Pulcinella

This place is a gem along Lake Shore. Living in Woodbridge I have to say this is one of the best Italian restaurant I have eaten at. The food is quick fresh and tasty. Appetizers are quite intriguing I had the polenta and it was delicious. I have been there twice and for some reason it is half to almost empty not sure why it is a bit pricey but well worth the money. Service is quite good as well.

Really not sure why this place isn’t getting good reviews. We went there for summerlicous but decided to just order off the menu. Everything we had was great and fresh.
Starters: Grilled calamari with sauteed tomatoes. This was absolutely delicious, the calamari was cooked perfectly and the sauce was super tasty.
Main: Pizza and pasta — Pasta was amazing, they cooked it to perfection and both me and the wifey were fighting over the last bite.
Pizza — was good, think crust, tasty toppings.
All in all a nice meal. I’m also not sure why this place is rated with 4 $$$$, it’s really not that expensive. Maybe having lived downtown we are accustomed to meals costing around $ 20…
We will definitely be back!

We live in the hood and four friends and I dined there during Summerlicious. As disappointing as my previous experiences with my husband, who actually doesn’t mind the place but I think that’s mainly because our hood has very little competition. My salad was blaze’, the trout cooked perfectly but had no sauce, herbs or anything to add flavour, the faro the same. Two others had the chicken and they left half as it was dry and chewy, when we mentioned this — politely — it was shrugged off. Our server/​manager was almost condescending when we first arrived when he started explaining the wines to us. believe me we look like seasoned wine drinkers :)
Previous meals have been less than adequate in my mind, tasteless Bolognese, underdone pizza, mediocre salads. not to mention it’s over priced… I don’t care what my hubby says, I’m not going back. there are better places even in our hood.

This place is retarded, always empty, looks more like a funeral home. the patio is crazy if you want to eat and inhale exhaust fumes by the road. hmmm most of these reviews are from the employed staff lol anyhow will never eat there. besides the iconic sign with the face looks like someones butt!

I was really excited about this place at first, but cannot find a reason to go there any longer. It is really, really overpriced for the quality of food they provide.
Last time my pizza was so burned on the bottom, it was charcoal black and bitter. And things like that happen quite often there — which is unfortunate, is it’s one of the few places with a summer patio in the ares (and I love Italian restos… but not this one)
Now I go there only if I am dragged by friends.

I am more and more impressed with this place. This evening was excellent starting with our über knowledgeable waiter, Giovanni. He offered specifics on how the food was prepared and the various wine pairings with each of our meal choices. I was very impressed.
This evening my dinner date started off with the Carpaccio and arugula salad with pine nuts and I has a simple salad. For mains I has the Cioppino, a seafood stew with pastina pasta. I had it the last time I was here but needed to have it again. The broth was perfection! My partner had the house feature which was Bison rib steak with Brocoletti. There wasn’t much left on his plate and he said it was outstanding.
The bottle of wine we chose on recommendation from Giovanni was Blazon from California. This Pinot noir was so yummy and I could have easily had more … Burb!
We didn’t have dessert but the feature was Zeppole and any proper Italian would know that Zeppole is a treat this time of year. I kind is regret not getting them. I am liking this place more and more and I feel taken care of when I come here. I will definitely return!

Had a late Friday night dinner there with the girlfriend recently. Walked in without reservations and didn’t have to wait for a table, but the restaurant was medium busy with one large group and a couple of regular sized tables. It was a cold night though, so during the warmer months, it might be a little busier.
The wait staff were super helpful, recommended beers for us when our first choice was out of stock.
For the appetizer platter, I have the salami board, which featured a bunch of different types of cured meats with olives and a large portion of chunks of parmesan reggiano. The house made duck breast prosciutto was crazy delicious.
I have the daily special, a huge Fred Flintsone sized bison steak. I wasn’t too familiar with the meat so the waiter recommended the best temperature to cook it to for me. All of the sides were delicious.
The prices were high, but the food was not just better than anything else you would find in the area, it was incredible. Will visit again.

The best restaurant in the neighbourhood. We have had some great meals here and I would have rated it higher except it isn’t always consistent. It is one of my go-​to places for a nice lunch or dinner.
The service has always been good and the ambience is nice.

We saw this restaurant for a few years since we moved into the neighborhood, but today we finally made the leap and checked it out.
The food was superb!!! Very fresh tasting and authentic. Beautiful atmosphere, small and romantic. Staff also very warm and attentive.
Our new favorite spot in south etobicoke!

After finishing my last Italian class for the season and in preparation for my trip to Rome, I decided to have some good Italian food. The issue is that the weather was crappy and I was not willing to drive much and go to my favourite Italian places so I decided to go to Pulcinella.
Pulcinella is located on Lake Shore West and it is surrounded by some run down businesses, a pain centre, and a convenience store. It is not the prettiest part of Lake Shore but if you walk a bit more to the west you will find Woody’s Burger and Burrito Boyz. Not that will get prettier, but it will get tastier.
The décor was nice and on the contemporary side. Wooden tables, white table cloths, pictures of italian landscape and stone on the walls. The list goes on…
The service was attentive and extremely polite.
The bread was delicious! I had the papperdelle ortolana, a pasta dish with sweet sausage, peas, asparagus, and leek, tossed in a wine creamy sauce. The food was tasty and good, not exceptionally good.
Will I return to Pulcinella? Of course I will! The have reliable comfort food.

So happy to find this gem of a restaurant in our new neighborhood. The food is amazing, you can really taste the flavours of the fresh herbs and ingredients. Unlike some other Toronto fine Italian restaurants, this place uses real olive oil and does not douse everything in butter for flavour and didn’t mask the taste of the dish with an overdose of cheese.
I started with the delicious lamb skewers and had the gnocchi for main (also yummy). The house wine was a perfect compliment for both my main and my fiancé’s pene bolognese.
Our waiter Julien was courteous, friendly and knowledgeable. We will be back for years to come.

We went here for a family dinner. The service was excellent with a very friendly atmosphere. The décor was very nice. I had the pasta which I did enjoy, my wife had the steak which was mediocre. There is no children’s menu.

Italian food made fresh, with the love and care we found in Italy. The wait staff is competent and friendly, the kitchen is fabulous, and the house red wine is a beautiful Montpolicella Abruzzo. They treated us very well from the moment we entered, and I can’t say enough good things about the food and service.
We went on our 5^th anniversary; there happened to be a couple celebrating their 50^th anniversary – the staff treated both tables and parties well. Our waiter was charming and efficient; the guitar player was enjoyable, never too obtrusive but always providing enjoyable music. When he learned that my wife was of French descent (from our waiter, who was himself from southern France), he played a traditional French song that my wife thoroughly enjoyed hearing. The decorations and ambiance on the upper floor (where we ate) are cozy without being too dark; the downstairs dining room is much darker, but would still be fairly cozy.
We had the Semplice salad (fresh, crisp), the soft polenta (amazing, and a must try), the Carmela pizza, and the butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli. For dessert, we tried Lella’s Decadent Plate and it was tremendous. (We were also able to try the tiramisu because the staff gave us a piece of tiramisu in honour of our anniversary. A definite win in the customer service department.)
The prices are in line with the quality, freshness, and service you receive.

My husband and I went to Pulcinella for dinner tonight.
We were a tad anxious about bringing our 4 month old with us, because it looked like a rather fancy place. There was no need for that, as the staff adored our baby!
The restaurant was very nicely decorated with beautiful paintings of Italy and of course, Pulcinella (the Comedia Dell Arte character.)
There was a man playing guitar, singing lovely Italian songs in the background. He took breaks to come over and strum for our daughter.
They started our meal with delicious bread in olive oil and olives to the side. I’m not a huge bread fan, but we asked for a second plate to go with our appetizer of burrata cheese (accompanied by melons, arugula and onions). Oh my goodness, the burrata was melt in your mouth goodness!!! It is made in house. If you have not tried burrata and like buffalo mozzarella, brie or other soft cheeses you should order it. I think it’s my new favourite food.
For mains, I ordered the Pulcinella pizza and my husband ordered a sausage pasta. Both were perfect.
We accompanied our meals with birra theresianer. We both preferred the blonde to the amber. We will be trying to find it at the LCBO.
Overall, this was probably the best Italian meal I have ever had (and I stayed with a family in Italy for a week, experiencing ‘mom’s home cooking’ so I do not say that lightly!)
I noticed Pulcinella won the «Gem of the Lakeshore» award and I can certainly see why.

Not impressed. The food was mediocre at best. The acoustics was horrible … we had to yell across the table to hear each other. I had the ravioli and it was under cooked and hard. Skip this place.

My husband took me here for my birthday in May and since then I have had the opportunity to go back on two other occaisions– once with a girlfriend & once on business.
It is a bit of a splurge if you do the appie, entrée, dessert & wine however; the food is so good I don’t mind.

We were so happy when this place popped up in our neighbourhood early this year! It stands out as they gave a complete facelift to the outside of the restaurant. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the staff are incredibly friendly! We splurged on our meal but it was well worth it for the quality of the food. The menu is seasonal, so see what’s available when you’re in, I’m sure it’ll be delicious, and the staff will be more than willing to offer up some recommendations. Go for the antipasti tray to start — fantastic!