I've been meaning to check out Abruzzi for a while now, and I'm glad that I did! I think this is a perfect date-night spot. The ambience is cozy and romantic, and service is fantastic. We decided on the following dishes: I) Seasonal grilled crostini II) Grilled octopus III) Whole wheat angel hair with jumbo prawns & scallops The crostini was by far my favourite. The mixture of duck, coriander, and toppings made for a delectable appetizer. However, the octopus was not what I expected. I think I had in my head a more tender texture typically found with squid tentacles. The octopus was oddly soft/chewy, and threw my tongue into a bit of a limbo. The pasta was delicious - a reliable seafood dish that was a surprisingly decent portion even when shared. The service stood out to me because we only ordered one entree, and the waitress recognized that we would likely be sharing, and brought it out to us already split up on two separate plates. I had never experienced such forethought, and truly appreciated the gesture. Though prices are a bit higher than other Italian joints in London, I do think Abruzzi is worth a visit. read more

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A very pleasant dining experience. We had lamb entrees: rack of lamb and lamb osso bucolic. Both were delicious! It's generally quiet with unobtrusive service. A little pricey but good nonetheless. Bonus: open on Monday read more

Delicious food, amazing service. Spent the weekend in London, Ontario and was hunting down a place for a last minute birthday celebration. I'm not familiar with the area, so I turned to Yelp for restaurant recommendations. Pleased to say, I can always trust my fellow Yelpies and their reviews. Found this place as one of the top ranked in London. It was a little last minute, but I managed to secure a reservation for two on a Friday afternoon for the following evening. When we arrived, we were politely greeted by the owner who was incredibly friendly. It's a small restaurant, but lively at the same time. I would say, definitely dress for the occasion. We looked through the menu and decided on Ricotta Gnudi with pancetta and brussel sprouts in a butter sauce for appetizer. Deeeelicious. For mains, we ordered the casarecce with beef tenderloin tips, in a creamy cambozola and chive sauce and potato gnocchi with pork ragu. You know how usually in fancy restaurants, portion sizes are so tiny that you have to hit up McD afterwards? This was not the case. What a pleasant surprise! The portion sizes were big enough that we managed to be full from dinner AND have enough to pack two boxes full! For dessert we ordered this peachy dessert. Unfortunately I don't have the name (tried searching it and realized their menus change quite often!). It was good, but I would have to say the appetizer and entrees were my favourite. Highly recommend this place and would come again! read more

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My favorite restaurant in town! Infact, I thought I had already reviewed it on here, but perhaps that was when Restaurantica.com still existed.lol I've been going there for 10+ years. It my husband and i's go to spot for any special occasion, or even when we can't justify it! Lol My favorite appetizer in the world exists here: the beef carpaccio. It is mouth watering, scrumptious, and nobody makes a better version of it in any city I've tried. Also, best homemade pasta I've ever had! It's amazingly fresh, perfectly prepared, and everyone we take there says that! And if you don't feel like pasta, the duck is my other go to, and my husband loves the beef tenderloin with gnocchi. We recently went back last Saturday, and tried a new appetizer as well as the carpaccio, and it's a front runner for a new fave! Lol It was the scallops with pork belly. If you like scallops wrapped in bacon, this is a new twist, and so much better, especially how they do it! I added a photo at the bottom, sorry I forgot to take more! If you have never been to Abruzzi, you Have to go! It's worth it, we love it every single time. Never disappoints! read more

Abruzzi - The beef carpaccio with 1 bite missing.lol - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

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Service was very nice, heart-warming and caring. Place is neat for dating, having birthday celebration, business deals under making etc.

In London with my family on April 14th..familiar with the restaurant..called at 5pm and given a reservation for 6pm. Upon arrival we were greeted by a hostess and confirmed our reservation and eventually seated. Within minutes a man comes barreling through the restaurants with a high pitched voice " this table is only for reservations" i replied we have a reservation..he walked over to his reservation book and asked if I was Shirley..I said no and gave him my name..all this taking place in a small space with other guests in view...he went on to tell me my name was not there..and he wasn't going to 'KICK US OUT'..and continued 'PUTTING HIS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH' by babbling on and on...all the while holding his reservation book close to his chest..MY question is..did he assume we just walked in and sat ourselves down? Was the restaurant too highly priced for the way we we looked? Did the look of two African American children with dreaded hair bring him to assume? I was seated with my back to him and he directed his first reaction to my grandson..I have attempted to contact the owner ROB...no return call..Shame on you Rob and the person we had to deal with..this has left us very unsettled...we had to leave the restaurant embarrassed by your actions..and sorrow in our hearts read more

Our first time in London and this restaurant had great reviews so we decided to try it out, glad we did! We ordered: Oyster appetizer: it was really fresh and the raspberry sauce paired really well with the oysters along with the horse radish. Beef tenderloin: we ordered medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. The meat was tender and very flavorful. The green beans and gnocchi were also prepared really well. Tiramisu gelato: it was the first time we've seen tiramisu prepared as a gelato - and tiramisu was a surprisingly good fit in a gelato form. The crumble bits added a nice texture to the creamy gelato. read more

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My short 2 week stay in London brought me through Abruzzi, an upper-end restaurant with a bright and welcoming atmosphere. Although the prices were a little higher than what my poor student budget could sacrifice, it was worth it for this one time experience, but probably wouldn't come back a second time. It was a good place to sit and chat over dinner with a couple of friends. Food wise the menu options offered a wide variety of selections, but nothing truly stood out. I had ordered the seafood angle hair pasta, and it was just average. The seafood was not the freshest, any maybe I'm biased but the whole wheat pasta took away from the taste of the sauce (not a big whole wheat pasta fan). Overall this is probably one of the higher end restaurants in London that's worth the one time try. read more

Abruzzi - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

I always wonder how good a restaurant is in comparison to what's in the area. I would give this restaurant a 3.5. The interior is very beautiful and clean, and the staff is absolutely wonderful. As for the food it was very good, and I think they can easily make it excellent. Just wasn't quite there. We had the angel hair pasta with the seafood and the ravioli. They were both great, but not perfect. The pasta really needed a bit of a boost. read more

Abruzzi - Angel hair pasta with seafood - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

Birthday lunch for yours truly so I'm glad I liked it! Came on a Saturday with a group of 6 and it was surprisingly empty except for one other pair. Got a nice table facing King St and the farmers market. Complementary bread was salted and the oil gave it a light taste as well. Ordered the catch of the day (Albacore Tuna) while other orders included the salami pizza, whole wheat angel hair, and duck leg confit. All the dishes looked nice and had colorful plates as well! The tuna was a nice portion with lightly salted potatoes and green beans. Service was friendly and funny (they kept apologizing for their short arms when reaching over our table). Make sure you make a reservation if you're going for dinner though. read more

Ever get that thing where sometimes the price of the dishes fool your mind into thinking things are better than they are? That's what happened to me here. Service is exemplary. The food was good but meh too bougey for me. Definitely felt like I was eating something fancy and I def ate all of it. The food is fresh but I just feel like it's missing some ... comfort. The chefs are obviously talented and cultivate a delish fresh menu, but it just felt a little too fancy for my unrefined palate. It is obviously pricier and a perfect place to have a couple of drinks with some people, a good treat yo self meal but I just was missing that warm hug that only delish pasta could do read more

The atmosphere was great. The taste was okay. I wanted to have pasta in London, so I went to Abruzzi. I looked forward to the dishes, because Abruzzi has lots of positive reviews, but it didn't meet my expectation. I went there about 5pm, so there was not many people. I and my friend tried Ravioli and Angel Hair(You can find the exact name on the picture of menu I've added). Ravioli was a bit oily, but it was okay with wine. The shrimp and scallop with angel hair pasta was fresh and tasty, but I think it would taste better if they used spaghetti noodle rather than angel hair. The atmosphere and service was very nice, so if you look for a place for a date or something, Abruzzi is a good choice. Next time I want to try a duck that the waiter recommended. read more

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6/29/15: After a long day of Niagaring we were really tired and just wanted to sit down and relax to give food. Really happy we came across this place! 1. Stonehammer Oatmeal Coffee Stout C$5.50: Great beer. Very rich and thick. A little on the dry side, which makes the coffee stand out even more. Love it. 8/10. 2. Beef Carpaccio C$15.00: Wow. One of the best beef capaccio's I've EVER had, if not The Best. Most carpaccio's I've had don't really taste better than a good steak, and often are hard to eat because the slices are so thin and tend to fall apart. But this one is quite different--I think they use some kind of heavily aged meat, if not even dried somewhat. The color resembles prosciutto and even has a little of the silky texture. Whatever they did to it works wonders for keeping it all together. The flavor is awesome too with the oils and spices they use. I think this is the first carpaccio that really made me want to order a second! 10/10. 3. Roasted Chicken Supreme C$25.00: Totally beautiful. I mean, damn, that's one perfectly cooked chicken. Just wanted to stare at it, it's that good looking--perfectly tan skin, glistening under the lights. Gawd if a girl had skin like that.... mmmmmmm....... BUT alas, as soon as I sunk my teeth into the flesh I wanted to cry. All that superficial beauty masked the tasteless, dry, soulless meat. Gold Digger Chicken I'd call it. 4/10. 4. Duo of Beef (beef tenderloin & braised beef gnocchi) C$34.00: The gnocchi tasted plenty good to me, but honestly I've not had it that often so can't say I'm an expert in that food. But each morsel was smooth and creamy. The braised beef was alright--kinda mushy but had a good rich flavor. The fillet mignon was definitely overcooked. I asked for medium rare and I think it was closer to well done, but not quite that bad. Not bad enough to warrant me returning it anyway. But I think in a higher-end steak house I probably would say to take it back. The wine reduction sauce on the side was SUPERB though. It's like super reduced meat juice with added complexity from the wine and tastes really great. Anyway, some good, some bad here. 6/10. 5. Strawberry Pavlova C$9.00: Now this is how all great meals should end--with a beautiful dessert that treats your tongue to many sensations and flavors. You got fruit, crunchy, creamy, cold, milky, fluffy, and tart all on a single plate! And to top it off, very pretty too. Yummy. 8/10. So, it appears lots of the food on the menu is quite worthy of the higher prices. Unfortunately our main dishes were somewhat lacking, but I still think there's good potential here and had a good time. And that carpaccio....... 4/5 #italian #dessert read more

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Love love love! From the food, to the service, to the atmosphere. We hope you're here to stay!

I dined here for the first time on a Saturday night during the London World Figure Skating Championships, so it was jam packed! We had to wait for a few minutes for our table even though we had reservations, but after that our dinner went very smoothly. I was really impressed at the level of service, especially considering how busy they were. The co-owner Rob stopped by our table a number of times to check up on us. Also our server, Andrew, was really helpful and friendly! For my meal I ordered the trout over potato gnocchi with cherry tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and pecorino cream. My only complaint is that the fish was slightly overcooked. The rest of the meal was perfect! The potato gnocchi was the best I've ever had and the drizzle of pecorino cream added amazing flavour without making the meal too rich. read more

Abruzzi - Trout over potato gnocchi with Brussels sprouts, grape tomatoes, and fennel with a pecorino cream. - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

Good food but overpriced for what you're eating. Oysters were decent though I personally like them more briny. Gnocchi was average, but didn't have the richness I would expect to have gotten. Atmosphere is great and staff is friendly, which makes up for the average food, but don't feel like that their prices are justified. read more

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A little bit expensive, but the dishes are really good! The atmosphere is great, it seems that this restaurant is always busy, almost full from getting in and away read more

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I came here with my friend who recommended this place for their pasta dishes. This is a small modern Italian restaurant in downtown London. Service was fast and friendly. Busy enough on a Monday night. I had the grilled octopus and lamb chops. Grilled octopus was very tender, came on arugula salad and great pairing with two colorful sauces. Presentation was beautiful. The only thing was octopus was grilled previously came cold. It's not a hot appetizer which I kind of expected. The lamb chops were excellently done at medium rare, I asked for slightly more towards the medium side and they got it just right. I liked the pairings but it came with a little too many root vegetables grilled and was tender. The braised lamb tortellini with the dish was delicious. I really enjoyed this dish. My friend ordered the gnocchi pasta and she loved it. For dessert I had the chocolate cheesecake. Wow. This was so good. It was deconstructed style and came with chocolate meringue and braised cherries. The cheesecake was really fluffy and light not overly sweet. It's the best chocolate cheesecake I've had. My friend had the lemon cake and it looked beautiful. Loved my dining experience here and would definitely come back in the future. read more

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Loooved my experience at Abruzzi. Really enjoyed my cocktail, and the angel hair pasta was amazing. Everything was so beautifully presented, portions were generous, and the service was fantastic. Would definitely recommend for date night or a special celebration. Can't wait to come back and try their other offerings! read more

Abruzzi - Almond cake., w meringue, pear & dehydrated passion fruit $12. - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

Decent ambience First time in London and made reservations on a Monday evening dinner for two. Stale bread with some different /better tasting olive oil. Salad - the loco fields organic green was average. Roasted chicken breast was also average And the sous vide duck breast was ATROCIOUS. Chewy like an inedible strip of rubber. Had to try 3-4 slivers and remove the chewed bits from my mouth discreetly into the napkin. Tried some of the other slivers by separating the duck fat part. And left the rest. Not by any stretch of imagination close to CRISPY. The server was indifferent wen we mentioned about our food. However, he was not rude. For a classy joint, I expect service to be top notch. read more

I've probably walked by this establishment over a hundred times but never had a chance to try them until very recently. We went out with a few friends, excited to try some delicious Italian food. When we got there, the place looked half full but the server took about five minutes to figure out where to even place us. They were waiting for a larger party so they couldn't just place us anywhere. After being seated, I was sad to see the lack of care taken around the establishment. You know when you watch Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsay is walking around scarping off layers of dust off the lighting and the frames of pictures? The frame I was sitting next to had a layer of dust that had to be at least a month old. You could visibly see the dust on the lighting that was hanging right above us, hovering over our food. I got the Beef Ravioli (there was a fancier name for this but I don't remember it) and my husband got the gnocchi bolognese. My ravioli was ok, a little on the dry side. The gnocchi was just underwhelming. It was just bland, and didn't feel worth the $20 dollar mark up. My husband ended up just leaving half of it on his plate. On the flip side, our friend ordered the duck and it was delicious, so they obviously have some shining stars in their menu. read more

If you were compiling a list of the best restaurant in town Abruzzi would be near the top. And I don't mean alphabetically. While I've only been a handful of times, I often kick myself when it comes to mind halfway through a mediocre meal somewhere else. Their amazing specialties are all great and they are proud to use local sustainable ingredients and their menu changes seasonally as a result. I'm not even sure where to start so I'll simply list some of favourites and hope something catches your eye (read:stomach) enough to give it a try yourself, if you haven't already. I'm not sure I've ever been and not had the grilled octopus to start and yep, I'll do it next time as well. SO GOOD! Served with like tomatoes, potatoes in some sort of red pepper sauce. My wife always has the risotto - I'm not sure what kind but I've tried it and its good. Maybe even different ones each time. Me? Well, I'm more of a carnivore so I tend to mix it up. I can vouch that the rabbit and tenderloin are both good. Heck, everything is. I'll often also have the special and tend to go with the veal - which I believe is the best in the city. The place is really nice but still has a causual and friendly atmosphere. The servers are all friendly, attentive and extremely helpful in trying to decide from all the delicious option available. Oh, I almost forgot their really good wine list. I'm not a desert person but if you are then this will also be a highlight for you I suspect. I'll be back. Well, provided I don't think of it too late again. Buon appetito! read more

Easily the best restaurant in London. This is your classic higher end restaurant that serves tasty Italian food! The food is expensive but you're paying for high quality meats, cheese, wine, pasta, etc. The service is usually good but sometimes when it's busy it can take a while to get the orders! Additionally, there's tons of parking in the area even though it is in downtown London! read more

Very nice food and service. Food came fast and was very well arranged. However, my duck was horribly undercooked. I think it was meant to be medium, but mine was rare. Not sure if duck is supposed to be prepared that rare but it certainly was raw in the middle and difficult to chew. Regardless, the taste was good, except for the super extra chewy raw texture. Otherwise, no complaints. Pricy, but that was expected. read more

This place has great ambiance and a very kind staff. My wife and I came here late on a Friday evening and the place was still bustling, though we had no trouble getting a table. I ordered gnocchi with wild boar and my wife ordered spaghetti and meatballs. The Gnocchi was delicious and pillowy, the boar cooked perfectly with no gamey quality. The spaghetti was uninspired, however, the sauce watery and the meat decidedly unflavorful. The homemade noodles were lovely, but not enough to make up the deficit. The beer selection was good and fairly priced, and the bread served was high quality. Overall it was a good experience and I'd like to come again to try out more of the menu. read more

Solid, consistent cooking, lovely decor, good service. The pizze are delicious ($13-$14 at lunch, $15-$17 at dinner). Not sure if it's still on the menu, but you can ask for a half-pizza and salad at lunch. They have daily crostini ($8) and daily soup ($8) specials. Excellent panini ($12). Fantastic bread. The jumbo prawn appetizer is fantastic ($12) but so is everything on the menu. I don't think that we've ever had a bad meal here. Good wine list, not too pricey. Reservations are suggested for dinner, although they've fit us in when we hadn't made one. Closed on Sundays. Banquette, bar and table seating. read more

Had a wonderful experience here this past weekend celebrating our anniversary with my husband. We had a spot right by the front and they opened it up to the outside which was so nice. We shared the pork belly with scallops app and it was delicious and so flavourful. I had the ricotta pesto gnocchi and my husband had the pork Parmesan with linguini. Both dishes were delicious. My gnocchi was so rich and tasty. And the portion sizes were more than enough. We finished off with the gelato which is made in house and very very good. Service was great! Overall great food and experience. There was too many tasty sounding things in the menu so we will definitely be back to try more! read more

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Best restaurant in London! The seared scallops with pork belly was amazing. My table was tempted to order another plate of it because it was just that good. The pasta and dessert I ordered was also good! but I must say that the appetizer was the main star of the meal. Atmosphere was cozy with great service. Would come back again in a heartbeat! :) read more

Abruzzi - Seared Sea Scallops, pasta, gelato - Italian Near Me - London, Ontario

We did not actually eat at Abruzzi, I made a reservation on June 15, 2019 for dinner for 2 people to celebrate my mother's birthday. The reservation was made for the evening of November 14, 2019 at 5:15pm. 5 months in advanced. I received a phone call today, October 12, 2019 from apparently the manager of Abruzzi, telling me that my reservation has been cancelled as there was a party of 50 people who booked the restaurant and the staff that booked my reservation was not aware of this. Pretty funny how 4 moths later I am notified of this. I guess a reservation of 50 people outranked my 5 month early reservation. guess this business does no want my money, too bad read more

Some of the best food that I have ever had. The service has always been fantastic. The owner comes to welcome people in, and check on tables. I have been going here consistently for 4 years and never once have I had a bad experience. Love their beef, chicken or fish entrées. Would recommend and will continue to go here. Always thanks for a great time Abruzzi. Appreciate your great service, friendly staff and fantastic food! read more

Great meal. Had the lamb and it was cooked perfectly. I like this atmosphere as well.. The price is a bit expensive and portions are small but that's typical of most places anymore for guess. I won't hurry back because I want to try a few other places but I would still recommend it read more

Love the food and service here. Always have. I'd comment on a dish that I love but I've literally never had the same thing twice.

First time was amazing. Six of us had dinner at the window table and enjoyed every item we ordered. Oysters, carpaccio, rabbit, wild boar, sea bass, tenderloin, it was all presented and prepared perfectly. The wine list has some great selections and the cocktails were excellent. We will be back. read more

Had our wedding meal here. Had to be the best roast beef we have ever had. Portions were normal sized for this kind of restaurant but extremely tasteful/fresh. Dessert cannot be described...amazing. read more

I booked a reservation for 830 on Saturday and when I arrived, inside was packed! I didn't expect the restaurant to be super busy but it seems like a popular restaurant to dine. I waited about 15 minutes to be seated because of how busy it was! The service here is great, super friendly people who love to chat with you while you're waiting for the food. My bf and I ordered the beef carpaccio, potato gnocci , and the lamb chops. The carpaccio is thinly sliced beef laid on an 8 inch plate with parmesan pieces and 2 quail eggs. I've never eaten raw beef but this was delicious! It paired really nicely with the parmesan. When the two main entrées came out, I don't expect the portions to be big but wow, it was actually decently sized! The potato gnocchi was soooooo good, especially with the pumpkin puree. And the lamb chops were perfectly seared. Both of these dishes were overly filling (though I had a sushi buffet for lunch). I think the portions are big enough to leave you perfectly satisfied. I was so stuffed I couldn't even get dessert unfortunately. The prices are actually not bad for the food you're getting. I've been to fancy Italian restaurants where you get a forkful of pasta for $25, so I am happy with the prices and portions here! I gave it 4 stars because the restaurant was so loud with everyone talking, I had to raise my voice abit to talk to my bf across from me. read more

One of the best restaurants in the city. Great Italian food, made from scratch. Highly recommended.

Nice environment and service, more importantly, GREAT food. My friends and I each ordered an entree and special for the day and a dessert, we were so full but none of us regretted the orders. Definitely recommend. read more

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We came here as a group. Service was good. I had a Very nice steak, and veg. The ambiance was also very nice. I will look to retrun here next time thru London. read more

We were told this was the best Italian restaurant in London! Not so!!! Have tried it twice. Wanted to be fair....Mediocre at best.

Lovely small Italian restaurant that takes good care of all the details. It might be a bit expensive but it's totally worth it. I had the risotto and it was heaven. We ordered cheese cake for dessert and wasn't what I expected but it was good even so, although I won't ask for it next time. Perfect for a romantic night (although most clients where there in groups). read more