Terroni

10/05/2008 Posted by FreshAndTasty

I only rated the L.A. location 4/5 ("recommended) because I can't post without a rating. I've never been to the L.A. location, but I just feel like I have to speak up for the sake of the Terroni name. I have been going to Terroni in Toronto since the days when they were just about 7 tables and about 5 bar stools. The food has not changed one bit - it tastes fresh and the flavours all blend together well... basically simple food without any fuss. The vibe at two of the three locations (Eaton Centre which is now on Adelaide, and the original Queen West) is laid-back and friendly, while at the other location on Yonge, it's a bit more like you'd expect from a more formal restaurant in that uptown neighbourhood (friendly, but reserved and "proper"). It's unfortunate to see that people have had bad experiences with service in L.A. as this has never been the case in Toronto and therefore is not in keeping with what I've come to know as the spirit of Terroni: Food and service that's simple, not pretentious. I'm actually intrigued now to see what it will be like to ask for cheese on my pizza or pasta. I've never asked for cheese on my pizza, but have asked for the oil with no problems, and cheese is always offered with my pasta. As for the no reservation policy and no cutting of the pizzas, that is how they have been from day one. I prefer the no reservation policy only because I've been to many restaurants waiting in line while tables sit empty waiting for patrons. Also, I love the margherita pizza and love the simplicity and pretty presentation of a nicely marbled, uncut pizza... beside, that's what the knives are for. I can't wait to go to L.A. and check out the latest addition to the Terroni family. It better be good!

09/16/2008 Posted by greytown

i've been to terroni over and over again with friends. the food is ALWAYS amazing. the wine (i try something new each time) is always perfect. the staff are sooooo helpful and easy on the eyes = ) must haves, magiabunn pizza, puzza pizza, tagliatelle ragu, lamb ragu special (if they have it). Buffalo caprese- yes, it's true-NO balsamic-TRUST ME, it WOULD ruin it. it seems as though there are a lot of haters out there that have been ruined by the LA "sure sir/ma'am, whatever you want-bastardize our menu if it makes you happy" metality but, if you're ready for a true italian meal in a great environment with great people terroni is the place for you. for everyone else, take your bad energy some place else. xo

09/16/2008 Posted by venres

and this place is great. warm, delicious and cool. easy and breezy. stick with pizzas, pasta and salads.

09/03/2008 Posted by clashy

There's a whole lot of doggin' happening on this site, and I must say, as a repeat customer, it surprises me. I see the same folks there eating again and again... I know this cuz I sit at the bar and have dinner on average three times a week. The bar staff is awesome - totally friendly, funny, and conversational. The hosts are adorable, and the servers (from what I've noticed) are always smiling. A lot of us from the neighborhood frequent Terroni & it's because the food is delicious. They serve real southern Italian that possesses a subtlety few restaurants are willing to present. The ingredients are definitely high quality and you can actually taste them! Pizzas are out of this world... I can't imagine how people don't like the pizza. I've had almost every selection (of like 30!). My favorites include the Bufalina, Santo Stefano, and anything with the spicy sausage. The tomato sauce is delectable - I actually close my eyes when I take a bite to be sure I'm experiencing it fully. Maybe I'm a geek, but whatever. I came to put in my good word, and I'm glad I did! Definitely give it a try!

Pros: awesome bar, great lights, wine list, PIZZA! PASTA! TOMATO SAUCE!

Cons: none for me

09/02/2008 Posted by ProfessorJenkins

What a ghastly experience. My so-called tuna salad was a sorry mess of limp greens with a meagre sprinkling of canned tuna. My husband's pasta was cold. The bread was as sad as my salad, and accompanied by bitter olive oil. The waiter was condescending. Then my friend committed the cardinal sin of attempting to put parmesan on her seafood pasta. The aforementioned condescending waiter told her she was not allowed to put cheese on her pasta. At first we thought he was joking but sadly, this was for real. There followed a Fawlty Towers like tug of war between my friend and the waiter, as the parmesan was pulled first one way then the other. My friend was victorious (helped by my husband, who finally wrestled the cheese away from the waiter's cold dead hand). We finished our mediocre meal and paid the bill, vowing never to return. At this point we received a visit from the owner who, like his food, was cold and bitter. He first explained he had heard about our misunderstanding. We all smiled, anticipating an apology. However, The Big Cheese himself told us we were never to darken his door again - he did not want us in his restaurant ever again. He was extremely rude and clearly considers himself a superior being. Perhaps he has a Cheesus Complex. Strongly recommend giving this place a miss unless you have masochistic tendencies and enjoy poor food accompanied by insults.

09/02/2008 Posted by SanGimignano

Mediocre, lukewarm food. Bland bread accompanied by bitter olive oil. Pasta Amatriciana almost sans pancetta...salade tonnato with a miniscule amount of (what tasted like canned) tuna...and finally, the owner would rather throw you out of his restaurant (after you've paid, of course) than allow you to have cheese on your seafood pasta!! In fact, the waiter attempted to remove the cheese from this diner's hand as it (the cheese, not the hand!!) was being used inappropriately. Believe it or not.....we were banished from Teronni for insisting on using cheese on Seafood Pasta..and yes, the so-called "owner" waited until after we paid to inform us we were being sent to the Los Angeles Gulag of Other Restaurants because we violated his sacred rules, ultimately giving us our money back after it was apparent we were not going to leave quietly without recompense. Apparently this mirrors the experiences of a a previous review on this site entitled "Garbage" (8/17/08). So..if you want to have your own Seinfeld experience.....your own "Soup Nazi"...and fine dining isn't an issue...go to Teronni....you may have an experience you will never forget.

Pros: None

Cons: Two Thumbs Down!! Rude, imperious staff. Ludicrous pompous "owner"..lots of temperament, little talent. No reason to go to this eatery, other than to be insulted and fed poorly.

08/22/2008 Posted by ergolad

I don't know, I'm doubtful of how legit these sites are. I have friends in the restaurant industry in NYC. I know first hand the importance they place on Cityseach and Zagat. They petition their friends, patrons and investors to post positive reviews because they know that it effects their bottom line. It's the sad truth, and a restaurant, regardless of how good or bad it really is, can sometimes be made or broken by these ratings. So, yeah I read 'em, but I'm always curious about their true origin. On top of that, call me pessimistic, but I'd venture to say most people don't take the time to say good things, they take the time when they have a beef. With all that said, I was just reading my bank statement and could not for the life recall a charge for "Terroni" that was listed. A Google search brought me here and reminded me of the totally mediocre meal I had at this restaurant recently for a friends birthday. Let's start by considering I couldn't even place the name of this restaurant. Strike one, unmemorable. Strike two, the food just kinda sucked. The pasta was quite tasty, seemed home made and cooked al dente. Better than most I've had, but unfortunately pared with their sauce it was dull and bland. 3 different pastas at the table all had the same issue. An Arugula salad with lemon dressing tasted no more than Arugula tossed with lemon juice. Caprese was boring. Funny, none of us asked for any additions to our meals, though we were tempted to ask for some Balsamic. Based on the reviews here I almost wished I had. But honestly, our server was a joy; really sweet and helpful with our requests for recommendations. It seemed as if this place was going for a very elemental simple approach to food; preferring to let you focus on just a few ingredients rather than layers of flavor. I can respect that. I just didn't like it. I think you can create complexity of flavor while minimizing the number of ingredients. Didn't happen here. So, that's my beef.

Pros: Pasta was good. They seem to be staying true to a culinary choice.

Cons: Pasta sauces were dull. They're culinary choice doesn't work for me.

08/17/2008 Posted by exl

Four of us dined at this place over the weekend. Everything was okay until we asked for parmesan cheese for our pizza. The waitress and manager curtly replied that it is their policy not to allow parmesan to be sprinkled on the pizza, and would not oblige. The manager suggested we speak with the owner if we didn't like the policy. We took her up on that offer. The manager returned with "he's too busy to come over and speak to you." Must be all those other irate customers who are taking up his time. In any event, we sucked it up and held our tongues. After we finished our meal, we asked to see the desert menu. Instead, the waitress dropped off a check and said the owner would rather we just leave. A minute later, the owner came by and said "pay and get out." Now that was it. The four of us made it quite explicit that we were being disrespected and that his behavior, in addition to his silly and inane "no parmesan" policy, were unacceptable. Suffice it to say, after we got done ass-reaming the owner and his staff, he "comped" the meal, tucked his tail between his legs, and returned to the rock from under which he emerged. Now, I can already hear the wannabees cry, "Oh, but it's so authentic!!!" Listen, the only clowns worse than the clowns who run this joint are the miserable and masochistic losers who confuse "authenticity" with "vulgarity." And that's exactly what this place is: vulgar. Nasty, mean-spirited managers/owners/waitstaff who think arrogance and nastiness can make up for mediocre food. It doesn't. Rude owners get emboldened by nebbish, milquetoast hipster/wannabees who get off on eating at a police-state restaurant, because it provides their otherwise meaningless existence with the feeling that they just ate some 'authentic' food. Not only will Terrino never get our business again, but we are quite confident that after the scene we made, many other customers won't be returning either. Capice?

Pros: Comped meal.

Cons: Everything else.

08/08/2008 Posted by christophermullen

"Stop, please reconsider, there are too many other places"...is basically what I said before we went to Terroni for a dinner before a show at The El Rey. The buzz was not great, and some of the reviews were really bad, but that can be said for many places. So alas we went, and while the night began on a promising note, it quickly slid down hill faster than a monkey on banana peel skis. The cute hostesses were kind enough, we had a party of eight and we wanted to sit outside. They don't take reservations, although you should before eating here, and they worked out something for us rather quickly, but that is where the good times came to an abrupt halt. Our round of drinks, FINALLY taken by a waiter who was more interested in being Italian than in our actual order, was a disaster. So much so we were comped a bottle of wine. Which just meant we would have to spend more time at the restaurant. I quickly got the impression that upset customers is a house speciality. Let's just say service is poor and move on. Word on the street is that the pizza is pretty good, so we ordered 4 kinds and a couple of salads. Just not good! Not uneatable, but not good. Not worth it. Go to Trader Joe's, buy some dough, sprinkle on some cheese and you would far surpass your potential dinning experience at Terroni. I mean it. So where are we? Bad service, pizza slightly above the quality of frozen, no reservations and bad cocktails. In Los Angeles? Have you ever had the pizza at Angelini? How about Orso, or even The Ivy and I haven't even scratched the surface. We could have gone to the Farmer's Market, grabbed a slice and a pitcher of beer and been out of there for 10 bucks each. It set us back $65 per couple. I felt violated, truly. Believe me, it could have been a huge bonus for me if the place was good. It is near my office and on my way home, but unfortunately it is a huge pile. If Mozza is the pizza mecca, then this is as close to hell as I went to get.

Pros: None come to mind

Cons: parking, service, food, no reservations, cocktails

08/07/2008 Posted by akaNicole

I do not understand why this place is packed. I have eaten here twice when dragged by friends and I do not get it. They don't take reservations, they are not friendly, the food is not that good and god forbid if you are allergic to something because they will not remove it from your dish (i.e. mushrooms from your pasta) and won't cut your pizza. This would take a second with a cleaver and a cutting board but instead you have to saw it with a steak knife on your ceramic plate. Why is this? Crazy. They say this people are like this because this is how it is in Italy, but I've traveled extensively through Southern Italy, Rome, Naples, the Amalfi Coast and never had anything but great service and both tiny trattoria's and Michelin starred restaurants. Fortunately for them they don't need my business, hopefully everyone else will wise up soon.

Cons: won't cut your pizza, won't be nice to you, god forbid if you are allergic to something you will just have to suffer