Vagabondo Italian Ristorante+Lounge

Delicious food. Ordered through Just Eat and it was great.
Pizza dough was wonderful and the toppings were plentiful. The meatballs as an appetizer were delicious and my friends who had the pasta raved about it.
The only downfall is that the place is expensive. The standard pasta’s are around $ 20, so it’s more of a spot for getting delivery for a special night.
Would highly recommend.

Good Italian food in downtown Toronto. I had the Tortellini, which is meat filled tortellini in rose sauce. It was good. The portion looked medium, but that’s deceptive because the dish is deep, so the portion is large and quite filling. The service was good, with two waitresses taking turns helping me. They take reservations. If you’re in the area and want Italian, I recommend Vagabondo.

Came here to celebrate a friend’s birthday on a Saturday with 14 people.
Ambiance:
The décor of the restaurant is decent. Nothing too fancy or shabby. We were seated in a semi private room.
Food:
I requested the Antipasto for appetizer and grilled salmon for entrée. They also had a Prix Fix menu. The food was mediocre. The salmon seemed bland and not fresh. I am not a connoisseur of seafood but Ive had better elsewhere. Portion size was generous.
Service:
Staff was very friendly and accomodating. Especially since we were a group of 14. Everything came on time and the wait staff took care of us.
Value:
A little expensive relative to the quality of food. Could be because of the lower CDN$? Not sure.

My girlfriend and I were craving Italian Friday night, but we also knew we didn’t want to venture too far from our apartment. We had been to Vagabondo once before and remembered liking it so we figured since it was just up the street we’d head there.
It was even better the second time!
I had their rigatoni vodka which was one of the best «a la vodka» sauces I’ve had in some time. My girlfriend did their prix fixe menu, which for $ 35 got you two starters, a main, and a dessert. She said everything was incredible.
Our waiter was incredibly attentive, without being annoying. Granted the restaurant was practically dead, something I couldn’t really understand given the quality of the food. There was also a live DJ there who was spinning some great tunes.
We both enjoyed ourselves so much we decided we’d definitely be coming back more often. And the fact that they do delivery means we’ll likely be ordering on those nights when we just can’t be bothered to go out but want a delicious meal.

I stopped by Vagabondo after my usually pizza joint in the area (Uncle Tony’s) let me down by being unexpectedly closed!
Vagabondo has a beautiful and very large patio which was exactly what we were looking for. It was basically completely empty — and looking into the large restaurant inside, it was empty too.
We shared a meatball appetizer which was quite delicious, and a Caesar salad (wouldn’t order it again, soggy with dressing), and some pizzas. All the food was acceptable, though the meatball appetizer was the stand out. Nothing to write home about.
The service was only ok, which was surprising considering we were basically their only table. I thought it was slow and abrupt, plus I had something dropped on me twice so that’s never fun.
Overall, I’m surprised such a large restaurant can survive considering how empty it was, but they must be swamped during the week to compensate.
My overall thoughts are that with a ton of great places in the city, why waste your time on only ok?

We reserved for a group of 24 people 4 days ahead.
We got a private room which was great for conversation and the servers were nice. BUT, food took forever to come out!!! Ordered almost 30 mins later then appetizers came out 30−1hr after that and some people didnt get their food until 1.5 hr after they ordered.
Food was good. Nothing spectacular, but would come here if food came out at a reasonable time.
Pizza, spinach pasta that were like ravioli but shaped like dumplings, soups. Most people liked their food.

Vagabondo is an Italian restaurant for those that aren’t too bothered by the fact they serve mediocre Italian food. Overall, it does a decent job with the food and service but it doesn’t do anything really well. The ambiance is a step up from an Olive Garden. The patio is one of the few great things this restaurant has going for it but I suspect even that may not be enough to truly set this place apart. After our generally unremarkable meal we were served coffee and each of us received half a biscuit — it was almost as though they were trying to cut costs by halving the cookies. In some way I think that’s a great metaphor to describe the restaurant — it could be so much better but they cut corners just to scrape by.

Came here for an anniversary date with my fiancé and the service was great. The host, bartender and owner all worked together to ensure our time at Vagabond was spent well. I originally ordered the lamb and when I tasted it, it was bland. I am always very worried about ordering lamb. They took the dish away and allowed me to choose something else. I ordered the stuffed chicken breast, it was amazing! My fiancé’s seafood pasta was also amazing. Love this place. Very nice inside. Would definitely recommend it! Cheers

It is great for groups during the summer or the surprising hot table at the back where you can have an affordable lunch.
Food is in line with prices and beer selection could be improved and thus great for groups that are not sticking around.
Stiff competition in the neighborhood for great food (mmmm. St. Lawrence) brings the ranking down in my view.

My gf and I stumbled on this place after a Raptor game. Absolutely amazing. If you love Italian food you are in for a treat. This is now our go to spot for Italian food.
Service: very good and knowledgeable. They know the menu and recommend favorites. They are also very fast and check in regularly (we are big on Check ins lol).
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀. Portion sizes are HUGE. We both have yet to finish a meal here. So it’s great value because we both get lunch for the next day every time we hit ip vegabondo. Tip: please have the bruschetta and veal parm. Your mouth will melt.
Atmosphere: Never really over crowded. The patio is perfect. I threw my bday here and easily fit 40 people. They also gave us our own private section that was curtained off. So rare for a downtown restaurant to do nowadays. The music can be loud at times so if you are looking for a nice quiet romantic intimate dinner, another venue would be best.

We ran into this place trying to avoid a lightening storm last weekend, and were warmly greeted when we came in. We had not planned on coming to this place, but were pleasantly surprised by the décor.
The music was a little loud, but we sipped our wine and beer waiting for our food. We were surprised that we didn’t get bread right away so we ordered bruschetta. It was okay. I have had much better. Wait for their regular bread, It’s hot, a little doughy, and tastes great with olive oil and balsamic. I just wished they served it right away.
Their personal pizza’s are huge. My mom could only eat ½. I got the gnocchi which was good. We waited awhile for our second round of drinks, they never came, so the waitress apologized and took them off the bill.
I definitely think this a good place for groups. We saw some people here on first dates, and seemed too loud for them to have engaging conversations. I am glad we ran into this place. We left full, satisfied, and it was good place to go to get out of the rain.

I was here last night along with a bunch of other singles for a 25 dates speed dating event.
I don’t really think speed dating and me are a good match but at least it was $ 6 martini night. Your choice – gin or vodka rail plus olives or a twist. The bartender was a one woman martini makin’ machine. I think I picked up some tips just watching her.
Tip was automatically included which was kind of strange and somewhat convenient.
There were apps but I did not get to any. So, I can’t comment on the food. A few people out on the patio were eating and what passed by us in the bar area looked good.
As a regular space I can see how this place might work. The patio is huge. As a speed dating space, it suffers from acoustics in certain spots. Obviously if you were here, on a regular date, and the place was packed with other chatty daters, you might have to strain to hear or be heard.
I would likely not make a special effort to eat or drink here except if the drink special was worth it, such as Tuesday’s martini deal. The location is good and this part of Toronto offers a lot of other great place to spend your drink and food dollar; I’d simply be more inclined to try something else. But don’t let me dissuade you. Give this place a fair shot and judge for yourself.

Food was good, but atmosphere was horrendous.
To start, they were BLASTING techno music. There was no dance floor and the place was relatively empty with a few tables occupied, ours included, in the bar area. Techno has no place in an Italian restaurant! We even had to ask our server to turn it down twice just so we could hear her! I longed for classical Sinatra.
I got the Pinot Noir which was «on house special.» Clearly, that didn’t mean cheap at $ 12/​glass, which we didn’t learn until the bill came.
Service was a bit flakey. Took awhile to get drinks. Got oil and vinegar for bread instantly, but waited another 10 – 15 minutes for the warm bread, which was tasty and crunchy. 2 minutes later, our entrees arrived. Timing was just terrible.
However, I had the rigatoni vodka w/​pancetta, and it was tasty. Boyfriend had the lasagna, said it was a bit dry. He never got the crushed red pepper he asked for. Also, when they asked if I wanted fresh ground pepper or Parmesan cheese and I said both, the waiter seemed a bit annoyed.
Bottom line, if you go food is hit or miss depending on what you get. Service appears to be the same. And choose the patio, even if it’s freezing, to avoid the awful music.

I made a reservation for 18 people here to celebrate my birthday, and I was quite pleased with the food and service. It’s tough handling a large group, so kudos to them for doing a good job.
We ordered a few appetizers: grilled calamari, bruschetta, and antipasto italiano. At first, the waiter made a mistake and brought us deep fried calamari instead of grilled. When we asked him about it, he apologized and told us to keep the deep fried calamari on the house while he went to place the correct order with the kitchen. And boy, am I glad we insisted on getting the grilled calamari because it was the best appetizer of the bunch. The others were good, too, but this dish took the spotlight.
For my main, I ordered their most popular dish: Fettuccine Vagabondo — Fettucine with chicken strips, fresh garlic, sliced mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes in a rosé sauce. It was good and is probably a safe choice, but I believe there were better items on the menu.
I tried some of the Agnolotti Spinaci from someone else’s plate, and it was really tasty. It’s spinach agnolotti stuffed with spinach infused ricotta cheese, mushrooms and fresh baby spinach in rose sauce.
Our dishes came out promptly, our glasses of water were filled regularly, and the food and wine were good. Probably not the best Italian food in Toronto (though, I’m no connoisseur), but the food was good, the prices are reasonable, and the service was fantastic.

Was here recently for a private function. The food was meh… I just got some coconut shrimp appetizers b/​c I wasn’t too hungry and I needed a chainsaw to cut through them, zero flavour. very disappointing. The service was ok… although it took forever just to get some water. good thing I didn’t order an entrée!

I will not spend my money here again. Vagabondo is overpriced, the food quality is astonishingly low, and the service (although prompt) was less than professional. We were a group of 10 on the patio on a Friday evening after work and this beautiful outdoor space in the center of the downtown core was completely empty. Now I know why. The prosciutto and pear appetizer was unappetizing: the meat looked grey and there was far too much of it to be of any decent quality. The tomato sauce on the gnocchi likely came from a jar and the pasta itself was sticking to the roof of my mouth (i.e. not at all fresh). The pizza looked OK. A decent bottle of wine was $ 50 and the total for 3 people was over $ 140. On top of that, we were prompted to put everything on one bill because splitting it would «take too long». Extremely inconvenient and inconsiderate for a group of 10. I was also put off by the servers’ uniforms: golf shirts for the men and skin-​tight, backless and overly revealing dress-​type things for the women. It made the restaurant seem cheap when in fact the prices reflected the opposite. This part of town would draw a great after-​work crowd at an Italian spot with a large interior and inviting outdoor space but the quality at Vagabondo is just not there (particularly for the cost). Please improve!

I came halfway through a booked event with a reasonably large group, so my review lacks a lot of the nuances that one describing a full meal might have.
Vagabondo’s patio is large and servers accommodated the 20+ people in attendance very well. No one was without a drink for longer than a couple of minutes.
Appetizers included bruschetta, various pizzas, something stuffed and deep-​fried into a finger-​ready shape, and other usual suspects. They were all good but smacked of a kinda cheesy North American approach – which absolutely has its place in the big carb-​ulous world of Italian food but isn’t typically my preference.
Overall, Vagabondo was unremarkable but not bad, and I definitely appreciated the service. Big groups are really hard to handle well. I’d have to return for a proper meal, but my intuition tells me that this is another star in the constellation of expense-​account Bay Street establishments.

*3.5 stars*
We were here a week or so ago. It was nice. We came here for dinner, at night, it’s kind of hard to spot from the street… but we found it somehow.
We were seated at the back, which was fine for dinner, but for some reason, at about 10:30pm, they pumped up the music super loud, and we were seated under a speaker of something. We left promptly.
The food was good — I think I had the risotto — it was massive. My friends ordered the veal and chicken parm, and and gnocchi — all delish — got good reviews. We started with bruschetta and calamari.
A yummy experience, but only a so so dining experience.

I have passed by Vagabondo many times, and I finally got to dine here. It is located close to the St. Lawrence Market. The décor is trendy, they played a good mix of music, and have «party rooms» that are separated with red curtains.
Parking is validated which is a big bonus for downtown! After we were seated we were kept waiting for awhile before the server came to check on us. They have a summer prix fixe menu of four courses for $ 35. The portions were more generous than I anticipated.
First course: Feta Bruschetta on toasted Calabrese baguette served with garlic and olive oil, topped with fresh tomatoes and feta cheese. The tomatoes were fresh, and the feta cheese was divine. Tres yummy!
*NB* This was infinitely better than the bread basket they brought out. The bread basket was stale, and the bread was cold. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil are available at the table.
Second Course: Insalata Estate with mixed greens, strawberries, slivered almonds, goat cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette. Can you believe I was already starting to get full by the second course? This salad is the same as an entrée sized Spinach Salad at Milestone’s. I loved the strawberries and goat’s cheese. However, the raspberry vinaigrette was too overpowering. My word of advice — ask for the dressing on the side!
Third Course: Vitello a la Romana which is a tender provimi veal with fresh garlic, baby arugula and white wine topped with fresh slices of shaved parmesan. It is served with steamed vegetables and potatoes. The dish was swimming in oil! The parmesan cheese was WAYYYY too salty, and the vegetables were bland. The potatoes however, were quite savoury.
Fourth Course: Strawberry Cheesecake served with a chocolate drizzle. I absolutely adored the cinnamon cheesecake base. The cheesecake was quite tasty, although I found it to have a «chalky» consistency. That didn’t prevent me from devouring the entire slice, whipped cream and all!
In addition to the summer fixe menu I also ordered a grilled calamari that was slightly burnt, served on a bed of mixed greens. If I had known the generous portion sizes of the summer fixe menu I would’ve passed on ordering another appetizer. Again, a generous portion of calamari showed up on my plate.
I also got to sample the Pizza Della Nonna, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, green olives, pepperoni and mushrooms. It was a thin crust pizza that was delicious. I did notice that some parts of the crust were burnt.
The cheese ravioli was also quite tasty, although the cheese again had a «chalky» consistency to it. I think the primary suspects in both the cheese ravioli and cheesecake chalky-​ness was ricotta cheese!
A bottle of E.J. Gallo White Zinfandel was ordered for the table. It rang in at $ 37 for the bottle.
Verdict:
At the end of the day with tax and tip the bill came to $ 470 for our party of 8. A few things I noticed was that the bread basket came out after our appetizers arrived, the servers didn’t know who ordered what when the courses were brought to the table (we all had to raise our hands like roll call in primary school to claim our dishes) and there was a delay in the offering of parmesan cheese and ground pepper when the mains were brought out. Positive things were that our water glasses were constantly replenished, and the hostess did a little something special for the birthday girl’s dessert.
Vagabondo is a nice place to go to for a private dining area, and its complimentary parking. The ambiance and music make it a trendy restaurant. I am definitely keeping this on my list of places to book a party at. That and it is in close proximity to Pravda Vodka Bar in case you want to have an after party ;)

Well I would give this place a one star but the appetizers were delicious…
The main courses however, were not so good. In fact they were not even edible. The veal and chicken parmigiana were both hard and strange tasting like, fish, yes fish… I do not know why or how but we both agreed on a fishy tasting chicken and veal parmigiana. They seemed to be overdone, they were so tough you could barely cut into them. The chicken was only slightly more edible then the veal but needless to say we sent both of them back to the kitchen.
The night started off so well, the appetizers were fabulous, we got a Caesar salad that was a generous portion with a nice homemade dressing and the brochette pizza which was soo yumm!
Too bad the main courses wasn’t good, we were not expecting the outcome to be so damn bad terrible!
I may go back again, even just for the appetizers as they were very good.