Allegro
Italian
10809-95 Street
(780) 756-6640

On a recent Saturday night, my two daughters and I tried Allegro, a short walk across the park from where we live here in McCauley. When we arrived, there was a patron on the patio, and one table inside the restaurant was taken. We arrived shortly after they opened at 5 p.m.

Adam, the owner’s son, greeted us and gave us a nice table by the front window. The décor is mostly red and black, and there is one television that was broadcasting the Olympics, on mute, with some nice music playing in the background.

The girls and I ordered some beverages, and then decided on a dish each: minestrone soup, the Caesar salad, and the Ziti Con Pollo. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio, and the girls had soft drinks. Shortly after ordering, we were brought a lovely basket of piping hot bread, which could be dipped in olive oil and vinegar.

Our food arrived and was very hot. I mention this, because one of my biggest pet peeves in restaurants is receiving tepid food, and it happens a lot. Not at Allegro! My soup was so hot, it was steaming. The serving size was large and filling. The Caesar salad was also a very big size, and it tasted very fresh, with an excellent garlicky homemade dressing (it was not hot, don’t worry!). The Ziti Con Pollo was a pasta dish filled with chicken, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. The portion was huge, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The dish was tangy and tasty.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our experience at Allegro. Adam, our server, was attentive and friendly. The girls received free refills of their drinks. Sadly, I did not receive a free refill of my wine! While we would go back to the restaurant to eat, I do have a couple of observations. The first is the pricing. I realize that the ingredients are high quality, and serving sizes are quite large, but the prices are quite high for a neighbourhood restaurant. As a family of three, we wanted to keep the food portion of our dinner to under $40, and that was difficult to do. In total, our bill came to around $60. That is not an atrocious cost, but we limited our main dishes to only one of us having one to keep the cost down. The other two of us had appetizers. Second, the menu is very sophisticated, which can be limiting. For instance, my daughter would have loved to have had the lasagna, but did not want to have “veal lasagna.” It would be nice to see some more common type items on the menu that would cater to the less sophisticated palate.

Otherwise, we enjoyed our experience very much, and will most certainly go back.

Stephanie lives in McCauley with her family.