Fabbrica

I found myself in the northeast region of Toronto one day and in need of some lunch. It was just me and the baby, so I decided that the Shops on Don Mills were probably a pretty safe bet. From there, I decided to give Fabbrica a try.

Restaurant: Fabbrica
Location: Don Mills
Meal: Lunch
Day: Thursday
Son's Age: 7 months

Fabbrica is owned my Mark McEwan, aka Canada's version of Tom Colicchio, as far as Top Chef is concerned. So far, my experience with celebrity chefs' restaurants have been relatively good (a couple of exceptions that I will not name now but probably suffered from too much hype), so I was actually really looking forward to my meal.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first tip off that accessibility would be good was location - the Shops at Don Mills are both baby friendly and wheelchair accessible (which generally also means stroller accessible). I brought my son in his stroller and the hostess made sure I got a table where I could easily park him next to me.

The next table over had three young children - one in a car seat, one in a high chair, and one in a booster. Thus, I was able to determine that this restaurant is prepared for children of all ages. There is also a family washroom available.

While there isn't a change table per se, as you can see, there is a long counter spot which you could easily use in lieu of s change table. The front entrance also has a handicap button to open the door automatically, which is nice when you are pushing a stroller alone.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As I mentioned, the hostess was nice enough to find me a table where I could park my son. I was also able to check my coat at the front, which is always useful when I'm going out with baby and don't want my coat in the way. My server also brought me a little pot of hot water to heat my son's food.

I like that there's a lid too - it makes me feel like I'm heating the food up quicker (not sure if it's actually true but the placebo effect can be surprisingly useful sometimes). When I was torn between two different dishes for lunch, my server helpfully let me know that I didn't need to make a decision because I could order half portions of both! He was very interactive with my baby, which I always appreciate. I couldn't ask for better service.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Moment of truth. I really wanted to like the food, and we were off to a good start with the bread.

Served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the bread had a nice crunch to the crust but was soft and warm on the inside. For my main, I ordered a half portion of Nonna McEwan's ravioli and a half portion of the pappardelle.

The ravioli was made with veal, pork, beef, tomato sauce, and reggiano. I figured this must be a signature dish because of the naming, but it was shockingly bland. In retrospect, I wish I asked for some chilli flakes or oil just to add any kind of flavour to it. The pappardelle, on the other hand, was more promising. This came with braised short rib, tomato, and basil. The short rib was delicious but a touch saltier than I'd like. This actually worked in my favour as it balanced out the boring ravioli. The pasta itself was good but a tad thicker than I like my pappardelle. Flaws in this dish were minor, and if I had only ordered the pappardelle, perhaps I could give a more generous rating, but I just can't believe how underwhelming that ravioli was!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
While the food didn't live up to my expectations, the restaurant is extremely accessible for families with babies, and the service is impeccable. If you are in the area with your baby, I would say this place is worth a try.