Fraticelli's

Looking for a good Italian restaurant in Richmond Hill sometimes requires a bit of sleuthing however this restaurant really required no research as many of my friends had eaten there before and had a really good time over there.  This restaurant is Fraticelli's which is located just off of Highway 404 in the Richmond Hill area, just north of Toronto area.

We had made reservations and were promptly given our seats upon entering the restaurant.  There were four of us including a friend, my daughter and my wife at the restaurant that evening.  We decided to share about two appetizers and three entrees for the evening so that we could taste a little bit of everything.  For this evening, we decided to go with 2 Zuppa Del Giorno (for this evening it was the Mushroom Soup) ($6.25), 1 Meatballs al Forno ($9.00), 1 Spaghetti Del Pescatore ($19.50), 1 Veal Picata ($23.25) and 1 Short Ribs Stracotto ($29.75).

The Zuppa Del Giorno (Mushroom Soup for this evening) arrived first and looked quite yummy.  The rich brown greenish color looked marvelous under the dimly lit lights.  The texture of the soup was nice and smooth and perfectly pureed.  I took one sip of this soup and I was taken aback by the quality and texture of the soup.  The mushroom taste was very strong with each sip and it hit one's senses right on the nose.  There may have been a touch of coconut milk in it as well although I'm not entirely sure about that.  It was just rich in flavor and was one of the best starter soups I had in quite some time.  This starter was a no-doubter and was well worth the price.

Mushroom Soup

The other appetizer we had that evening was the Meatballs Al Forno.  As the title states, this was basically three rather large sizes of meatballs immersed in a rich and cheesy pasta sauce.  One could tell that the meatballs were all hand rolled as the meat inside the meatball was "fluffy" and the meat separated rather easily when biting into it.  Personally I actually loved the pasta sauce more so than the meatballs.  The sauce was absolutely amazing and it's no wonder the pastas in this restaurant had always scored high ratings.  Either way, the dish came with three rather large meatballs, one for each person at the table.

Meatballs Al Forno

Once we were done with the fabulous appetizers, the three entrees all arrived at the same time.  The Short Ribs Stracotto came with about two beautifully seasoned ribs surrounded by its chianti sauce and mashed potatoes.  The ribs had absorbed the sauces really well however although the meat did fall off the bones eventually, the meat was just a tad bit tougher that evening as it did take a bit of muscle to cut the meat into its various pieces.  The sauce was delicious and the mashed potatoes were nice and creamy and soft and was a perfect side with the short ribs.

Short Ribs Stracotto

The next dish I tried was the Veal Picata.  The first thing one notices when the dish was placed on the table was the size of the basil pesto orzo that came with the veal.  It was a good thing that there were about four of us because there was no way one of us could have been able to finish the orzo alone.  The veal was interesting.  Truthfully it didn't looked like the greatest piece of meat despite being served with lemon herb piccata sauce however once again this was where looks could be deceiving.  The meat actually absorbed the sauce very well and was actually soft and juicy. One could taste the veal despite the creaminess of the sauce but overall it was a nice dish to have.  Oh and the orzo, that was about as perfect of a rice as one could ever have.  It was nicely seasoned and moist to perfection. 

Veal Picata

The last thing I tried was the Spaghetti Del Pescatore.  Translated, this was basically your seafood spaghetti where hand made spaghetti was stirred and mixed with mussels, calamari and large tiger shrimps.  The spaghetti was mixed with a spicy tomato white wine sauce which was absolutely perfect for this pasta.  The reason was that the seafood in this dish was fresh and tasty and any stronger sauce would have potentially overwhelmed the seafood's taste.  By going with a lighter white wine sauce with a touch of not so spicy tomato sauce, it was perfect blend for the spaghetti and not to steal the overall taste of the seafood.  It was ingenuity at its best and made this a wonderful spaghetti dish to have.

Spaghetti Del Pescatore

Overall, we all had a great time.  With a couple of Ceasar's to go with our dishes, the total price was just around $150.00 CDN tax and tip included.  The server was around our table all night and kept our drinks full throughout the evening.  The meats were not perfect however they were still both above average while the mushroom soup and the spaghetti received full marks all the way.  Another visit to this place will definitely be the case in the future.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Fraticelli's
10 Vogell Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario

905-883-6841