Black Skirt

Dinner at Black Skirt is very good. I have been a couple of times, and each time it has been warm and welcoming. The pistachio pasta very good, maybe a little heavy on the sauce, it became a little overwhelming half way through. The bread was also very good. They had a nice wine, cocktail and after dinner liqueur list. Maybe next time I will skip the salad before my main meal, and have room for what looked like great desserts.
The only downfall to this restaurant is the odd way the tables are spaced. All kinds of room in the front. But at the back, the tables are sitting right on top of each other. No way to carry on a conversation.

Came here for lunch on a weekday. Plenty of seating, no reservations needed.
We ordered two dishes:
Octopus 13.95 (⁹⁄₁₀) –the thinly sliced marinated octopus served over arugula was light and delightful. The portion was sizeable for lunch. The dressing on the salad was just a touch too heavy.
Steak salad 24.00 (⁹⁄₁₀) — This is a dinner menu item but the chef was willing to make it for lunch. A simple dish with three grilled beef tenderloin medallions served over an arugula salad. The juicy beef tenderloin was grilled to a perfect medium rare. Ordered dressing on the size, but all the greens seem to have been pre-​doused with a heavy hand of balsamic vinegar.
Rating Summary:
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀ — Excellent Food, just a tad too much balsamic on greens.
Atmosphere: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ — Perfect spot for a lunch meeting. Modern décor, spacious, plenty of seating and music volume wasn’t overbearing.
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ — Water service in check, friendly staff and quick service for a lunch hour.
Would definitely come back again to try the rest of the menu.

The service was definitely the most excellent part of this lunch experience, and would get five stars.
The food was average Italian, tapas size.
Octopus was fresh but bland, goat cheese and beet salad really needed a twist, it was also very plain.
Aranciata ball was tasty. Not greasy and pretty huge.
Shrimp app was disappointing. Three small shrimp in a very nice fresh tomato sauce but it was so tiny.
Cocktails were ok. Nothing you wouldn’t do at home though. And I don’t think I will have the vodka with grapefruit pop again. Makes for a mild hangover the next day.
I hear the pastas are good, and that will be what we try next time since the service was so great.

This restaurant has been in the neck of my woods for awhile but never had the chance to try it until recently. My boyfriend and I decided to try this place on a whim. It was a Saturday night and as expected, this place was fully packed with people. The place was on a smaller size and the ambiance was a bit too dark for my usual liking but overall the décor was quaint with an Italian touch.
As I perused their menu, I was drawn to their pasta section. I couldn’t resist the sound of their puttanesca pasta — penne with capers, olives, tomatoes, basil, and salted anchovies in spicy tomato sauce. For all the spicy lovers out there, this is a must try dish. You will not be disappointed but beware, it will make you sweat profusely so just keep a few napkins handy to wipe the sweat off. My boyfriend had the porcini pasta — penne with oyster, crimini, and portobello mushrooms in a parmigiano and porcini cream sauce. I was able to sample a bit from his plate and this dish definitely was packed with bold flavour. I can taste the individual mushroom bits and the sauce was creamy enough to coat each piece of pasta with just enough sauce.
We decided to share the Calabrisella appetizer that came in two different toppings which you can spread it over toasted Italian bread. I enjoyed the rosemarina which was a spicy calabrese caviar and the n’duja — smoke pork sausage was more on a saltier side which the bread took some of the edge off. I would probably rate this average since I don’t particularly like my food too salty.
To end our main dish, we both ordered sicilian cannoli — fresh filled mini ricotta cannoli with crushed pistachios. I have mixed review about this dessert. The filling was rich and creamy but I had better ones in Boston. For what it’s worth, I feel that their desserts are a bit overly priced for the portion size they offered. Definitely can do without dessert next time.
I can’t give enough credit to our waitress that night. She was exceptionally professional and provided great service to us. She was attentive and was detailed oriented. Look no further if you’re seeking good wholesome food and great service. Black skirt is your go to place then!

Yumm!!! This place is the best. The chicken sandwich with goat cheese is melt in your mouth good. Try the ricotta and hot pepper crostini-I’m obsessed.

Very friendly service and nice atmosphere.
Just a quick business lunch turned into a relaxing afternoon with coffee and desert.
I highly recommend the spaducci if you are a lamb fan. The tuna salad was nice but seemed to be lacking some umph!
My dining partner really enjoyed the soup of the day and said it was perfectly seasoned.
I’d definitely come back for dinner sometime.

Tonight I braved a snowstorm to try the Italian treats at Black Skirt, an unassuming Italian joint in my new hood. So this evening I learned two things: 1.) I don’t have to stick to Ossington south of Dundas for culinary delights nearby. 2.) I need to buy real winter boots. I have too many pairs of shoes to not have warm feet, it’s deeply absurd.
I went with a friend and we were both starving. We both had the soup of the day, The Arancino (only one big one = O not I!) and I had the Porcini Pasta as a main. The soup was cauliflower purée and really hit the spot. The Arancino option was stuffed with veal, can’t go wrong there. The pasta was really creamy. I should have gone a different route, but it was exactly what they described. I just felt like something different once my food actually arrived, so I’m not going to comment too much on the pasta. If you want something rich, creamy and veg friendly, it’s definitely for you. Unless you’re me and are fickle and change your mind at the last second.
I digress.
The staff here are beyond competent and are great to chat with. A lively bunch. I’ll be back soon, likely with the same date. Sorry to the table next to us who likely heard much of our inappropriate banter. But like, you guys were talking about murder, so I don’t feel too bad about it.
PEPPER POINTS: For their Oro espresso. Perfect end to a great evening if you’re not drinking… or if you are!

We came here after hanging out at Lit Espresso Bar. The space is beautiful! Hipster edge meets Italian rustic — it works, believe me. The waitress was gorgeous and we had impeccable service.
Meal started with some complimentary bread paired with a tomato, basil, garlic sauce. Kind of fun because they bring the sauce over in a mortar and pestle and you have to grind it yourself.
I ordered the pistacchio (spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, parmigiano and basil in a
pistachio sauce topped with fresh crushed pistachios) with a house red wine and my friend ordered the nonna (linguini in a tomato sauce). The meal arrived in under ten minutes, but we were also the only people there for dinner on a Tuesday. Both meals were prepared incredibly well. Unfortunately as I realized, I am not a fan of pistachio sauce with my pasta. I didn’t have the plate sent back or complain because I don’t think there were any issues in execution, just a matter of preference.
They don’t bring credit card machines to the table and you have to go up. Bathrooms are in the back, very clean but a surprising shade of orange.
I will probably return because it’s appropriately priced given the area, deliciousness of food, décor, and beauty of the waitress (is it bad that this affects how expensive a meal is?).
Optional footnote: Meena’s definition of beauty encompasses not only physical features, but also gait of the person, facial expressions of individual, tone and tombre of voice, manner of dress, naturalness of make-​up, perceived personality, and so on.

I’ve enjoyed quite a few dinners at Black Skirt. In fact, I’ve been a fan since before they moved over to the west end (shortly after I did so myself) from the downtown core.
The service (from an incredibly genuine short haired blonde lady more often than not) is consistently excellent. Everything from casual banter to menu suggestions are always thoughtful. Drop a fork, (as my last dinner date did), and a new one will appear on your napkin within the blink of an eye.
Most of the menu seems so straight forward that «you can make it at home». However, the noticeably fresh ingredients and the inspiration are what make eating at Black Skirt worth the usually considerable tabs. Some of my favourites (that I continue to convince myself I’ll try to imitate at home one day) are their mushroom crostinis, ricotta crostinis, and olive oil with tomato, basil, and garlic dip served in mortar and pestle. Their pastas are humongous and swordfish always grilled to perfection.
After all this praise though, I do have one complaint. Although I cannot claim that I have ever walked out of Black Skirt dissatisfied, I have however, spent many an hour within its beautiful rustic walls wondering what the heck is taking so long. As I tend to visit only on weekdays, it has never been very busy. For whatever reasons though, there are always very long waits between courses. As much as I love my drinks and apps, this waiting often spoils dinner and makes dessert impossible.

I picked this restaurant for a birthday dinner with a bunch of friends. I’d never heard of it, but good reviews and the fact that they took reservations made it my pick. Turns out all the reviews on here were bang on — this is a great spot! Great food — including lots of specials that were all delicious. Really accommodating service. And completely reasonable pricing. I’ll be back for sure and will tell everyone else to put it on their list as well!

Had lunch here today.
PROS:
–reasonable prices, good range
–décor is warm and inviting
–soup of the day was so good
–friendly service
–they sell the good Nuttella
CONS:
–pretty empty for lunch, good or bad depending on how you look at it.
–pani-​cunsato was probably just right, it just wasn’t for me.

I have now eaten at Black Skirt twice in one week (once for dinner and once for lunch) and wish I lived in the area so I could eat there every day.
The first night I went in and had a spaghetti with pistachio sauce, something I had never heard of before, and it was delicious. Sweet and creamy, really lovely. My friend and I also started with mushroom crostini which was superb. As neither of us are drinkers and we were too full for dessert we were pleasantly surprised at how reasonably priced our meal came out to.
The next day I was also in the area so stopped by for lunch. I had seen the rice ball on the antipasta menu but didn’t order it the night before as just how much starch can one person handle in one meal but it was still on my mind. I paired it with a simple arugula salad. Delicious. Fresh, crisp arugula with a very light dressing, pine nuts and thin parmigiano cheese slices. The rice ball was ethereal. The outer shell is crisp but not greasy and surrounds a sumptuous rice center mixed with mozzarella, peas and veal. A small bowl of simple homemade tomato sauce accompanies so you can add as much or as little to the rice ball.
When visiting Italy I always enjoy a coffee crema or latte as we call it here. Often I find that in restaurants here the coffee is too bitter for my liking but at Black Skirt, the crema was such perfection I ordered two! And when I asked the owner why it was so delicious she kidded that the beans are from northern Italy (this is a southern Italian restaurant).
The restaurant itself is decorated simply yet everything is curated to make it feel like a warm, family establishment which is exactly what it is. There’s a steamer trunk in the front which belonged to one partner’s grandfather who brought it with him from Sicily when he emigrated to Canada. Family photos hang throughout the restaurant and all the other art is made by the brother of one of the owners based on family photographs.
Black Skirt pays homage to centuries of southern Italian cooking. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have an Italian mother to make dinner (or breakfast or lunch) for you then this is the place to go for wonderful homemade meals.

(2.5 STARS)
After hearing good things about this place from multiple sources, I really wanted to like this place more when I came for lunch. But I don’t know if it was just the dish I ordered or the fact that the College streetcar took forever to get me there, but I was not impressed.
I will start with the good: the space itself is lovely and warm. I didn’t know that there’s actually a selection of grocery items like De Cecco and Barilla pastas, Italian cookies, etc. for sale in the middle of the restaurant. Cute. I also loved the rustic communal tables (1 at the front, 1 at the back — there are regular tables too). The ambiance is great for a low-​key meal with friends or a date. Service was relaxed yet prompt and they let my group stay for a long time without hurrying us out. The espresso is velvet-​y smooth and they have a great selection of Italian sodas and juices (I went with the pear juice, but was intrigued by blood orange juice on the menu). My friend had the arugula beet salad, which looked delicious and she said it was really good. We both tried the arancine as an appetizer, which was yummy! It’s stuffed with cheese, veal, and peas (wish there was a bit more cheese though) and tomato sauce is served on the side so you can decide how much you want and so the arancine stays crispy on the outside when they bring it to your table (not soggy).
Now for the not so good: My main was disappointing. I had the Ciccio — meat and cheese stuffed ravioli in a butter sage sauce. For $ 15 and a relatively small portion, I thought it was overpriced. The sauce was tasty, but c’mon, it’s butter, so of course it tastes good! The ravioli itself was dough-​y and definitely did not seem homemade. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the same ravioli in the frozen food section of Loblaws… Ultimately, this place is more style than substance. It’s pretty out of the way for me, so I don’t think I would be back.

I really like this place.
It’s airy and warm and unpretentious, in it’s rustic-​contemporary design and eclectic tchochkes (whimsical without trying too hard). Service was equally sans attitude — friendly and attentive. Every item tried was very good, great value overall.
As for the specific eats…
— House-​made bread: fabulous, as was the very tasty and fresh pesto-​bruschetta-​type topping that arrived in a mortar with pestle for manual crushing — fun! (and seconds, please!)
— Beet and spinach salad ($ 9): nothing novel here but was done right — a large portion and they did not cheap out re: quality and quantity of cheese and nuts (as is too-​often the case, methinks)
And the 2 mains I tried (FYI: I was with a veg, and in a pleasing mood):
— tilapia ($ 20) — again, a very generous portion, seared perfectly and so delish in the white wine/​olive oil/​lemon with capers and olives sauce, accompanied by perfectly-​blanched asparagus beneath a fresh tomato ratatouille-​style compote
— the ‘nonna’ pasta, with eggplant ($ 10): a simple rigatoni in a red sauce, with medallions of eggplant — the sauce tasted garden-​tomato fresh, and so light, with just the right ratio of garlic to basil to oil — very satisfying
No room for dessert — will try next time when I go back for the veal and lamb (mmm…meat).

These little Italian restaurants are popping up like mushrooms after a heavy rain, but the new Black Skirt stands apart as good traditional food in an intimate and friendly setting.
See Kieran S re: brushetta and Kent P re: tiramisu.

Although i am not feeling sick, I would have much rather spent $ 40 on a bunch of big mac’s at mcdonalds and really enjoyed dinner.
Black Skirt is located west of dovercourt in a fairly untouched area of college that will surely be gentrified by an onslaught of new resto’s. That said, the interior of the restaurant is really nice and woody, and very cool looking.
Now onto the food, the menu really struck me as being pretty unique, fresh and exciting; and let me tell you, I was excited. Octopus carpacio? Anchovie pasta? This is italian food I’ve never tried before.
Well, I could tell the waitress was fresh when she took my order of a ketel and soda after my friend noted they didnt have ketel on the menu, then came back 10 minutes later asking if i would take stoli. Sure! I of course had ordered the octopus with the drinks so i could start mowing food, and feeling a bit daring tried the anchovie pasta.
Well the octopus never came and what did was the anchovie pasta, basically a plate of pasta with a few tomatoes a ¹⁄₁₂₀^th sprig of dill and one teeny bit of gleaming anchovy meat. This dish sucked so hard i spent the whole time mulling over the fact that i paid $ 18 for a plate of so-​so pasta with half a diced tomato.
I did end up ordering the octopus which ended up acting as dessert, for over $ 15 it was a complete rip off but the octopus did taste pretty good.
I would say that this place is mediocre at best, and is not at all worthy of the praise its received on Unilocal or in Now. Im blown away that it is rated higher then campognolo or enoteca, which are both divine restaurants completely worthy of the praise they have received.
Avoid at all costs.

Black Skirt is beautiful. It’s the type of place that gets your eyes darting in all directions at all the splendiferous fixtures. Like the chrome desk fan hanging from the ceiling, or the old fashioned school desk full of chocolates, or an antiqued-​ladder draped with a palermo soccer flag. It’s a cosy, classic space that stretches way back.
The service also, is excellent. Our kindly server was quick with recommendations and honest suggestions about the menu and wine list. It’s definitely refreshing when they don’t automatically jump to the costliest wine on the menu.
My DC and I were famished, so we were excited to get some appetizers. My goat cheese and beet salad was fabulous; I feel like the chevre was a cut above what I’m used to. My date got the lamb speducci (skewers) which came drenched in garlic olive oil and were really tender. I liked these a lot.
I was pretty juiced on getting the Sicilian pasta (spaghetti and anchovies in a dill olive oil sauce) but I was convinced by our server to get a sausage penne special. After all, it’s not always on the menu. True, but this was a Big Mistake. I pretty much hated it, and really I wish there was a nicer way to put it. She had noted that the sausage was going to be mild not spicy, but to me it was almost flavourless. I killed it with salt to no avail. I maybe ate a third of it.
I feel pretty bad having to say all that. They had so much momentum up until that point, that I was sure that our mains were going to be a hole in one. Far from it. I’d like to give them a higher rating (for their excellent ambience and service) but ultimately a beet salad can’t salvage a lacklustre entrée. I will definitely give them another shot.
Obligatory Title Pun: This SKIRT fell a little short.
Menu Readability: Laminated sheet on a clipboard.
Need to mention: The window facing bar becomes a communal table at night. Great for groups.
What this place teaches me about myself: The opening act might be good, but I came for the headliner.

I went here for dinner, and had an absolutely fantastic meal.
The layout is very similar to Pantry, but they’ve opened up half of the kitchen and provided more seating. It really is beautiful inside.
For an appetizer, I ordered the wild mushroom crostini. It was very delicious, so good I tried to make something similar at home a couple of weeks later; it wasn’t nearly as good, but still enjoyable. Right after the appetizer, the server brought us some bread with a fantastic brushetta-​like mix to accompany the bread.
For mains, I had the domenica. The domenica is a tomato sauce accompanied with veal meat balls. Again, very tasty and a perfect dish for a cold winter night.
My companion had the ciccio, a ravioli with a sage butter sauce. She was a big fan of the dish, really enjoying the combination of butter and sage.
For dessert, we split a chocolate cake with a hazelnut ganache. Again, very tasty The server told us one of the owner’s mum makes the cakes, a great anecdote for a delicious and homey meal.
Finally, we finished the meal off with an expresso. A nice crema accompanied each expresso, and the flavours were spot on.
Will definitely be going back soon.

Just got back from a nice lunch with the parentals @ Black Skirt.
Great experience as described above and below– but had to come on and recommend you all order the tiramisu. Who gets dessert at lunch? Me. And it was the best tiramisu I’ve had. This is coming from someone who often eats dessert at lunch, so you know you can trust me.
Like a big bowl of mushed up cream, espresso, and cake — it was… delicious.

I am very pleased to see a FANTASTIC restaurant open in my hood! I am a business owner in the area and often find myself walking up to dundas and ossington to get a bite to eat. I am so pleased to welcome Black Skirt to the College Promenade.
The décor is perfect. The light fixtures are beautiful, the tables are reclaimed wood and have interesting stools and chairs around them.
The menu reminds me of Terroni or Eno Teca Sociale, but is less expensive and a little more simplistic.
I had the Beat and Spinach salad, which has toasted pine nuts and tangy goat cheese. I shared the pressed anchovies and crustini covered in what was similar to a bruschetta mix. Than I tried the Ricotta Pasta, which tasted just like my Nonnas, in fact I think I saw a Nonna in the kitchen! It was pasta tossed in fresh Ricotta with black pepper. YUMM
I Cant wait to see what is next for the Black Skirt, when I go back I would like to try one of there Meat or cheese or veggie platters!