Dels Italian Kitchen

FOOD:
We had come here on a Saturday evening for dinner at around 6:45 pm. For our main dishes, I had chosen the Mascarpone & Truffle Ravioli ($19.25), while my husband had settled on the Chicken Marsala ($24.95). We were given complimentary bread at the beginning of our dining experience, which was actually baked right into a pot, served with two different flavours of deliciously flavoured butter. The bread was absolutely AMAZING; coming out hot (temperature-wise) from the oven, along with a beautiful presentation which made me want more and more. Definitely one of the best complimentary bread dishes that I have ever had; you could tell that effort was put into making the bread look and taste excellent.

In terms of our main dishes though, I was a bit disappointed in the dish that I had ordered. I had asked the server how big my dish would be, and she told me that it would be a good size. I then thought that I would be receiving a substantial amount however, I then received a dish which consisted of about 10 ravioli, which were all of a medium-size. The sauce that was included in the dish itself was very delicious, with just the perfect amount of flavour and spice, definitely one of the best ravioli sauces that I have ever tasted. The berries and truffles that were included in the sauce were to die for, very well-blended and presented. However, the amount that was given to me was much too small considering what I had paid for it.

My husband’s dish was much bigger, with a large piece of chicken, and a wealth of spaghetti underneath the piece of chicken. His chicken tasted quite moist, however, the spaghetti was a bit flavourless, tasting as though more salt was needed. We had mentioned that it was our anniversary upon entering therefore, our server brought over a complimentary dessert of Tiramisu, which we thought was very kind of her. However, I told her that I wasn’t able to eat it as there was an ingredient in there that I wasn’t able to have. I was a tad disappointed that she didn’t bring over another dessert that I could actually eat, as my husband was the only one that was able to eat the Tiramisu.

ATMOSPHERE:
This restaurant was situated at the bottom of the Charcoal Steakhouse. It had a long staircase going down to the restaurant, which ended in a fancy dining room made up of many different areas. There were beautiful paintings on the wall, along with artifacts on the shelves, and a Vespa at the lobby near the front desk. It also had an open kitchen, in which we were able to see the chefs working. The lighting was dimmed, which made for a nice ambiance, along with popular Italian music playing in the background. I did like the atmosphere, and found it delightful while dining.

SERVICE:
I had called about thirty-minutes before arriving to see if I needed to make reservations. The hostess said that it would be a good idea therefore, I had made reservations. When we had arrived, we noticed that the restaurant was only a ¼ full therefore, we were confused as to why we had to make reservations. Nevertheless, when we were seated, our server was very kind from the moment we walked-in, until we had completed our meals. She came by to see how we were doing as we were dining, and even brought us a complimentary dessert (even though I was unable to eat it). Definitely a great place for attentive service.

COST:
1 Mascarpone & Truffle Ravioli ($19.25) + 1 Chicken Marsala ($24.95) = $49.94 (Taxes Included)

WOULD YOU RETURN?
Yes, only because I have heard that their pizza is delicious, and would like to try it. I wouldn’t try any of their pasta dishes though as I was disappointed with the amount that I had received.

Excellent food experience with a fantastic customer service from our server Chris and the supervisor Jessie!
The new food menu is amazing, Lorenzo is my best pizza from the three I've tried. Fresh home bakes bread, and home cured cold cuts.
We were celebrating our friends' anniversary, therefore all of us (8 pax) were served a complimentary drink after our meal, and the celebrated couple walked away by a $40 gift card at any of the Charcoal Group outlets.

Food Taste: 5/5
Food Presentation: 4.5/5
Meal Freshness: 5/5
Staff Attitude: 5/5
Staff Attentive: 5/5
Speed of Service: 5/5
Cleanliness: 4.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 5/5 
Children's Menu: 5/5

Went here recently for New Years Eve and definitely impressed! A little bit confusing since this restaurant is at the basement level of Charcoal. Had the prix fixed 4 course meal and it was more than enough to fill me. Food was delicious! Love the apple cinnamon butter that comes with the bread. Service was exceptional! Manger kept coming around to check up on us and server was joyful even though she was workin on the holiday. Even offered to take a photo for me. Will definitely come back again!

Upbeat, yet cozy. This place is one of our favorites. It's the kind of place that you can settle into for the evening with a group of friends, or your special date. The food is delicious. The wait staff are friendly.

Say Goood Cheeeeeeeezzzzzzze. It was a Thursday night around 6pm. The place was just starting to get busy. I was solo and the nice hostess show me to the dinning area where there are two tables with four big armchairs per table. I said to her it's a big table for one person. She said they only have big tables and the armchairs are very comfortable. She was wrong about only have big tables because I saw at least one empty table small enough for two people. But she was RIGHT about the armchairs are comfortable, I say VERY comfortable. And there are only two tables like that in the entire restaurant and they are in the middle of the dinning room. So why was she showing me to one of those table, I will leave that as mystery.

Virgin Caesar to begin my three courses meal. The bread came first. It was a baked inside a small clay flower pot. It has a napkin wrap around it. It was because the clay flower pot was still very warm, almost hot to touch. The bread, of course, was very warm too. The clay pot has kept the bread warm for at 20 mins. When I finished my Italian Meat and Cheese Board, the very last piece of bread in the pot was still warm to the mouth. The bread came with two kind of spread, a apple cinnamon and some sort of lime spread. Both were excellent. I prefer the apple cinnamon but the lime spread also has its own taste but it is a little too weak for my taste. If it has a stronger lime taste to it, I would put it equal to the apple cinnamon. Both warm flower potted bread and the two kind of spreads are a very nice touch and good surprise.

Back to the meat and cheeeeeeeeze board. Short version, I love it. Cheeese are stinking good. Yes, I said stinking....... good. I like cheese stink. The stinkier the better. I suppose they have better words to call stinking cheese but I use the word I know. For $18.99, I believe some people would think it is a bit on the high side. However, for the quality of cheese and the detail touch of the rest of the board, with three kinds of olives, three meats and three types of cheese, to me, it's a fair price.

Mediterranean pizza next. It's a 10" thin crust pizza. I think for $13.99, I would rather have one of this pizza than going to any take out pizza place, pay the same price for their regular cheese and meat pizza. I wonder do they offer take out? This pizza has good flour and San Marzano tomato sauce does seem to make a different. And I love olives on pizza. This pizza is better than California Pizza Kitchener thin crust pizza and it is at least $2.50 cheaper, based on today's exchange rate.

The dessert was a chocolate mousse cake with blueberry, strawberry and raspberry coulis. It tasted very good but nothing really special about it, worth the cost though. The espresso was a tiny bit weak.

Overall, I had a good time at the restaurant. Food and service good. I will go back and try their pasta next time and ask for the table with armchairs.

Additional info.......
Del Dente is one of Charcoal Group of restaurant located at the lower level of Charcoal Steak House. You can't see it from the street. It took me a moment to locate it. The multi level parking garage are share with a hotel and it NEEDS some TLC. Del Dente certainly is a nice place. It just need the parking lot to match. Since Charcoal Steak House and Martini are share the same building, I think the Charcoal Group can spend a little money to fix up the parking garage. Have the hotel to chip in the repair cost too.

June 8, 2013
After three months of dinner every once a week at del Dente, I like it even more.

When we arrived we were taken to a raised table and chair which we cannot sit at comfortably so they took us to another table for 2 which was good. Service was excellent and we have no complaints. Food was flavorful and pasta dish fettuccine Stella close to authentic. Creme brulee was average and pizza good. Mediterranean mussels were amazing and we enjoyed the deep fried calamari and shrimp. Will go back to try other dishes.

What a fantastic dinner with great friends. Thank you for a great evening out. The pasta was delicious and the bread warm and fresh !! ( and to my surprise you had my favourite, burrata cheese, that 6 starts if I could )

A great find! We were initially drawn to the outdoor patio but once we got inside it looked great so ate indoors. The Pepperoni Pizza was excelent and the flower pot bread a real interesting surprise. The menu looked great, the staff excellent, and the decor was very nice inside. Plenty of room for plenty of people!

I love this place. The food was excellent and is reasonably priced. Service was excellent. You can tell everyone who works there puts the effort and care into making sure you have a great dining experience.

We came out last night for new years even with our 2 year old. The atsmohere was great the service staff was very accommodating to us and the baby. The night didn't go as planed as our child got very cranky and wanted to sleep. We had to get our food packed up to go. The management and the service staff was so accommodating that we have no words to describe our appreciation. Thank you so much, you made our night!