The atmosphere at Cafe Amore Bistro is an interesting one. Although the food and service has a higher-class feel, the tables and decorations make the restaurant feel more relaxed and comfortable (the plastic tablecloths screams “diner”). However, as you’re walking into or even past the building, the smell is amazing. If you’re lucky like us, a delightful accordian player may appear approximately halfway through your meal and play a couple of songs. It really adds to the authentic Italian atmosphere.

The first starter we ordered was the rapini. Rapini is a leafy, green vegetable, almost like a combination of kale and asparagus. This deliciously simple dish was sauteed in garlic — a lot of garlic — and olive oil and served warm, and makes for a lovely starter.

The second starter we tried was the maple sausage crostini. This appetizer combined crostini, ricotta cheese, a maple glaze, and Cafe Amore’s sausage — which is made in house. The ricotta cheese did a nice job of balancing out the maple glaze, and the sausage had a slightly warm and spicy aftertaste. It is definitely worth trying if you enjoy a medley of flavours.

The first main dish we tried was the calamari made up as a pasta dish with linguine. The calamari in a tomato wine sauce was nicely flavoured, if a bit bland, but the squid was quite tough and served in pieces arguably too big to be in a pasta dish. All seafood can be served on its own, or made into a pasta dish, which was nice to learn.

The second main dish we ordered was the Amore Pesctatore in a garlic and white wine sauce. The variety of seafood in the dish was spectacular. It included crab, scampi, shrimp, mussels, and clams. The pasta was also done to al dente perfection. Our only critique of this dish was that the white wine sauce was pretty bland. We will be ordering the Pesctatore with the tomato sauce in the future.

For dessert, the tiramisu at Cafe Amore does not disappoint. It is fluffy and sweet, but not too sweet as the coffee liqueur and mascarpone cheese still shine through in a beautiful way. Although you may want to have it all to yourself, it is more than large enough to share.

To drink, we recommend the Amore Prosecco. It features a hibiscus flower garnish, which sits delightfully in the bottom of your glass and can be eaten once you have finished. We highly recommend tasting the flower afterwards. While the texture is a bit alien, the flavour is similar to sugar plums — or, in other words, irresistible.

Overall, we give Cafe Amore a 7/10 and recommend it as a drinks, dessert, and appetizer spot.