The Old Spaghetti Factory is one of Toronto's best dining venues for great food at affordable prices, in a unique setting. All entrees come complete with a crisp green salad, fresh warmed bread with fresh whipped garlic butter, coffee or tea, and spumoni ice cream at no additional charge. The meals are carefully prepared, and made fresh daily on the premises using only quality ingredients. The menu includes a wide range of delicious selections such as veal parmigiana, New York steak, and breast of chicken. Keeping variety and value in mind, they have created group packages that are available in the restaurants. They do all the work while you relax in a fascinating atmosphere. It is made simple and easy for you at old-fashioned prices. Whether it's just the two of you or a large party, The Old Spaghetti Factory is the place to go for great food, service and value.more...See more text
Food was delicious! Service not the greatest... the environment was great! So much to see and so much going on! Loved it and I would return as a treat for the whole family and kept everyone entertained!
Stay away! Take your stomachs and wallets somewhere where they give a damn ...
I don't write a review unless I'm blown away by a restaurant experience and I'm sorry to say that I am writing this review because I was blown away by how absolutely terrible our experience was last nite.
First, our reservation was moved "because we haven't finished setting up" (we booked our dinner party a week in advance and called ahead 2 hours before our reservation)
So, 20 odd people sat waiting in the bar with no offer of a complementary refreshment for the delay (we were all on time)
We had specifically requested we all sit together as this was a birthday diner, that didn't happen "because we didn't arrange the big table ahead of time" (again, we called ahead…twice)
Service was terrible with one over-worked server assigned to both our tables with no additional help
Food was mediocre at best...
- Clam chowder appetizer was lukewarm
- Fettuccine Alfredo served lukewarm, bland sauce and the pasta was tough and tasteless and the portion was very small
- Spumoni ice cream dessert was served melted and we had to wait for spoons while the ice cream dripped onto the tablecloth
Long waits between courses, multiple errors on the drink orders and 20 minutes to get the checks
To add insult to injury, restaurant was uncomfortably hot...
I was given to understand that OSF was a Toronto landmark restaurant...
It certainly was, it was a new benchmark in how far a restaurant will trade on it's marketing and once you’re seated, apparently show complete and utter disdain for any repeat business.
I hope that his rather long review will save you the trouble of learning my lesson…
This was my wife and my return back after 25+ years, with my 2 brothers who were punks then and now they come with their wives and punk kids. It was a nostalgic return. We expected the food and service to be so-so, but were pleasantly surprised at the high quality of service and food taste/temperature and portion sizes. I was surprised that our waiter took all of our orders without writing anything down; yet it all arrived as expected...100% correct ! We decided that we will return as a group again, and way!!! sooner than later.
very good food. food prepared in professional way, staff were very professional. we need to promote more professional restaurants, please help stop the spread of american fast food restaurants from eating up our city
I'm not sure what everyone who has written these reviews is talking about in terms of their horrible experiances. I went here on a saturday night and I was very impressed. I had called ahead to put my name on the wait list about half an hour in advance, and when I arrived, my table was ready. The atmosphere was so fun, and we were seated in an adorable little elevator shaft in middle of the restaurant. The service was absolutely amazing. We had let our waiter know that we were tight for time as we were going to see a show, and we had our drinks 3 minutes after ordering, and were finished our meals in 1 hour.
In terms of the food, I personally thought it was good, however if you are expecting gourmet italian food, then you're at the wrong place. The pasta sauce was great, the bread was fresh and warm, and the salad was good as well.
Overall, I had a great experiance here. For the value, you cannot do better, as everything from salad, to coffee and dessert is included in the price. The service was amazing and the atmosphere was so fun. Can't wait to return!
Very tasty food, generous portions and good value.
Meatballs are large and delicious!
Most menu items come complete with bread, salad and desert.
Service is friendly and prompt.
Can't be beat !!
Heard of OSF many times over the years but what a...
Heard of OSF many times over the years but what a let down when we recently had a chance to go. Wow, was the place dingy, dark and old! And the tomato based sauces were so oily and bland. Ragu in a jar tastes better! Match that up with the accompanying useless iceberg lettuce salad and it was a major disappointment.
BTW, I used to live in another city where it is almost impossible to get into a OSF on a Friday or Saturday nite ... or so they say. We moved to Toronto and called up to try to make a reservation and they said it was difficult but will squeeze my party in. During our whole time there on Sat night, it was only 1/3 full so don't believe the hype.
After a couple of disappointing visits, I thought...
After a couple of disappointing visits, I thought I would give The Old Spaghetti Factory another try.
Had the Chicken Parmassian. Disappointing. The food was not hot and seemed bland, like something you would be served in a hospital. The glass of red wine I ordered never appeared.....The hot bread was good though. The service was okay, but there was a long wait for the sodas and salads after our orders were placed. Maybe 15 minutes.
I feel the dinning experience there is more about the colourful decor, and not so much about eating tasty food. I also suspect that place gets a lot one time visits from tourists, and not so many repeat visits from locals (unless they really don't know bland food when they taste it).
We will not be going back.
Had dinner here with my family before we went to...
Had dinner here with my family before we went to see a show. I was expecting a lot worse based on the reviews but I had an overall pleasant experience. I went with the $19.99 deal and chose a spinach salad, Southern Chicken, and Wild Raspberry Cheesecake. The salad wasn't anything special, but I loved the Southern Chicken pasta and of course the cheesecake as well. My brother ordered the chicken dippers but was disappointed when he got a huge plate of fries and only 3 pieces of chicken. But, in his words, "What they lack in quantity, they make up in quality." He didn't have anything nice to say about the fries though.
Our server, David, was great and was very attentive.
Our table was located in a high traffic area, so if you want some privacy, opt for a booth or a corner table.
service was AWFUL!!!! we went at 330 pm on a Friday....service urgggh..... SLOW... three different servers....The food was excellent..best lasagna I have had in a long time....GET NEW SERVERS!!!!! need friendlier and faster service that sfor sure:(
To start off the bad experience, we were reprimanded by our server who scolded us after we asked for more bread, saying we "shouldn't fill up on bread because our dinners are coming still". Then came the food, which was bland, incredibly generic, overpriced, and soaked with store-bought Ragu. If the overly exuberant decor won't scare you off, the bad food and service certainly will.
This restaurant is very nicely decorated and the ambiance is great. Unfortunately that is about the only good thing to say! The menu is very boring, mostly pasta in its most basic forms. The tomato based sauce that came with ours was weirdly spicy, kids were unable to eat their spaghetti and meatballs. One of the dishes was burned at the bottom. Server asked if we had tickets somewhere, presumably for speedy service, but we waited for our six simple spaghetti dishes for 45minutes, getting the bill and out of there was painfully slow. Their bread was warm and delicious, best part of the meal.
The waiter was wonderful and offered us a free plate of garlic bread. (Tip: Learn the waiters name and say it three times or more during ordering time, my party always gets free appitizers when we do this.) It is a family restaurant, reasonable price, don't expect fine dining and you won't be dissappointed.
Clam Chowder was very good( made from scratch), the highlight of my dinner. Very unique interior designing. The music was a bit loud and if you don't like children don't go to this restaurant or private request a booth. Entrees and dessert where all you can eat (quality).
not great. obviously had been really busy before...
not great. obviously had been really busy before we got there (8PM) but restaurant was empty and most of the tables hadn't been cleared.
food was average - no more than that. portions were huge - but what's the point of that if food is so so? server was pleasant.
Think this is really a kid's place (and we heard happy birthday sung three times in the 90 minutes we were there!).
Bit disappointing really!
I found glass shards in my minestrone soup. The...
I found glass shards in my minestrone soup. The manager was notified and a complimentary meal was given. Service was really slow for an empty restaurant. Finding glass in your food is unacceptable and i will not be returning to this restaurant.
Had a great experience. Our food was hot, fast and delicious. A very busy restaurant, which generally speaks for itself. Considering some of the alternatives I have visited this one bundles the old charm of the antiques, great food and at a price that was very impressive. Will definitely be going back!
This Toronto mainstay offers hearty Italian feasts - think pasta, soup and salad starters and spumoni for dessert. The decor is going to be a hit with the kids: carousel horses, secluded seating nooks, antique elevator and a streetcar you can sit make getting seated fun.
