La Cantina (Hamilton, ON)

60 Walnut Street South
Hamilton, Ontario
905.521.8989
website

On a Friday evening, my boyfriend A took me out to dinner. We went to one of the most popular Italian restaurants in downtown Hamilton, La Cantina. While I've been to the more casual side of the restaurant, I had never been on the more formal side until this time.



A and I took a corner booth, which allowed me to people watch while munching on the complementary bread and butter.



We decided to share a starter and ordered the bruschetta mista, so we could sample a few bruschetta. Our plate included the bruschetta tradizionale (tomato mixture), con Formaggio (provolone, asiago and mozzarella), alla Molisana (sundried tomato and goat cheese) and alla Calabrese (tomato and bocconcini) and a fifth one with a roasted vegetable mixture. Each bruschetta was really big with a generous topping. A and I really enjoyed our starter!


Our bruschetta medley.

A and I each got tempted with the specials. A got the vegetarian pasta with tomatoes and asiago ($14). The portion was really big but A was disappointed with his dish. It looked like a large plate of pasta with a bit of tomatoes and some cheese.


A's pasta.

I felt bad for A because I really enjoyed my shells stuffed with seafood, including shrimps, scallops and lobster ($23). When ordering seafood pasta dishes, I always wonder how much seafood there actually will be. I could spot large pieces of scallops and lobster. It was a winning dish for me!


My yummy seafood shells!

I guess that I got lucky with my dish while A was rather unlucky. I've really enjoyed pizzas at La Cantina in the past, and would recommend that. Otherwise, the service was very attentive and the atmosphere very nice.