Big Ragu

I live in the area walked by this place a number of times bit of a hole in the wall no Lansdowne not on the main St Clair strip of restaurants. It is smaller but quaint restaurant. Saw they usually took part in Winterlious and Summerlious which was enticing. Finally made reservations and had dinner there on Saturday night.
My husband and I were stunned by how amazing the food was. Started with the calamari which was not your usual breaded and deep fried but grilled. Probably scary for some people but beyond delicious. I have the crab ravioli, it came out fast and delicious. Then both had tiramisus for dessert. The meal was fast, fresh and hot. Service was great the watress was friendly and quick. Just to note though we were there early 6pm dinner resturant not full just two other table at the time so I can’t comment on service when they are busy. The chef (not the gentleman in photos below) came out to see how our meals were he was very personable and that was a nice touch. This meal was on par with those we had in Italy on our honeymoon.
We will be coming back again and again after this experience. They have reasonable prices in general and as I mentioned take part in Winterlious and Summerlious. They also have wine available by glass, bottle and half liter. The ½ litter is something that few restaurants seem to have and for I and my husband a bottle is too much and 1 glass each insufficient.

Ventured out to this resto as it participated in Toronto Summerlicious… Place was cute with a mom and pop ambiance. The quality of ingredients of all three course dishes were subpar.

Didn’t get a chance to eat here unfortunately. Stopped in to ask to see a menu after seeing ‘Best of Toronto’ stickers on the menu and was told to look at it online. Not sure why they didn’t have a dinner menu at the restaurant for us to look at?

Great litter restaurant at the corner of lansdowne and st clair.
We stopped with a few friends for a quick dinner at a very late hour (1140pm).
The restaurant was about to be closing for the night but we were welcomed in and served food within minutes but also we had a plate of appetizers on the house (something cheese amazing wrapped into eggplant — delicious!)
We also had a bottle of suggested to us red wine and it was great!
Not only that — we had two additional groups of friends joining us after midnight and not only they were welcomed with friendly service and smiles they were served freshly made pasta cooked for them after-​hours basically.
Great little spot with friendly staff and yummy food.
Definitely coming back!

BEYOND DELICIOUS!
Great value, new tastes, cozy atmosphere.
Loved it!
Highly recommend trying the Aganotti!

Big Ragu is very close to my heart as this was the first joint where I had my dinner when I arrived in Canada. Most importantly food is always fresh. We are a regular. and we go there to celebrate, to think, to eat, to look back, to relax and just to have a good time.
Quantity is good and quality is excellent. Price is reasonable.
I just love Big Ragu! specially there pasta and simple salad… it will always be special. I make sure all our friends and family members visit there once during their trip.

I went yesterday to eat in the big Ragu. I had the rack of lamb and it was fantastic. My friend had the very famous special crab ravioli it was soo delicious. I’m looking forward to go back again. Service and food was excellent! I really recommend this place

Good pastas at good prices!
Came here last week with my roommate and his father. I had the Ravioli. It was nice, delicious and flavorful and had a good price point. This place deserves to be busier!

Family restaurant with nice, cozy ambience (except for the gaudy neon red lights in the window spilling inside). The food was great and the portions were moderately sized (so maybe a bit small if you’re really hungry!).
On the downside, the place was so «family» our waitress was was talking on the phone while we were waiting to be asked about dessert (and this was on a Friday night!). This normally wouldn’t phase me at a local resto, but with upscale prices you’d expect ambience and service to match.
Note: small-​ish menu, with no pizza (but really good pastas).

Heads Up! The Big Ragu is not going to be your traditional Toronto Dining Experience! This isn’t a place that you come for a quick bite before you rush out somewhere else, this is a place for an evening out. Carm and his team have really taken a slice of small village, family-​run Italian restaurants and brought the experience to us. With homemade breads and crisps, courses made with true Italian passion and easygoing atmosphere, you will leave feeling like you had a mini vacation. The calamari is always spot on, agnolotti I return back to again and again but that’s not to say the daily carne specials aren’t amazing too! Three desserts, made in house and so tasty I actually have to make my sever decide every time I order.
I’ve been a regular at the Big Ragu going on 6 years now and truly feel like family whenever I walk in the door. The great thing is, I notice that the staff try their best to make every guest feel this way whether it’s their first time or a familiar face. If you want to experience real family Italian dining, come for a night out to the Big Ragu, you won’t be disappointed!

Before coming to the restaurant for Mother’s Day, I checked Unilocal,saw the mixed reviews and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, it is clear that the one and two star reviews are far more accurate.
The first problem is the service. I’ve seen slow service before but this was atrocious. It took over an hour and a half from when we were seated to when we received our entrees. That is just unacceptable, especially in a restaurant that can only seat five or six parties.
As for the food, I can’t say it was much better. The magic mushroom salad was the only item that I can rave about. A perfect combination of mushrooms and cheese that I would recommend you order. After that, it was downhill. The ravioli in bolognese sauce was rather bland. The mushroom salad side dish had about 10x more thyme than was required. The rapini was soggy and literally dripping in oil.
I would never return to this restaurant and I suggest you take my word for it and save yourself the $ 30/​person.

They say hunger is the best sauce, so take this in the spirit of the famished post-​moving day spirit my family and I were in tonight.
We headed over to the Big Ragu because my brother-​in-​law just moved into the neighbourhood. I was skeptical, due to some previous reviews I read, but we were hungry after lugging boxes and our choices were limited. I have to say I was really impressed.
Cocktails of prosecco, Campari and soda provided a great combo of sweetness and bitterness while still being refreshing. Off to a good start…
The magic mushroom salad was terrific. Mushrooms and goat cheese are nothing new, but these were baked which gave them an intensity of flavour and texture that matched beautifully with the fresh arugula and sweet balsamic reduction/​dressing. I also snuck a taste of the rapini starter and it was fantastically smokey and garlicky. Really delicious.
We all ordered pastas and to a one they were satisfying, yummy and certainly not over-​cooked. I had a super-​garlicked light lemon pasta with spinach and capers. The salty capers blended really well with generous shaves of slightly sweet grana padano cheese. Tomatoey penne and rich mushroom pappardelle were also hits.
Our server managed the packed restaurant on his own and he was efficient, confident and warm. Generally, things moved slowly (only 2 people staffing the kitchen as far as we could see) and it’s a pretty small place, so don’t come when you’re in a rush.
Vegetarian score = ⁷⁄₁₀ (lots of choices, didn’t feel discriminated against)

Honestly, the food is great, the guy who runs it really cares, the servers are a bit slow, and the bread was toasted too much. Little details like the hot sauce: homemade, with two different locally sourced peppers and gherkins and a whole lot of process and love. The place has been around seven years and I think it’s important to support places like this on their way up. The prices are better than terroni and the products are made in smaller batches and imo with higher quality ingredients. A very nice dining experience.
The gnocchi and Lamb Ragu were excellent. The gnocchi really is some of the best I’ve had at any restaurant anywhere, including in Italy.

Ok, so I’m of Italian descent and this restaurant is around the corner from my house. It has a quaint atmosphere and looks like a family run establishment so I was excited and expected something truly special.
Not so much !!! I’ve even gone back 3 times to give them an honest chance but in the end I think I’d rather go to Terroni. and I hate Terroni.
Extremely underwhelming.

I have been here 3 times and can honestly say each time was a disappointment.
The last time we were in was truly monumental, the waitress complained the entire time about her boss and all the people who had quit or were quitting!!! Are you kidding me!!!
The Lamb Ragu had no lamb and the Risotto was a bit disappointing, hate to say but mine is better!!!

Ridiculously hectic day, miserable rainy fall night, big hunger… The answer: Big Ragu. This is the place to go for a big plate of comfort pasta and a glass of chianti — just the thing to cure the Toronto weather blues.
The food: The house specialty, papardelle with lamb ragu, is good but not outstanding. Nice red sauce, but could have more lamb. The pasta al forno (that evening’s special) is everything I want: ricotta, spinach, bits of smoky bacon… delicious — my stomach couldn’t be happier. We also get the evening’s contorni, roasted broccoli with parmigiano. The broccoli is overdone, but anytime you stick good grated parmigiano in the oven, it’s hard to fail completely.
Half-​litre of red does the trick — we relax. Our bellies full, we are ready for bed.

My mother is not a very good cook. Even so, I keep going back to her kitchen because it’s one of my favorite places to eat. Such is the same with the Big Ragu. The atmosphere is so intoxicating that it makes me forgive the fact that the food is often so-​so.
Red checkered table clothes and the smell of garlic bring warmth to the quaint & unpretentious space. Specials are written on the blackboard, which hangs lopsided on the wall. The wine list is small, and approachable. But it was our waitress, who was the star of the show. With infinite patience and humour she tended to our large, boisterous group without ever losing her smile. Carmen joined in to help with the desserts, making the night feel even more special
As for the food? Well, some of the appetizers were thrilling, while most of the mains were not. But it didn’t matter. I just washed the dry clam pasta down with a few glasses of Pinot Grigio and basked in the charm of my surroundings.

Eating dinner at Carmine Accogli’s restaurant the Big Ragu is like coming home to an old friend’s place or better yet dinner at Nonna’s casa! The BR is an old restaurant spot (formerly Venezia) and stepping into it one can’t help but to feel like you’ve really stepped into an authentic Italian experience. What a great change of pace from the College Street Italia chichi scene or the overly hyped overly priced Bene Note.
It was my husband’s birthday so I invited friends to celebrate with us. I made a reservation which was a good thing because the BR is a small dining spot (between 30 – 40 seats) and the place was hopping. Right from the minute we got there Carm took care of us and treated us like we were la familia! :) He is so personable and his love for his business, the food he serves and the customers is so very evident.
We started with cocktails and asked Carm if he could bring us some antipasti. No problem. A few minutes later out came three plates. Two with assorted salumi’s/prosciutto, artichokes, roasted peppers and olives. The last plate had three Italian cheeses and they were plentiful. Then he took his time to go over the specials of the day and answered any questions we had. In detail he talked about how things were cooked and what spices, herbs, wines etc. were used.
Three different salads got ordered. A magic mushroom salad, a grilled calamari salad and a pear & Parmesan salad. All salads were fantastic but I have to say the magic mushroom salad stole my heart! Baked mushrooms with goats cheese atop a bed of arugula. Sometimes goats cheese in salad can drown the greens but not at the Big Ragu.
Our mains included the Braised Lamb of the day; a baked Cod and I opted for the provimi veal, pan seared in white wine and sage and then topped with prosciutto. It was a flavour explosion. The only downside of my veal dish is that that potatoes just weren’t cooked enough, just a tad to hard still. The lamb was fall off the bone tender in a gorgeous sauce that was so good my friend next to me used a spoon to scoop up the last of the sauce. The baked cod completely caught me off guard. I’m usually not big for cod, I find it smelly and salty but boy was this fish de-​lish!
We ordered a side of rapini sauteed in garlic and olive oil and a bowl of spaghetti because leaving the Big Ragu without trying the pasta just wasn’t going to happen. Everyone got to taste and we agreed the sauce was hearty, stuck to the pasta and had a slight edge of an arrabiata attitude. We washed down all this home styled Italian goodness with a couple of bottles of Chianti.
Carmine showed his class and his host who is the most side by bringing out a tray of glasses filled with Prosecco to mark the birthday occasion. Let me tell you something about Carmine, this boy can sing! He’s got opera pipes! All of a sudden the lights in the whole restaurant go out and in the darkness out comes Carmen with a slice of cake and a candle and he is singing in this unbelievable voice, rendering his operatic version Happy Birthday. For the most part I usually find the singing birthday cake thingy kinda cheesy but at the Big Ragu it works. We finished off with coffees, espressos, cappuchinos. It was a great night.
So the low down was this: 4 cocktails, 2 beers, 2 bottles of Chianti, a table sized antipasti for six people, 5 salads, 6 mains, 5 coffees and the total of the bill with taxes came in at $ 350. We felt that for the level of food and service that the Big Ragu put out this bill was a bargain.
Check out the pics. If you are ever up in that neck of the woods (Lansdowne & St. Clair) then I would highly recommend you stop in and meet Carm and treat yourself to some really awesome, home styled Italian food.

This is a remarkable restaurant. I’ve been there on many occasions and the place never lets me down. Although when it gets packed, don’t expect it to be as good as it can be.
The menu always changes and the food is traditional and home-​cooked. The owner really loves his food, so his passion for the restaurant really shows. The eggplant parmigiana is delicious and their seafood platters are wonderful. The menu isn’t cheap, but when you consider the ingredients, you simply get what you pay for. It is certainly worth trying a lot of little dishes. You should consider sharing up the platters and having the whole multi-​course dining experience. However, if you want to go light (and more economical), try a couple of appetizers and a pasta, skipping the more expensive fish and meat entrees.
The wine list is extensive and well-​paired with the menu items Ask for advice and you’ll get honest answers. The wait staff and owners certainly drink and try their stock – so you won’t get some rehearsed tasting note that involves words like «peppery,» «full,» and «vanilla.»
They sometimes have live entertainment and when I was there one night, we were asked if we could take our wine down to the basement where a live band was playing. It was a lot of fun and very welcoming.
The roster of well-​known Torontonians that eat there is apparent. People in the know know.
Make reservations as the restaurant is small.

After reading several big hyped up reviews by some foodie websites, I decided to visit this place with a friend. It is located on St. Clair, but you have to drive through the ghettos to get there… so keep that in mind. Parking was free on the side street.
The restaurant itself was very tiny. Cute and quaint, but borderline clusterphobic. Tables were really small; you really had to think about where to place your glasses, cutlery, etc. (luckly the waitress was attentive and picked up used plates right away).
Right away, we were served some water and a basket of breads while we decided on our dinner. The garlic bread was room temperature, and was extremely salty, and so were the the flatbread biscuits.
For appetizers, we ordered the P&P salad (pear and parm), which was pretty good but quite small in size. The sausage and rapini was huge in portions though. I wish they controlled the portions better – one person would be half full, and the other would still be hungry.
For entrée, I ordered the chicken marsala. The chicken breast was coooked bone in with skin on, and it was nice and moist. The skin was not crispy, however. The sauce was very rich, and the potatoes were superbly done, with rosemary herb and crunchy on the outside. I only received 3 pieces though.
My friend ordered the lamb ragu… I sampled it, and it was yummy as well. The pasta very nicely done.
For dessert, we both had tiramisu with cappuccino. It was advertised as the best in the city – but it fell way short. It was a bit of a wet slop in a martini glass.
After tip, the bill came to $ 130 (included two glasses of wine each). Overall, despite some high points, not very impressed, and a repeat visit is highly unlikely.