. I’d like to see more classic items on the dessert menu and much less «over the top» efforts. All in all — excellent. Such a great spot to have close by.

4.5 solid stars! I have never experienced such awesome service. It was so good, it felt intrusive. Lol 0.5 deduction. Food was great, portion was decent and some very fine lady staff there. All were very nice and accommodating.
Total awesome! Make sure you get the meat balls. Either the appetizer or with spaghetti (extra $ 5). Meatball awesomeness.

I went there early on a weekday for dinner and I was the only one for a while until two more parties arrived. The staff gave lots of attention and the atmosphere was lovely. The food was fresh and delicious but I thought most dishes needed a bit more seasoning. For my main I had the braised beef ravioli. The ravioli filling was suberb but the butter sauce wasn’t very flavourful.

So… after all the rave reviews I keep hearing about Mondellos… I decided to have date night there… As you can tell by my rating, I really was not impressed by them. MAYBE I came on a bad night or something but i was thoroughly underwhelmed. Ill give you a quick run down why:
1. Mondello platter — arancini balls tasted stale specifically the texture of the crumb coating was completely off.
2. Wild mushroom tortellini with truffle cream sauce– absolutely bland in taste and presentation. Cream sauce was way too heavy and looked like it was breaking. The chicken in the pasta was extremely tough and also tasteless.
3. Boyfriend had the lamb loin– for some reason the whole plate was cold. The lamb was cold, mashed potatoes cold, veggies cold. Our waiter first offered to microwave it? And after a 2^nd hesitant offer, we got a new piping hot plate only to find out that the lamb was over cooked. But we were way too tired and sleepy to complain again. The waiter also said the lamb was on the house cuz it was their fault. But close to when we decided to get dessert he said he meant that dessert would be on the house not the lamb lol.
4. Profiteroles– only becuz their crème brûlée was all finished :-(as someone who makes profiteroles many times and has eaten them various places in the world I can definitely say those were the worse profiteroles ever.
I feel absolutely terrible writing bad reviews becuz maybe it just wasnt their night… cuz everyone else seems to have loved their experience. I will probably not go again unless someone drags me there but… thats just my opinion.

We’re always stuck for places to take my Mississauga-​living Grandfather. But my parents were recently told that Mondello was good, so we decided to all try it on Wednesday. We will return!
The food was delicious!
Unfortunately, on the night we went, there was also a wedding rehearsal taking place, and we got the last table in the restaurant. Not an issue, except for the fact that there were only two servers that night, tending to the entire restaurant. They also told us that there was only one chef (the owner) and one sous-​chef. Despite all this, the staff were VERY attentive. And although the service was a little slower than is ideal, they handled it really well, maintaining smiles and a great attitude.
Everyone was happy with their meals. I had the alfredo linguine, although I think I’d try something else next time. The pasta was homemade, and tasty, but heavy. 2 people in our party had the veal parmiagiana, and 1 had eggplant parmigiana, and all 3 loved them. Hubby had a pizza, and loved it… until he tried to sprinkle some chili flakes on it, and the lid popped off, and all of a sudden he had an entire jar of chili flakes on ½ of his pizza. Again, the server was quick to notice, and offered to cook him a new one while he worked on the undamaged half. But he was happy to just have it shaken off and ate it as-​is. Good thing the man likes some spice in his life!
We all tried dessert too, and everyone was very happy with their selections.
Oh, and the appetizers! I LOVED their bruschetta! I have been thinking about it all week.
The chef/​owner came out after dinner to greet the patrons. Nice touch for a small independent restaurateur.
Kudos to Mondello. Now we know where to go next time we take my grandfather out for dinner!

I hosted my sister’s baby shower (for a party of about 30 people) at Mondello and I could not be any happier.
I was taken care of respectfully and promptly from the planning stages to the end. Menu options and descriptions of the entrees where given so that I knew exactly what I would be getting. Jessie was very accommodating and patient with any changes that were made along the way, which included starting the party off a half hour earlier than expected.
The restaurant was set up ahead of time, which included a seating arrangement/​chart (including high chairs), an area for gifts, and another area for the dessert display.
The restaurant was recently renovated and the décor is modern and stylish. The restaurant is a good size, yet cozy enough for private dinner parties.
The staff was attentive, polite, and cheery. We always had refills without having to search for a server and were graciously accommodated with any requests we did have.
The chef, Nico, came out to greet the guests personally, which was a nice touch.
The food was, in one word… ok…maybe two, ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Our meal started with the Italian salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots with a balsamic vinaigrette). Our second meal was penne pasta in a fresh tomato sauce. The third entrée was the chicken piccata (grilled chicken breast with a lemon caper butter sauce). The chicken came with a side of broccoli, carrots, and mashed potatoes. The chicken was SO GOOD. Just the right amount of garlic, lemon, and capers. The vegetables were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of «crunch». They were not overdone and/​or wilted. The portions were very appropriate. No one felt cheated and no one felt uncomfortably stuffed. Quite a few of the dinner guests commented on how good the meal was and mentioned coming back to the restaurant for a ladies’ night get together.
I can’t forget the punch, which was a hit too! There’s an alcoholic version, but I opted to forgo that option since we were being served wine with the meal.
I can’t thank Nico, Jessie, and the staff enough for all their help and generosity. My sister said she enjoyed the whole event from beginning to end and wouldn’t have it any other way. The baby shower was a definite hit.
I definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone!