Ask For Luigi Restaurant

Visited recently as one of the city's most popular Italian restaurants and also being recommended in the city's Michelin Guide. The restaurant is a smaller, homestyle Italian restaurant with a cozy atmosphere inside, where because of it many of the tables are better suited for smaller groups as a result.

In terms of appetizers, their meatball (Luigi's Meatballs) was their rendition of a homestyle Italian meatball, which came with a slice of bread to accompany the generous amount of tomato sauce. The meatball was a great appetizer, as it had a unique texture with the use of pine nuts and the bread help soaked up all the extra tomato sauce on the dish.

One of their popular pasta dishes was their Campanelle & Braised Beef Ragu, which had a lot of flavour to it because the ragu fully using the braised beef flavour along with the in house pasta. The beef cubes and accompanying ragu had a lot of umami to it, and the pasta had a good texture to it to help with the rich sauce. Aside from their main pasta dishes on menu, they also have frequent specials which rotate often.

Service was very friendly, in providing recommendations on which popular pasta dishes were available and helping to accommodate for solo dining in terms of some of the appetizers offered, such as adjusting the portion size for one as well as the cost.

Overall, would definitely recommend as it does live up to its reputation and to the recommendations it has received. It's highly recommended to obtain reservations in advance due to how popular it is, as walk-ins tend to be put on a wait list.

I finally got in here for a brunch reservation. The location is a bit odd but the place has a lot of character. Quite a few homeless people in the area and I didn’t want to wait outside for a ride to pick me up. The menu is limited for brunch but many great options in my opinion. I went with the servers recommendations. Portions are quite large. Food was so delicious and flavourful. Coffee was also incredible! Service was quite slow. Never got checked on until my food was almost finished. Also took awhile to order. Maybe they are going for the European laid back vibe but also not sure how long you are able to sit and relax as it’s by reservation. I will likely return for dinner to try out their dinner options next time I get the chance.

If you’re looking for a cozy Italian restaurant with an amazing atmosphere, Ask for Luigi is the perfect place. I absolutely fell in love with the ambiance—it has such a warm, inviting, and charming vibe. The food was outstanding, and every dish was full of flavor. The salad was especially unforgettable, with fresh ingredients and a delicious blend of Italian dressings that made it stand out. Everything tasted fresh and carefully prepared. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be back!

Italian food is honestly one of my favorite cuisines, and I usually believe even an average Italian restaurant can still deliver a decent experience. I’ve tried Italian food in many countries, but this was without a doubt one of the worst Italian dining experiences I’ve had anywhere in the world.

We were a group of four and waited around 1 hour and 40 minutes just to get a table. The restaurant was extremely crowded, which is understandable, but after finally being seated, it took another 40–50 minutes for the food to arrive.

The biggest disappointment was that every single dish at our table was served cold. Not slightly warm, genuinely cold, with almost no heat left in the food. We asked if they could remake or at least properly warm the dishes, but the response and attitude from the staff felt very unfriendly and unprofessional. We then waited another 30–40 minutes again for the replacement dishes.

Even after all of that, the food itself was incredibly average in flavor. In my opinion, this place absolutely does not deserve its Michelin reputation based on the food quality alone. The only thing this restaurant truly offers is a nice atmosphere and interior design.

In total, we spent close to 3.5 hours between waiting for a table and waiting for food, yet there was no real apology, no complimentary starter, no effort to make the situation better, and no attempt to create a positive customer experience. The whole handling of the situation felt cheap and amateur.

None of us enjoyed our meals, and considering the prices were even higher than many Italian restaurants I’ve been to in Italy, the experience simply was not worth the money at all.

Went here for dinner and it was lovely! Arugula and fennel salad was delicious and a much larger portion than I would have expected! Pasta was absolutely incredible, a perfect al dente and an excellent portion where you don't feel overstuffed, but you're not hungry after either. The olive oil cake is definitely worth all the recommendations, but I was quite a fan of the panna cotta as well!

It is a smaller restaurant, so I definitely recommend reserving ahead of time. It can be a little noisy as well because of the smaller dining space, but the quality of the food and the cozy atmosphere more than make up for it.