Authentic Tuscan cuisine takes up happy residence in this somewhat tucked-away authentic downtown restaurant, where most everything's scratch made and the servers can spin rich food stories about every menu item's provenance. Tutti Matti is unique for being one of the few Canadian restaurants overseen by a female owner and head chef. The results are unpretentious Italian-themed delights, from pappardelle con stracotto to wild boar stew and a solid antipasti offering. All the yummy pasta is made on the spot — and noticeably so. Online reviewers urge diners close the Tutti Matti experience with a lemon tart.more...See more text
Chef Alida Solomon never shies away from a challenge. Opening up her first restaurant, Tutti Matti, during the SARS epidemic was an endeavour that would test any entrepreneur’s mettle. “That was rough. The city was told you shouldn’t eat out because of SARS,” says Alida. “My determination got me through...To work an 18-hour day to run your own business, you have to love what you do.”
Tutti Matti’s origins started in Tuscany, where Alida worked at a Michelin rated restaurant for seven years. She had the opportunity to be an owner there, but chose to come back to Canada and do something that wasn’t being done in Toronto. “No one in Toronto was doing authentic Italian food without influences from North America,” says Alida. “Like Wild boar, venison, charcuterie board, you know, no one was really doing that in Toronto in 2002.”
We were there on Friday september 5 for my birhday.The waiter(authentic Italian)was gentle and very attentive and the food was fantastic.I had the faggottini for starter and an excellent fish on the bone.We also had beef carpaccio and antipasto Tuscany that were amazing.We finished with a selection of gelato and perfet tiramisu that was offered to me by the same charming waiter. Definitely a nice anniversary place.
The food here is always amazing - freshest, highest quality ingredients make every dish absolutely delicious. Alida has such a refined touch that she makes bruschetta taste like a whole new experience. The antipasto platters were unparalleled. They change seasonally, like any top notch restaurant. Spectacular assortment of meats, cheeses, faggotini, toasts with asparagus and buffalo mozzarella, walnuts and brie w/honey... phenomenal.
The biggest change, aside from the tasteful new decor, is the waitstaff. The former crusty server that told customers how to act and eat is gone, thankfully. A new group of polite, friendly, knowledgeable servers now cater to customers preferences.
The wine selection is incredible!
I would eat here multiple times a week if I live closer! One of the best restaurants in Toronto - certainly one of the top 3 Italian restaurants (and my favourite for sure).
Our family had dinner at Tutti Matti, and had a...
Our family had dinner at Tutti Matti, and had a TERRIBLE experience. Our server was rude and the food was cold and not worth the prices they were charging. I had the lpinci alla boscaiola , was but too much chuncky. My wife had the rabbit and honestly the comparation with his rabbit does not exsist....I am glad to have you Louise as wife. , Chef Alida came to our table to perform awful magic tricks which was embarrasing. Maybe she should be in the kitchen working on his technique...Service; awful, slow, rude, .Raccomandation; stay at home
Tomato soup was delicious though a bit too luke...
Tomato soup was delicious though a bit too luke warm to my liking, bread and olive oil refilled, attentive service by Seneca, thin tasty pork chops with balsamic reduction and mesclin leaves was juicy on outside and a tad dry on the inside and two small naked vanilla ice cream balls that had started to melt missed an opportunity to sprinkle some magic dust. Great price point for lunch or dinner. Owner chef Alida not in today. Would try again to see if this was an average day, its good food but there is a lot competition in the area. Today was asty but not wow.
The consensus is - the food was absolutely amazing! Everything everyone ordered was fabulous. The service left little to be desired though. Our main server was like a dictator and responded to our standard requests with negative answers. He seemed to be rushing us, and proceeded to tell us how we should be doing things so as not to inconvenience the kitchen staff. Other servers we interacted with over the course of 4+ hours were wonderful and much more pleasant and accomodating, so perhaps we were just unfortunate to have someone with OCD and control issues as our main server.
Tutti Matti brings you food from the Tuscany region of Italy. A simple, yet robust menu, is filled with freshly made pasta like the popular tagliatelle and changes seasonally. The restaurant is winner of the prestigious 2009 L’Eccio D’Oro.
