Nodo Hillcrest - Toronto

Dinner for 4, no reservations for a walk. they have tables outside and inside. rizzotto with seafood special was a hit. other pasta speciality dishes were great. reasonable price for the location. we would go back.

We had received a gift card for Nodo from a friend for our recent wedding so my wife and I decided to go check it out for a date night dinner. We live down the street but had never been there before and were...looking forward to it. We went on a weekday night at 5pm and there were already several tables of people, mostly with children who were enjoying their meals. Our server, Joe, was very friendly and we asked for his recommendations from the menu, which he was very knowledgable about. My wife started out with the Negroama House wine $9), which she really enjoyed and I had a nice Italian soda $2.75). The fresh bread and olive oil was really tasty, as was the Zuppa Del Giorno I had $9), which was vegetable broth with chick peas. We both love cheese plates and so we decided to try their Formaggi plate $24), which we found to be one of the best we had EVER had! It had a really nice selection of cheeses with crusty bread, artichokes, marmalade and mustard grains. Honestly, we've had cheese plates all over the world and this was one of the nicest ones with incredible presentation! For our main courses we both decided on the pizza thanks to Joe'e recommendations. I had the Gustosa pizza $16), which had Fior Di Latte, roasted crushed garlic, basil, Pecorino Romano cheese and pomodoro cotto tomato sauce. My wife had the Poggionino pizza $18) that had goat cheese, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke and lots of fresh arugula. Everything was really tasty and we were having a great time right up until when we had to pay the bill. We gave Joe our gift card but he soon returned saying that we could not use it as it was not for that particular restaurant. I pointed out that the card specifically says that it is for Nodo restaurant, but he said that there was a phone number on the back of the card in very small font), which indicates that it is not for that particular restaurant. I was very upset and disappointed as this was a $130 meal that we expected to be able to use a gift card at. We called our friend who gave it to us and asked her where she bought it and she said that she got it at the Nodo in the junction but was never told that she could only use it there. We had no choice but to pay for the meal with our Visa. I was hoping that the manager would do the right thing and intervene and let us use the gift card but that never happened. I called the restaurant after we got home and talked to him Vitto) who said that this has happened before. I asked him why they don't just print the name of the restaurant that the gift card can be used at right on the front of the card i.e.: Nodo Hillcrest, Nodo Junction, rather than a phone number on the back of the card that you would have absolutely no idea what it was for! He agreed but said that there was nothing he could do. Seems like a bit of a scam to me. He did offer to arrange free coffee and dessert for us whenever we decide to use the card at the ONLY location its actually good for but honestly this has left such a bad taste in our mouth that I'm not sure when we would decide to go there. What a disappointing end to what started out as a wonderful evening.

Everything was great! Cheese board fabulous. Pizzas delicious! Olive starter yummy. Caesar salad dressing especially good (still don't understand why the corn, but...okay). Service great! We were too full for dessert, but it probably would have been great. Go. Whatever you choose, you should do Nodo.

$12 for a handful of nachos on a styrofoam plate. Plus the gratuity added on to the bill, even though the menu states it is not included. It was during Salsa on St. Clair, but a neighbourhood festival is no excuse to try to pull...this nonsense on customers.

Cozy, modern, impeccable service, great food, well located, easy to find parking in front. Everything was perfect !