Thought we would go for a nice Italian dinner --- WRONG !! I ordered the Chicken Parm. with pasta -- the chicken parm was discusting. No taste at all. My wife ordered a pizza -- she thins it was a frozen pizza from Freshco. I tasted it also -- terrible. We had dinner and 2 bottles of beer. Came to $109.00. What a rip off. Small ceaser salad were $10..00 each. Chicken parm was $30.00 and the pizza was $23.00 But a bottle of beer was $ 9.50 WTF . I wish I had never gone there. read more

We have been many times to this restaurant. Every time the service and food never fail to be excellent. We went last week and it was delicious and usual. Chicken Tettrazini is our favorite. I tried Chicken Pesto this time, it was delicious. We will continue to be regulars at this restaurant. Our friends tried the Pizza and Salmon. They both really liked their dinners. Reservations are recommended. read more

This is the Express in Westdale. I have had some outstanding meals there. My last dinner with my wife was disgusting. Absolutely the worst higher end meal we have ever had. My wife ordered Fettuccini Alfredo. Having enjoyed Italian cooking for about 50 years, I can fairly comment on it. This tasted like it was made from some sort of kit-in-a-box. The sauce, the Alfredo sauce, was watery, sloppy watery. There was a distinct taste of Kraft Dinner to it. Having gone to university, the sauce instantly reminded me of Kraft Dinner. There was nothing to suggest that it had been scratch made with Romano and Parmesan cheese. It was inedible. I ordered Veal Parmesan. The meat tasted freezer burnt. It was not fresh, as bad as any cut of meat I have ever had. There was no crispy battered crust. The batter was uncooked and I scraped it off easily with my fork. The cheese might have been mozzarella and parmesan, they were indistinct. Overall disgusting, It was the first time in my 65 years that I have sent back two entrees of inedible food. The bread was good, go figure. read more

Ordered takeout from here over the weekend. Everything we ordered was delicious. We ordered: -pizza with all sorts of meats -a white pizza with sun-dried tomatoes -Beef ravioli with mushroom sauce (tasted like gravy - wasn't mad at it) -Linguine with chicken in white sauce (my favourite) -Calamari Fritti They prepared the food on time and it was very delicious! Only room for improvement is to change the name of the restaurant. "Express" makes me think fast food, but this restaurant is the furthest thing from it. We will be returning to dine-in on a later date read more

Ordered fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and shrimp added, rose gnocchi , kids spaghetti and meatballs. Fettuccine Alfredo: 2/5- not much sauce and chicken was very dry. Shrimp were good. Rose gnocchi: 3/5-not the best gnocchi. Gnocchi could be softer, and reminded me more of store bought gnocchi than fresh Kids spaghetti with meatballs added: 1/5- said the meatballs were ok but not great. Hated the noodles and sauce. Not terrible but not great, especially for the prices. Probably won't come again. read more

Came here for dinner with a friend after running errands for the day. Upon arriving I noticed it was packed but luckily right when we entered a table just finished eating so we didn't have to wait for a seat. Decided to get a pizza and a pasta dish to share which was a good decision as I was pretty full by the time I was done. It was nice that they split the pasta into two bowls for each of us prior to serving as well. We got the Rigatoni Bolognese and Venetian Pizza, both were super delicious and the garlic bread on the side was super yum. Overall a great staple in the Westdale area that I love going to! Although didn't have room for dessert, I've had it before and it was also super delicious! Will definitely return and would recommend this place to anyone who love Italian pasta or pizza! read more

The Express Italian Eatery - Rigatoni Bolognese and Venetian Pizza - Italian Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

We tried La Diavola and Venetian pizzas. These are thin crust pizzas baked in a wood fired oven. They were alright. La Diavola pizza was quite spicy from some spicy oil. I liked Venetian pizza more. I found a short black hair that looked like someone's mustache. That was gross. The service was friendly. read more

The Express Italian Eatery - La Diavola pizza - spicy! - Italian Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Food was great! ambiance was lovely! Service left a lot to be desired. I don't think our server was interested in being there. I'm sure if she could have done less for our table, she would have. After 40 min. of waiting for our food, my husband asked how much longer to which she replied " you'll get it when it gets here". Don't think anyone knew what to say to that. Came for a nice dinner before a show and the entire experience kind of soured the evening. Didn't have dessert- was told that we only had 9 minutes left out of the 90 min. time limit to be there but were told we could have it to go, even though the place was almost empty. but wait- there's more! Although we informed our server that we would have separate bills per couple when we came in, we were each charged an 18% gratuity! Well she certainly didn't have to work for it and would have got more if she did. Last time I was there with my husband as part of a group, there was no fixed gratuity. I'm hoping this was just an isolated incident. read more

If you're looking for authentic Italian food, this place is not it! I wouldn't go back here or recommend it to anyone. I had 2 bites into my carbonara and couldn't finish it-- didn't enjoy it at all. Noodles were undercooked and the flavour was off. read more

Attended this restaurant with 6 people in our party. Seating was a bit of an issue due to the quaint size of this bistro. It's really ideal for couples. Wait staff were friendly and helpful when suggesting entrees. It was really busy with every table seated so there was a bit of a long wait for our meal to be prepared but this was expected under the circumstances. Also, this was a good thing as it showed care and freshness in their preparation. Their pizza's were excellent with thin, crisp, then pleasantly chewy crust and creative combinations of fresh toppings. The wood burning oven gave the entire establishment a wonderful aroma without being too smokey. The member of our party who had the "gluten free" penne raved about it. Overall a great experience, fresh, delicious food, friendly staff and good atmosphere. Having been a long time fan of the original Express in Stoney Creek, I believe that this is the better location for a nice "casual or romantic"couples lunch/dinner. Any groups larger than 4 should make the drive to Stoney Creek to enjoy the same quality meal in a physically larger location. read more

The Express Italian Eatery - Features for March 2016 - Italian Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

I taught of it to be the average Italian restaurant in Hamilton but some dishes could have been better... I ordered the: Penne arrabbiata: 3/5 Margarita calzone: 4/5 Quaddro formata pizza: 3/5 the tiramisu was really good... I think that was the best one out of all: 5/5 read more

The place is OK. They are definitely over priced for what they offer. I had panini with the side of garden salad. My salad was only A LOT of lettuce with balsamic!! And even the lettuce looked old and had to pick the fresh ones to eat. More of a challenge! I was expecting much more and based on the great location I wish they'd done my better. read more

Fantastic authentic Italian restaurant. Excellent, friendly staff. Excellent value for the food. Worth every nickel! You will not be disappointed! read more

The Express Italian Eatery - Excellent calamari appetizer! - Italian Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Great Italian bistro in a quieter part of Hamilton. Lovely street to walk after dining. Food was great. Portions larger but service extremely slow. read more

I'd give this place a 5/5 for their pizza alone. It's wood fired and delicious and u often hey it as take out. The place is cozy, and they have a cool patio that repurposes a parking spot out front. I drop one point because the pizza is expensive and not as good as the Bread Bar. read more

Came here with someone I met on bumble and this restaurant was incredible. The Italian cuisine was truly a taste of Italy and the service was wonderful. read more

Wow this place was amazing I've there pizza and even the basic salads are delicious when you get pizza you can see the oven they put it in it's a special type but I forget what type but it sure was delicious no matter when we go this place never lets us down read more

I want to be kind. I want to be kind. I want to be kind. Breathe. Breathe. Okay, forget it, this just plain sucked. I am in Hamilton / Toronto for the weekend, and as I write this, I discover that the Leafs beat the Bruins and the next game will be in Toronto on Sunday, so I will be attending my first Leafs playoff game in a very long time. I digress, anyway, I finding myself in Toronto on Friday morning, I met up with a friend in Hamilton early in the afternoon. He suggested we try this new restaurant which is an offshoot of a restaurant I went to on a prior trip to the Great White North. Apparently the restaurant just opened the day prior and I could attribute the extremely poor excuse for a pizza on "growing pains" but they make pizza at the other location. The fake gas fireplace and the stacked wood logs did nothing to make the experience any better. The Umbra wine holders on the wall struck me as out of place. The Coca-Cola cooler parked in the back of the extremely small kitchen made the place look like a bodega. Anyway, I ordered the pizza margherita. Pizza is not easy to make - good. There are any number of pizzerias. You can find one on any corner. The recipe is always the same, but a truly great pizza, one that take you to another level are few and rare. I think of Chris Bianco in Phoenix or Motorino in New York. Express will never have to worry about that level of competition, they will never reach it. In fact, by the pizza they served me on Friday, they are well below Domino's and Pizza Hut. The pizza, for just having come out of the oven, was cold. The cheese was dried out. The crust was pale, yet hard. Not crunchy, or tender or chewy, just hard. When a cheese is that dry it isn't a true creamy mozzarella, it is probably a packaged, food service delivered part skim cheese. I am not sure why clumps of an oily basil-esque pesto was dumped on the pizza. The basil was very weak in flavor. Fresh chopped leaves of basil liberally sprinkled over the pizza would be more welcome. So would a whole milk creamy real mozzarella. I am sure this restaurant will flourish, as there is nothing else in the area, which makes me think that the patrons have nothing to compare it to, so they succumb and enjoy it. Like a Stockholm syndrome for diners. If I could pass on some advice, avoid it. Find a better pizza or insist the restaurant improves. $13.56 for that garbage should be charged as a felony. read more

Umm Benjamin I hope you're aware of how douchey your review makes you sound. Westdale has a handful of great restaurants within a two block radius, not to mention there are a ton of great eating options very close to Westdale in downtown Hamilton. Suggesting we have nothing to compare it to is ridiculous. Ok now onto my review...so my boyfriend and I went here last night. He ordered the chicken parm and I ordered the lobster ravioli. We both loved our meals, really good portions, super fast service and really yummy. The actual place is really small but super cute. Small open kitchen in the back is always a good sign to me because we could see them cooking. We knew it was clean and we'll managed. The bathrooms are not that nice but on the whole the place is cute. My ravioli had real lobster chunks in it and there was a lot in there unlike some lobster ravioli dishes so I was really pleased with it. It had mushrooms and onions and oh man my mouth is watering thinking about it haha Had a bite of my bfs chicken parm and it was pretty good, not the best and not the worst. But he loved it and I'm not a huge parm fan. Prices..... Our entrees along with a beer each came to 55 dollars and that included our tip (15%) and tax. I don't think that's bad at all for fresh ingredients and a good sized meal. We will definitely return. read more

Great place! Cozy environment. We've tried almost all options. Calzones are pretty huge. Pastas and pizzas are very delicious. Make sure u try this place in Hamilton. read more

Visited their new Burlington location on a quiet mid-afternoon during the week. Excellent location looking out over the lake with a nice patio. We started with Bruschetta which was excellent and a good portion for two people. Our two mains - a spring mix salad with Basil chicken and a Penne Carbonara were both delicious. Portion sizes were good and in line with pricing. Nice ambiance but little things like paper napkins and cheap salt and pepper shakers on the table detracted slightly. The service was excellent - our server was polite, attentive, and funny. Will definitely return, likely to try their diverse selection of pizzas, which are by all accounts delectable. Wheelchair access was reasonable - they don't have automatic doors for the entrance vestibule and I'm unsure as to the bathroom situation. Overall, four stars. read more

Great service, the food is delicious, and the ambience is very authentic. I definitely recommend.