Alioli – A piece of Italy in the centre of Mississauga
Alioli is a casual Italian restaurant that transports you to Italy with their exquisite dishes. With only one location, Alioli has been in the same spot for 20 years delivering the best of the Italian cuisine. The restaurant was founded by 3 partners, Massimo Ronaghi, Gianni Sadro and Alireza Ronaghi, that fell in love with the Italian culture and wanted to bring a piece of Italy back to Canada. Their one and only restaurant was first opened on October 2, 1996 located at Burnhamthorpe Road and Confederation Parkway and has been there ever since.
The elegant yet casual space of Alioli is very cozy and inviting, which makes us guests feel like we were at home. The casual Italian atmosphere, classic white table linens, and just the right lightening make it the perfect spot to enjoy one of the best Italian meals we’ve had in Canada. Since we visited the restaurant on a Friday evening, we were able to enjoy live Saxophone music which accompanied our delightful meal. Live Entertainment is available on Fridays and Saturdays only.
“The Risotto was amazing, filled with an extraordinary mixture of tastes. The amount of truffle oil on top of the Risotto was good enough for me to perceive the truffle flavour without losing the taste of the dish. Also, the texture was al dente as it should be, and the wild mushrooms were soft and blended perfectly with the gorgonzola cheese. It was a strong-tasting delicious risotto.” Isabela
“The Ravioli was simply superb! The pasta was delightful, perfectly made and cooked and the stuffing had the perfect quantity of mushrooms and spinach that complement the beautifully cooked ravioli. To wrap it all up, the roasted pepper herb cream was the cherry on top of the perfect meal. It was a light meal, served in a generous portion!” Salome
The overall dining experience was perfect! The amazing food, the friendly staff and the wonderful music made our evening one of a kind. To finish it all up, we decided on having two of their most popular desserts: The Tiramisu, which is a typical Italian dessert that consists on layers of a mascarpone-based cream and ladyfingers immersed in coffee finalized with cocoa powder on top of it; and the Creme Brûlée, which is a dessert mainly associated with the French cuisine and consists of a special vanilla custard topped with rigid caramelized sugar layer.
Between the two, our favorite was the Tiramisu, that had a twist on the traditional recipe by being topped with strawberries and blueberries and no cocoa powder, but instead a chocolate sauce. The dessert was soft and it had the perfect Italian flavour. The Creme Brûlée was also very good and was topped with strawberries as well, but it was not as good as the Tiramisu. It had the right amount of sugar on top, making its caramel layer crispy and thin. The texture was a little too dense for us but other than the taste was very delicate.
Alioli was an incredible dining experience for us and we recommend it to everyone that wants to go to a typical Italian restaurant without having to travel to Italy. The restaurant target market is more inclined to generation X and Baby Boomers since the elegant, yet casual atmosphere reaches out for these generations and invites them to come back. Their prices also indicate that their target market has a higher income – a meal for two is around $100.00. Lastly, the perfection of the products and how careful they are to preserve their quality also shows how conservative the restaurant is. With all that being said, even we, a couple of millennials, enjoyed and loved this place and will definitely come back.
Music by Peter Cheslie {link to https://www.facebook.com/petercheslie}
Everything at the restaurant is made from scratch, with exquisite Italian recipes to make your mouth water. From the cheese to the special sauces and pasta, this restaurant impressed us by their unique ways to prepare each meal. They also offer gluten free and low carb options that accommodate those who have dietary restrictions. The restaurant encourages customers to “ask if you don’t see it on the menu, as long as we have the ingredients on hand and you allow us the time to prepare it, our chefs will create your desired dish to your tasting delight”
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| Image Courtesy of Alioli {link to http://www.alioli.com/gallery/#!prettyPhoto[maingallery]/0/} |
The Dining Experience
As soon as we got to our table, we were welcomed with a brief history of the restaurant, the specials of the night and the selection of preferred wines for the food. Then the Focaccia, which is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, was the perfect introduction to our dinner. The Focaccia, which was made in-house, was accompanied by olive oil and spices that blended perfectly with the puffiness of the bread.
The menu varied from Fresh Mozzarella, Sweet Roasted Peppers, and Sliced Tomato Salad to homemade Gnocchi with Fresh Basil and Garlic in a Pesto Sauce, and from Oven Baked Pizza to Tender Veal Topped with Kalamata Olives in a slightly spicy tomato sauce, which pleases several palate and taste. We decided on having the Risotto con Funghi, which consists of Arborio rice, wild mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese, shaved parmigiana Reggiano and truffle oil drizzle, and the Jumbo Ravioli, which is a ravioli stuffed with mushrooms, in a roasted pepper herb cream, topped with baby arugula. We had to try at least one pasta because every pasta they serve is made in-house.
“The Risotto was amazing, filled with an extraordinary mixture of tastes. The amount of truffle oil on top of the Risotto was good enough for me to perceive the truffle flavour without losing the taste of the dish. Also, the texture was al dente as it should be, and the wild mushrooms were soft and blended perfectly with the gorgonzola cheese. It was a strong-tasting delicious risotto.” Isabela
“The Ravioli was simply superb! The pasta was delightful, perfectly made and cooked and the stuffing had the perfect quantity of mushrooms and spinach that complement the beautifully cooked ravioli. To wrap it all up, the roasted pepper herb cream was the cherry on top of the perfect meal. It was a light meal, served in a generous portion!” SalomeThe overall dining experience was perfect! The amazing food, the friendly staff and the wonderful music made our evening one of a kind. To finish it all up, we decided on having two of their most popular desserts: The Tiramisu, which is a typical Italian dessert that consists on layers of a mascarpone-based cream and ladyfingers immersed in coffee finalized with cocoa powder on top of it; and the Creme Brûlée, which is a dessert mainly associated with the French cuisine and consists of a special vanilla custard topped with rigid caramelized sugar layer.
Between the two, our favorite was the Tiramisu, that had a twist on the traditional recipe by being topped with strawberries and blueberries and no cocoa powder, but instead a chocolate sauce. The dessert was soft and it had the perfect Italian flavour. The Creme Brûlée was also very good and was topped with strawberries as well, but it was not as good as the Tiramisu. It had the right amount of sugar on top, making its caramel layer crispy and thin. The texture was a little too dense for us but other than the taste was very delicate.
Alioli was an incredible dining experience for us and we recommend it to everyone that wants to go to a typical Italian restaurant without having to travel to Italy. The restaurant target market is more inclined to generation X and Baby Boomers since the elegant, yet casual atmosphere reaches out for these generations and invites them to come back. Their prices also indicate that their target market has a higher income – a meal for two is around $100.00. Lastly, the perfection of the products and how careful they are to preserve their quality also shows how conservative the restaurant is. With all that being said, even we, a couple of millennials, enjoyed and loved this place and will definitely come back.
Now it is your turn, we want to know your opinion!
Let us know if you find it as amazing as we did and comment it below!
Bon Appetit!
350 Burnhamthorpe Road West
Mississauga, ON L5B 3J1
905.281.1122
info@alioli.com
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