december.fly 0 Jan 03,2011

very impressive

First visit to this eatery and the intimate atmos really impressed. Nice entrance, clean enough, great dec and lighting and best of all was low noise level. We felt as though we were alone there and when we rose to leave, the place was full. Service was good and pleasant staff. I liked the pizza crust and simple visual presentation, very casual like home. Lots of plates on the table don't know why and was glad I could hardly glimpse the sports bar side from my table. Wine list nice and dessert was made on site, love that. I think they are doing a good bit better than some of these reviews would indicate although I really need to try a few more dishes to be able to form a rounded opinion. I did like the flavours of the ingredients on my pizza and I will be going back as the overall experience is definitely worth the cost. I would take friends from out of town here or come here during the day on business or on a date any time.

Joseph Jan 06,2010

I don't usually give reviews, but Baldini's was worth a word or two. But I won't use them for fear of censorship.

The appetiser was great. The wine was very nice. Beyond that, it got pretty rocky. My pasta (something boasting steak, as I recall) was a bit like having Tomato soup over noodles with a sliver of steak stirred in. My wife had a fish special, which she ate. The rest of us, (we were four) left our plates after playing with the unineresting food.

I didn't pay the bill, I was a guest, so I'm not certain of the cost, but it was certainly more than the dinner was worth. ON a scale of one to ten, I give it a three.

John Garcia Dec 07,2007

Last night my wife and I had dinner at Baldini. It was our first visit.We ordered an appetizer "Carpaccio" main course meat special " Beef tenderloins" and conpolo pasta. The food was very good and service as well. My wife liked the pasta lots of flavour. Long time after I had a good steak.We really enjoyed our dinner. They care the food. WE will go back definitely.

Mario Feb 19,2007

I had a lovely 3-hour lunch at Baldini on Monday, and I discovered a restaurant to which I plan to return many times.
The place has a charming atmosphere. The colour scheme is warm, the art on the walls is lovely, and the furniture is comfortable.
The selection of background music focused on jazz and light blues standards. The music was present and created a relaxed atmospher. It was played at at ideal level; I never once had to struggle to hear my lunch companion.
Although the restaurant was almost full (only 8 or 9 tabkes), the noise levels never became too much to handle....as is the case in so many restaurants.
The food was basic but very well prepared.
I had a roasted red pepper soup that was highly flavourful. It was not cream-based, so it served as a perfect appetizer.
We ordered pizzas for our mains. Good, fresh ingredients with an excellent, thin crust.
And their house wine (an Italian from Abruzzo) was surprisingly satisfying.
I will DEFINITELY be back.

bb3 Sep 14,2006

Just got back. My wife went there for brunch and was very pleased with the eggs, so we tried dinner. We like italian food and have a soft spot for local italian diners and Baldini's fits the bill. Overall, the food was good, competent, fresh and of good quality. It was not exquisite or on par with top italian restaurants in Toronto, nor was it overly unique, but it was good enough to keep us coming back.

My wife said her pizza had too many lingering and strong spices on it. It made the pizza less than enjoyable, but not necessarily bad. I had a baked pasta with chicken and mushrooms, which I really enjoyed. The tomato sauce has a lot of oil in it, is peppery, and does not have a strong tomato taste. This type of sauce is personally to my taste, but I can see how the previous reviewer may have found certain things off with the food. The mushrooms on both the pizza and in the pasta were canned. Personally I like canned mushrooms, but have never seen this before in an italian restaurant. While not a turn-off, it took away from the "presentation" of the food.

The value for money is excellent and is a strong-point. A place at Yonge & Eglinton would easily charge $3-$7 more per plate for roughly the same quality of food.

embee Sep 04,2006

Had dinner there yesterday. The quite conventional (Italian via California) menu sounded good (though not at all exciting) and the prices are very reasonable. The food was all of good quality, but preparation was flawed across the board. Don't know whether it was poor recipes or poor chef skill, but something was wrong with everything. This made the meal less than enjoyable.

We were the only customers. Service was prompt.

We were immediately served water and offered lemon slices (not licensed yet; good start). "Homemade" rolls appeared next. They were good enough, but had no crust and had the taste and texture of a supermarket product from a plastic bag. We were offered more. The oil-vinegar dip had two tasty individual components, but the flavours would not amalgamate come what may--even once soaked into the bread. Odd. This failure to amalgamate became the theme of the meal.

The Caesar salad was fresh and crisp. The dressing was, again, good enough, but it was one dimensional, somewhat harsh, and tasted strongly of anchovy paste. I love anchovies, but this didn't enhance. There was no discernable garlic and the homemade croutons were not crisp and had little taste.

The spagettini with chicken and sun dried tomatoes shared the flaw of good ingredients that just didn't sing. This dish tasted better this afternoon, cold from our fridge.

The giardino pizza was a thin crust loaded with nice vegetables and good Bocconcini cheese. The crust was unexceptional. The "did not amalgamate" theme intruded again. Although the veggies were cooked through, they lacked gustatory interest. They would have been much better if sauteed in advance or even if drizzled with some good olive oil. There was a strong, one-dimemsional taste of a dried herb (marjoram??) that caught in the throat. The sauce wasn't discernable. Although not garlicky on first mouthful, an aftertaste of dried or processed garlic lingered afterward. The cheese melted into succulent puddles, but I don't find Bocconcini works on pizza. It is too watery and has too mild a taste. Regular mozz would be better.

I really, REALLY want them to succeed, but I was not impressed. Since it's a new place, we'll probably try them again in a couple of months.

duchesse Sep 02,2006

very enjoyable and not yet overun. Perfect eggs benny, good French Toast. Order a side of sausage with Taost, they were perfect tiny handmade ones. Very good Italian coffee.
This place cares!