If you’re coming down to the Harbourfront (207 Queen’s Quay West) and you’re looking for something a little more upscale than the chip truck and the Irish Pub, your best bet is going to be Il Fornello.

I’ve come here on many work lunches and I have to say, this location has the following things going for it.

a)    Great ambiance – open, clean spacious interior with high ceilings and bright lights
b)    An unparalleled patio that looks out on the water and boardwalk
c)    A pretty hearty menu with a lot of classic Italian dishes
d)   Pretty decent lunch service

For those of you who don’t know, Il Fornello is a chain of Italian restaurants that are sprinkled over the GTA like parmesan cheese.

And because the chain tends to think of itself as a sort of upscale East Side Mario’s, the menu items tend to be on the pricier side of things. The food here is good but it’s not great and in my books certainly not worth the price tag. You could definitely go down to Little Italy and get home cooked some pasta primavera or chicken parmigiana for much less.

But despite the price and the moderately tasty food, Il Fornello does have great service.

We once had a large business lunch with about 10 people and they did a great job serving us during the lunch rush. I’ve also noticed they have a lot of servers, which means you aren’t having one person looking after 15 tables, so I really felt like we were being attended to properly.

It’s not Italian dining at its finest but the food quality is consistent and the service is top rate.

If you’re in the area, you’ll want to check it out.