Reviews Cotto Italian Comfort Food

Zomato
Ian Young
+5
17 Full Happy Customers!!   Huge thanks to Giuseppe, Fiona and Cotto's entire staff for a fabulous retirement dinner Friday, June 29 2018.  The food was fantastic, the service very personal and attentive .... and all 17 guests raved about both the quality and variety of outstanding Italian food.  Thanks so much for a great multi course evening, tie spent pre-planning to fit budget and food choices, and a night of dining that exceeding everyones expectations!!  Love the decor as well!!  Thanks again
Jul 01, 2018
Zomato
Facebook User
+4.5
Went here with my wife and I’m-laws before the opera, and it was fantastic. Everything we had was delicious. The frittelle are divine and a nice way to start off you meal. Really, though, everything we had was great (paparadelle, carbonara, and the orecchiette). Cotto is worth a shot. I will certainly be going back.
Nov 26, 2017
Zomato
TanyaR
+4.5
Cotto is a relatively new restaurant in Kensington that serves Italian comfort food. I signed up for a dinner event at Cotto through a Meetup.com group called Calgary Supper Club (30 something). Well, as we all know I won’t be in my 30’s for much longer, but I hope they don’t kick me out just because of that…
Oct 02, 2017
Zomato
Courtney Stephenson
+5
Omg yum! Great food and great service! Very pleased. Had the pork Milanese and left in a food coma. I enjoyed the atmosphere as well, relaxed yet refined.
Sep 13, 2017
Zomato
Sovain
+4
We had a great time. Chef Giuseppe is a master and we're thrilled he's opened this charming restaurant. All of the staff have great people skills and are really engaged. Thank you Fabio for a great evening. The wine selection was refreshing. We had the prawn appetizer, the veal and a few desserts. Clinton, thanks for the grappa and telling us about your holiday in Greece. It was like being at a little bistro in Italy. I'll stop in for lunch soon. The pappardelle is calling me...
Aug 14, 2017
Zomato
Kyle
+5
We had an amazing time here! Great prices, great food - particularly the pork chop and arancini! Our waiter was fantastic. Thanks for a great night!
Jun 03, 2017
Zomato
Jenna LeBlanc
+5
Seriously fantastic restaurant. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, the chef even came out from the kitchen to see how we enjoyed the meal. I had the ricotta and onion-stuffed crêpes and they were AMAZING...my friend's fish was cooked to perfection, and the desserts were so fresh and flavourful. Seriously recommended, and so happy to have this place in my neighbourhood, I will be back for sure!!
Mar 27, 2017
Zomato
Food Maven
+3.5
My husband and I tried this new restaurant on a Saturday evening after it had been open just over one week. We knew we were taking a risk, but hoped that the food would be good given the experience of the chef.

I started with a glass of their sparkling and my husband ordered a draft beer. After our waitress served our drinks and poured our complimentary still and sparkling water, she asked if we wanted to start with an appetizer. I asked a few questions and she replied with a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge. We settled on the arancini which she explained was not made from leftover risotto like most restaurants. Instead, it is made with fresh risotto expressly made to make the arancini. The arancini was lovely and it came with a bit a creamy cheese sauce dribbled over it. I would have liked just a little bit more of the sauce for dipping the arancini...yum!

While we were eating our appetizer, we saw a table arrive with their own bottle of wine. We also heard the waiter go over the soup of the day, the DOP plate cheese and some other special. Our waitress has gone over none of this with us.

When our waitress came by later to take our main orders, I asked what their corkage fee was for wine. She explained that there was no fee, but if it was a table of 4, you could bring one bottle, but had to also order a bottle from the restaurant. She then went on that if was just 2 people like us, they did not expect us to drink 2 bottles, and so she thought we just had to order 2 drinks, but she said she was not 100% certain. She asked if we wanted her to send over one of the mangers to explain how it worked, and we replied "yes". No one ever came to our table to explain about their corkage fees.

Our mains were brought to the table by another waiter. By this time, my prosecco was almost finished with maybe an ounce left in my glass. I was not offered a refill. I had the ricotta gnocchi and my husband had the ossobuco with saffron risotto. My gnocchi was tasty and was as expected. The sauce on the ossobuco was lovely. However, while it did come apart easily and was tasty overall, it was on the dry side. It would have been much better had it not been dry. The risotto was perfect in taste and texture.

When I was less that 1/8 through my gnocchi, I finished my drink. No one had been around to see if I wanted a refill. When my husband saw my empty glass, he asked if I wanted another and I said yes. About 5 minutes later, we saw our waitress come to another table and my husband waived to get her attention. He asked for a refill on my prosecco. At this point I was 1/3 through my plate. She then started chatting with us and asking about our meal. She chatted for a good 3-5 minutes and then left us. I tried to eat as slowly as possible. My husband finished his plate and when I was down to 8 gnocchi, I still had not been served my drink. We saw our waitress come by with another table's drink order and waived at her to come by. When she did, we asked her to cancel my drink as I was finished with my meal. She said okay, but offered no apology.

I would have given the meal at least a 4 had the service been better. If the ossobuco had been less dry, the restaurant would have merited a 4.5. We agreed to try it again in 6-8 weeks to see if the service improved. The saving grace was that the waitress was both sweet and friendly, and the overall meal was above average in taste and quality. I sincerely hope that the service can be improved as this restaurant is close to our house and I'd love for it to become one of our regular haunts.
Mar 23, 2017
4
Jeffrey Joseph
+4
Beautiful presentation and very good service throughout our dining experience. Somewhat smaller portions than I was expecting but would definitely visit again.
5
Kimberly Lam
+5
The name has it to match the environment. Walking in, with the sky light and warm wood flooring, you feel so at home! We came in with the intention with trying their Italian Job with a small assortment of their appetizer, choice of pasta and Panna cotta, but we're swayed with their special of the night (Veal) and their half plate Caprese salad. The salad comes with half a mozzarella that was so soft and fresh paired with a subtly sweet olive oil. Delish! I got the Ziti with pulled duck meat with the pasta cooked to the perfect consistency that wasn't too chewy nor too soft! It was deliciously rich! The veal was also cooked perfectly and came with an assortment of vegetables and had a flavourful sauce covering it. Dessert almost brought tears to my eyes - the size is perfect to end your meal where it didn't make you regret ordering more than one. The cheesecake was a rich chocolate with a fresh raspberry and a sprinkle of cornflakes! The Panna cotta was beautifully fluffy with a yummy strawberry orange coulis with a topping of toasted almonds. Service was attentive and everyone was respectful and were always asking how we were doing to ensure our needs were met. They are happy to have conversations or let you enjoy the night with your SO. So happy to have come and hope to go again to try their other pastas and gelato/sorbets. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate our dating anniversary!
5
xin
+5
A lovely Italian place, the pasta are amazing, rich in flavors. Tiramisu was the cherry on top. We had an amazing time here, the service was great as well.
5
D. Ursulescu
+5
After going to Tuscany Italy for the past 18 years and eating excellent Italian food, I would say Cotto is the best Italian restaurant in Calgary. Guiseppe di Gennaro is a genius.
5
Andrea Michalchuk
+5
Great food, amazing service. We will be back. Loved our server, he was so delightful.
5
Brittnee Blair
+5
Italian Comfort Food at its BEST! My partner and I went to this restaurant last week and had the weekly special “Italian job”. It’s was Delicious! Our server Dean was especially helpful, professional, and courteous. He truly made our experience special. As for the food, I cannot say enough positive things about it. Every course was served fresh, flavourful, and in beautifully sized portions that were curated to take you on a true culinary journey. We will most definitely be back for the Cheesy Risotto! Thank you!
5
Leah V
+5
Cotto was amazing. Definitely order the caprese salad and the truffle orcchiette. Everything my family ate for dinner was fresh and beautifully put together. We also had gelato, the pistachio and amarino cherry, which was so good! We also brought our own wine and always appreciate restaurants that allow this and just charge a corkage fee.
5
Joanna Gayos
+5
Accidentally stumbled upon this place as my bf and I were actually trying to eat at the place next door but they had a long wait (lowkey thankful because then we wouldn’t have been able to try this place out!). All of the reviews on here are pretty much spot on. The menu is simple but I don’t doubt for one second that each dish is refined almost to perfection. The caprese salad and orecchiette truffle pasta are must try’s! First of all, their caprese salad was so fresh and so light but packed with outstanding flavour. We also had the arancini and fritelle appetizers—also very good! The orecchiette pasta is hard to explain, you just HAVE to try it and see for yourself. You know when you’re eating pasta and the first few bites are good but then as you keep eating it you kinda get tired of it? This one was different. I felt like every bite was unique in and of itself. Seriously, just try it. Lastly, we had the pannacotta for dessert which was the right amount of sweetness in my opinion. Great way to top off the meal. The atmosphere was quite peaceful and the staff are super friendly as well which is a huge bonus.
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