Cinquecento Trattoria

109 Atlantic Avenue
Close to King and Atlantic, right beside the LCBO and near the Goodlife gym

Date Visited:  August 2010

Please note that for all of our reviews 3/5 is considered average. We start with an overall review and then break it down and focus on food, Décor/ambiance, service, and quality for price.

Overall:  Stewart  3/5   Nancy 3.5/5    Price Range: Entrees $13-22
Stewart's Review:  Overall I enjoyed my visit.  The decor and set up is nice, the service was very friendly, though very slow.  My food was horrible to put it mildly, but I tried a bit of everyone else's dishes and I thought they were fabulous, though a bit oily.

Nancy's Review: This restaurant is better than most of the other ones you find in Liberty Village. It has a nice rooftop patio (although it doesn't serve the whole menu). If you have to choose between Liberty village restaurants, I would go here, but I wouldn't go out of my way.

We recommend you visit this restaurant for: A night out with friends, rooftop patio drinks,  People watching on the ground level.  Because they don't start serving until 6 p.m. it might be hard to get a bite in before a TFC game. We went before visiting the Ex.

Food:  Stewart 0/5 (my meal), 4/5 (the three other meals that I tried)  Nancy 3.5/5
Stewart's Review:  I ordered the fish special and it was the most awful thing that I have ever had in a restaurant.    It was Salmon, covered in a pineapple sauce.  I thought that it would come with some pineapple on it (rather than a sauce) but when it came it had a a thick yellow sauce that was horribly sweet.  As my friend stated when he tried it, "it tasted like fish with a lemon meringue pie on top."  The veggies on the side were dripping with oil.  I always finish my meals but I could not take more than two bites of the fish.

Since my meal was inedible, I finished off everyone else's food (gnocchi, pasta, pizza).  All of those meals were really fantastic, though a bit oily!!

Nancy's Review: My pizza was good - except for the olives. They still had their pits! Who wants to eat olives with pits on their pizza.

Decor/Ambiance:  Stewart  4/5   Nancy  4/5
Stewart's Review: The restaurant has a nice layout.  There is a nice ground level patio, as well as a second floor patio (where for some strange reason you are only able to order pizza).  The ground level has large windows, including the big garage door type which can be opened.  The large windows and patio space make it a great place for a summer night!

Nancy's Review: I am a fan of the rooftop patio. Sip a glass of wine on this patio with friends on a summer's night.

Service:  Stewart  3.5/5  Nancy 3/5
Stewart's Review:  When we arrived the place was empty and our server was very very friendly and attentive.  As it got busy we got a lot less attention so I wonder how she would have been with us if we had arrived when it was busy.  She asked why I had barely touched my meal, and I politely told her how terrible it was.  I was suprised not to have it removed or discounted from the bill.

Nancy's Review: We sat down just after 5 p.m. and were advised that dinner service didn't start until six. Once six rolled around, the restaurant got very busy and it took forever to get our food. Start serving earlier and this problem is solved.

Quality for Price:  Stewart  3/5  Nancy  3.5/5
Stewart's Review:  Looking at, and trying, all of the meals that everyone else had I would say that it was definitely worth the price.  My meal, even if it had been good, was overpriced.  The portion was very small and it was a lot more expensive than everyone else's meals.  Most of the meals were in the $12-18 range.  My special was about $21

Nancy's Review: The meals were a little overpriced - which is expected in this neighbourhood. Limited choices means that restaurants can bump up their price.