La Cantina

Large portions. Near Downtown Hamilton and with a great atmosphere. More of a special occasions kind of place but I've been there without it being a special day.

We stopped because the outside looked cute and when we entered it did look nice on the inside, however, my daughter and I got sick after eating here. The bread was extremely salty. The pasta was hard. The pizza tasted like cheap mozzarella and canned sauce and the crust was salty. The coke tasted off. The waiter was nice but I witnessed him wiping his runny nose with his hands and then rubbing his hands on his pants and then touching people's dishes. The menu's had stickers on them that said prices are 15% more than what it says. Everything was overpriced to begin with. For an Italian restaurant I was disappointed and have surprisingly had better food at the olive garden. We paid $75 for a pizza, a plate of pasta, and a coke. The coke alone was $5.50, I have never been charged that anywhere for a glass of coke and I was never even asked if I wanted my glass refilled. Just disappointed in the whole experience and won't be returning.

Absolutely one of the best restaurants in Hamilton. Food is amazing and the service is great too. Highly recommend this restaurant!

I dined here about a month ago. I should have written a review the very day I was there but I didn't want to say anything nasty.
Our waiter for the evening was attentive and friendly during the dining experience, until the end after we paid approximately $700 food bill and a generous tip.he then approached our table while we just finished up our drinks and dessert to tell us that the owner just called him to tell us to leave. Restaurant closes at 9: 30 and he told us that at 9: 36. We knew that we were going to wrap things up and leave but to be told that I found was extremely rude and uncalled for especially when we literally just finished eating.
I proceeded to make a call the next day to the manager/owner to tell him I didn't appreciate on how we were told to leave. He took my call with a very rude, unprofessional attitude before he even knew what I was calling for and continued to be rude throughout conversation. I stated I'm not looking for anything in return but to make him aware of disrespectful behavior to customers who spend decent money at his establishment.
With that said he really could have been more respectful and have better manners while dealing with customers.
As for the food, I am from Italian decent and really only dined here because we took guests out for a special occasion thinking La Cantina seems to have some good reviews but was very disappointed with the quality of food.prices definitely didn't make sense on such mediocre food. You can tell the cook/owner/ manager as he told me what his title is there has definitely lost his spark and his respect for customer service. Maybe it's time to retire or change your attitude.

We just had dinner at La Cantina. Normally we always really enjoy it here, but unfortunately, not tonight. We were very disappointed on a few different fronts.

1) On their dinner menu, they have stickers that say that their meals are now 15% higher than the posted price, due to inflation. Not only did we find this to be excessive, we found it to be tacky. Please spend the money to redo your menus with your updated prices. 2). Again, on the wine/beer menu, there was tiny black handwritten notes that were barely legible of different products and prices. This is very unprofessional. 3). We tried to order the pappardelle pasta and were told they were out of it? 4). We were charged $5.90 for a Diet Coke! I can literally buy a whole case for that! 5). We ended up ordering the Carbonara. It was so salty and done very El dente.

Our server was ok. Nothing special for the amount of money we were now spending though.

Needless to say, this experience resembled nothing like what we’ve been used to before from this restaurant. It was very disappointing.

We both commented, as we turned onto Main Street as we left La Cantina, that for that amount of money, we might as well have gone to Shakespeare’s, where the service and food is always top notch.

This place is absolutely trash. If they would get rid of the chef with the red beard the guy is very disrespectful and knows nothing about Italian authentic food get rid of him and he will do just fine maybe get a few more mature waitresses….

I have gone to LA cantina, several times, ordered, pasta with meat sauce, the pasta, was barely cooked, I was really disappointed, and nothing special with meat sauce, for the price I paid for me and my fiance! $200 was pricey for Mediocre, food at its best, several visits have been really disappointing!

I want to start off by saying that the service at this restaurant was very good and staff were all very warm/friendly. However, the prices of the food are not justified based on the quality provided.
The pasta (noodles) are not made in house, which one would expect when being charged $32 for a bowl. I have never been to a restaurant that charges these prices unless the pasta is actually made in-house with fresh dough.
The bruschetta was also very expensive, and the tomatoes on it were ice cold. They should always be served at room temperature, and for the price being charged you’d expect better.
The inside is cozy and nice, but this is not an upscale restaurant while the prices are reflective of a high end restaurant in Toronto.

Ordered the wild mushroom risotto and bruschetta with goat cheese. Every ingredient was quality, and the portions were generous.

I was impressed with the food. Being of Italian descent, I usually don't eat in Italian restaurants because I'm usually dissatisfied. I cook better.but this place is great. Highly recommended. Big portions done right.

Had a staff party here and a couple of larger party meals. The staff handled our party size with ease and grace. The food is wonderful and the portion size is incredible for the price you pay. I have never been disappointed with my order here.

Put in the corner dungeon type of table.freezing cold? The 2nd star is for the waiter which was so nice and understood why we couldn't stay.for the prices, not a comfortable place to dine!

I believe this place is a bit of an institution in Hamilton, long standing go-to restaurant in the area. I'm not sure that I would put this restaurant in the fine dining category, perhaps a casual upscale. The food was very tasty, I had the puttanesca and would certainly order it again. The by the glass wine selection definitely has room for improvement, especially if you're going to fancy yourself a fine dining Italian restaurant. One big criticism I have is that the staff was waiting for us to leave as we were one of the last tables out. We left at around 9: 30 which is their closing hour. To me a restaurant's closing time is the time they stop taking tables not the time they are punching out. Again though very tasty food and our server was great.

Great experience, our waiter was amazing! Couldn't have asked for better service on our anniversary dinner. Thanks La Cantina I will definitely be returning and recommending.

Love this place for Italian food. Staff awesome. If you like to eat you get great portions. I always have to take home more than half of my dinner there is so much.

The service was awesome and the food tasted amazing. Unlike other nicer restaurants, the portion of food you get is great. Highly recommend.

Best Italian restaurant outside of Italy.the atmosphere is very authentic.their food outstanding.great beers on tap and excellent wine selection. Their outside patio is beautiful.and the employees superb