Queen's Pasta: Italian Fit for A...(See What I Did There?)

Queen's Pasta, at 2263 Bloor St W, is without a doubt one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto. The food (Italian) is tasty, reasonably priced and fairly simple (which I enjoy). Since moving to the High Park/Bloor West Village area 5 years ago, I've probably eaten there at least 30 times (and I'd say that's a conservative estimate)--it's that good!

The only problem I ever have with Queen's Pasta is that it's ALWAYS busy. There is usually a line-up and a wait for a table (and the foyer isn't very spacious, so if there's more than one party waiting, it's incredibly cramped).

Needless to say, it's worth the wait.

Servers are friendly, efficient and unintrusive (most of the time). On my most recent visit, on September 21st, our waitress did a fantastic job. Kudos!

I've read several comments on restaurant review websites where parents complained of the treatment they received while at Queen's Pasta with their children. One woman was insulted that they asked her to wait and sit at a specific table, since she had her young child with her. One woman said she was asked to step away from the dining room until her wailing baby quieted down. It's clearly not a "family" focussed place, which I view as one of its assets--I personally don't enjoy eating 3 feet away from a screaming baby or being in any way inconvenienced by some distracted parent's rambunctious toddler. Hey, I'm all for families, there are plenty of family-friendly restaurants out there, I just prefer more adult-oriented establishements (and, no, I'm not referring to Strip Clubs). Suffice it to say, if you're going to try Queen's Pasta, it's probably best to hire a sitter and leave the kids at home. I know I'd appreciate it. You've been warned.

The menu doesn't have a huge selection, and it hasn't changed in all the years I've been going there, but there's pretty much something for everyone. And every night they have an EXTENSIVE list of specials featured, so you will never get bored with what's available. And while some, like me, generally order the exact same thing off the menu every time they go there, the specials really are quite special! Oh, and, the wine list is pretty good, too!

They actually make their own pasta right there on the premises and it's delicious (and never over-cooked, which is KEY to a good dish of pasta).

They are incredibly accomodating to substitutions, as I've come to expect from higher-end restaurants. The dish I usually order is the Pasta Primavera, but I get it with the arriabiata sauce (I like it spicy). Sometimes I get it with the steamed veggies, sometimes I get it with the grilled veggies. These aren't options listed on the menu, but they have no problem filling my requests.

They have a superb grilled shrimp & calamari appetizer, that I've recently discovered. The seafood is served over a mixed greens salad, tossed in a tangy vinaigrette, and accompanied by 2 pieces of garlic toast. The portions are generous enough that you could easily order this as an entree. Oh, and, incidentally, the garlic toast is niiiice and garlicky. I hate it when you can barely taste the garlic in the the garlic bread--I want my breath to be rendered offensive after enjoying garlic bread, thank you very much!

The main dining room is fairly small and the tables are crammed pretty closely together (which is sort of annoying--especially for a claustrophobic misanthrope like myself). They do, however, have a nice sized patio for the summer months and on one occasion, a busy Saturday evening last winter, they seated us upstairs--who knew they had an additional, HUGE dining room up there?!

Obviously, I recommend Queen's Pasta (though not if you're one of those parents who insists upon bringing their young kids out to dinner and allowing them to run wild, refusing to accept the possibility that not everyone thinks every damn thing your child does is adorable! Phew. Tangent rant. Sorry about that.).

Oh! I almost forgot! One night a few years ago, Canadian-born actor Scott Speedman was eating there at the table beside me! (For those of you who don't know, Scott Speedman played the oh-so dreamy "Ben", the object of the titular character's obsessive affections on "Felicity". ) *sigh*