Na ROMA PIZZA BAR 

215 Locke Street, Hamilton On., (905) 525-5599, Mon.-Thurs. and Sunday 11 am-9pm, Fri. and Sat. 11 am-10 pm

My son Thomas and I, decided to go to Locke Street in Hamilton for a pizza on a Sunday evening in early November.  We went to Na Roma Pizza.  

It is located in a converted Victorian house and has a good sized patio on the front facing the street.  This particular Sunday evening every restaurant on Locke Street was extremely busy. The interior of the restaurant has an unusual  layout consisting of two levels.  The lower level has tables and the upper level has bar height long tables.  It is quite tight inside - but it works.  There are many interesting photos of Hamilton's history lining the walls which helps encourage discussion.

Although conversation is encouraged here, the room is noisy due to the hard surfaces and needs a bit of soundproofing.  However, the food is very good.  We ordered a beer and pizza.

We split a small pizza with two different choices on it.

One half was Brie and Prosciutto and consisted of mozzarella, triple cream brie cheese, prosciutto, fig jam, caramelized onions, arugula, and reduced balsamic.  The other half was Pollo Alla Brace.  It had mozzarella, BBQ chicken, cheddar cheese, red onion and mushrooms.  The crust was nice and light and the toppings were copious and very tasty.

The food here is very good.  They usually have a featured soup and their salads are gigantic.
We went back August 16th 2014 to try some more of their delicious pizzas and they were still great as was the service.  Keep up the great work Na Roma!!

The house wine was good too!

http://www.naroma.ca/

SICILIAN SIDEWALK CAFE 

We went to the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe after having a wonderful dinner at the Standard Restaurant just down the street, in Little Italy on College street.  

This cafe serves great Sicilian cannoli that are filled only when ordered (so that they don't sit in the display case). They are large and mouthwatering.

Their capuccinos are also on the large side and very creamy.

What a treat!

During the summer they have a wonderful large patio and serve a wide selection of gelato.  They also serve a variety of other mouthwatering deserts and cakes.  
http://sicilianicecream.com/

EAST SIDE MARIOS 

119 Osler Drive, Dundas Ontario, Dundas On., L9H 6X4 

Went to East Side Marios in Dundas University Plaza.  It is a gigantic place with a number of rooms with tables and a large bar area.  It also has an outside patio facing the parking lot.  This restaurant is not typical of most other East Side Marios because of its size and ability to seat many patrons.  It is not sophisticated but reasonably priced and family oriented comfort food.

We began with the typical Marios dinner - a salad and garlic bread.  It was good and appetizing.  We ordered a bottle of Valpolicella to go with our meal.

We began by ordering a bottle of Valpolicella wine, which seems to always be our first step.  Then the bread and salad arrived.

We ordered fried calamari for an appetizer.

I decided to order chicken piccata with capers and mushrooms and a side of spaghetti with herbs.  It was yummy and filling, especially after the salad and bread.

 My sister in law Kathy had the chicken Roma which was a breaded piece of chicken on top of pasta.  It was also quite good.

Our meals where quite filling and substantial, they hit the spot along with the wine we had.  It was reasonably priced meal in a nice environment.  Our waitress was distracted by some friends but somehow served us fairly well.


http://www.eastsidemarios.com/

PROOF THE VODKA BAR 4.5 out of 5

Yorkville area,  220 Bloor Street West in the Intercontinental Hotel, Toronto On. (416) 324-6645, Mon.-Thurs.  3:30 pm to 12 am, Fri. 3:30 pm to 1:00 am, Sat 3:30 pm to 2:00 am, Sun. 3:30 pm to 12:00 am

After having a great meal and some not very good wine at the Bedford Academy on Prince Arthur Avenue, six of us decided to go to the Proof Vodka Bar for some after dinner drinks - it was only a couple of blocks away.  So we took a leisurely walk through Yorkville - it was a beautiful still night for November.  

Across from the Lee-Chin crystal at the ROM is the Continental Hotel on the North side of Bloor Street.

the Lee-Chin Crystal at the ROM

On the front of the hotel beside the lobby is the Proof Vodka Bar.

christmas tree in the lobby of the Continental Hotel

Proof is a beautiful, relaxing, space to have a drink.  It has a number of white very soft leather couches, chairs, benches and bar stools.  The seating was so comfortable that we did not want to leave.  As the evening wore on, more people started to arrive, yet the noise level didn't rise because the bar is so spacious and has a variety of gathering areas.  It also has a beautiful patio lounge in the summer for outdoor dining.

The lounge was so comfortable that we had quite a number of wonderful cocktails and prosecos.  The waiter delivered some complimentary olives which was nice.  He was very efficient and personable.  The cocktails average between 9 and 14 dollars and are well presented.  Though we did not have any food, there is a good list of tapas and deserts which could be had with your drinks.  We will explore these on another visit.  All of us had an extremely wonderful time in conversation and enjoyed the calmness of this space. It has now become our go to bar in this area of the city - we can't wait to go back.

There are many pictures of this lounge and some menu items on their website.  They also have a good video on their website.   


http://www.proofvodkabar.ca/