heavenly is one word to describe CANALETTOS,i went there whit my wife for diner.stater was Bruschetta mixta,for main coarse Fillet beef whit roast patatoes and chicken fillet whit mushroom sauce.Fabulous meal.Service is excellent.Would go again in a heartbeat!!!!

Went here for a sunday lunch - and enjoyed it very much! The service was good, the waiter friendly and we did not have to wait for our food. We had pizzas, which were delicious! Will definetely be back again.

Our latest visit to Canaletto was at 3 in the afternoon, when there was nobody else in the place. Needless to say we had great service, as usual! We both had excellent pizzas, with my wife making usual changes to the pizzas on the menu. Looking forward to returning for a full evening meal some weekend soon.

My friend and I wanted to go for a nice meal and sit and chat over a glass of vino. We both found he place to be quiet as there weren't really too many eating at 9 o'clock on Sat of Hallowe'en weekend. The staff were very nice and friendly. We had a waitress who was very polite and friendly and made us feel at ease. I ordered calamari to start and my friend had prawns in filo pastry. The only complaint there was that the pastry was a little too salty. I had THE most fantastic main course-spinach and ricotta tortelloni in rose sauce. It was absolutely fabulous. Normally I can never finish a pasta dish in restauraunts but I just couldn't leave it after me!My friend had a pizza which she polished off! We both had tarufo nero for dessert which was gorgeous. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. We were staying in a hotel about a minute away and I would stay there again just to go to this restaurant! Thanks for a fabulous dinner!

Worst meal ever there last night - waiter was not friendly on seating us or taking our order - he did not speak a word to us. Had to ask for starters after waiting 30 minutes, then the food arrived cold and not as described on the menu - a goats cheese salad was a slab of goats cheese on a piece of brown bread, bruscetta was freezing. Had seafood risotto for main - only seafood in it was prawns and one of those was not cooked fully - it was still blue!! Also not risotto rice used and food was cold again. Needless to say I didn't eat it and wasn't charged for it. However the staff still had the cheek to automatically apply 10% service charge for a table of 2! A thoroughly dreadful meal and terrible value for the prices charged. Think they were taking advantage of people going to the Michael Buble concert as the restaurant was busy with concert goers. Will never be back!!

Was bored in the smoking area of a local hotel so convinced the girls to go for a bite to eat instead.... who would have thought it's so difficult to get food at 10.30pm on a Saturday night? Canaletto's came to our rescue with a lovely meal luckily! We all had pizzas which were delicious and served very quickly (can definitely recommend the vegetarian one with the broccoli on it, mmm), and for starters we had calamari, bruschetta, and garlic bread with cheese - all lovely. Along with a nice bottle of Chianti at a reasonable price and a couple of Italian beers, our bill came to approx 25 per head - pretty good value. Altho we were the last people there, we weren't rushed out the door and left at our leisure at around midnight. Overall a much better night than I originally thought I was in for :)

Response:
Ate here again last week (29th Jan 2010) and was not disappointed. Lovely food, friendly service, and fairly reasonable.

Posted by: tomyum on 05/01/2011

Have often passed by this place, never even thought of going in. Finally did last night, and am so glad we did! It is a small Italian restaurant with a big enough menu. There were a few tables of people chatting away to each other, nice enough atmosphere. There was only one waiter there, who was very nice and doing a great job. Our food was excellent. I ordered the special of the day, garlic bread to start, spaghetti with aubergine in spicy tomato sauce and coffee - all for 9.95! my husband had the carbonara which he said was delicious. we had 2 coffees and 2 glasses of wine and the bill was only €37! amazing value for really good food. we also got a plate of biscuits with the coffees which was a fabulous touch. This was a great find for us, and we will definitly be back.

Had lunch with group of 8 people. Started with Bruschetta Al Pomodoro Fresco which was OK, I though the bread was a bit heavy and thick. This was followed by Rigatoni All Amatriciana, light spicey and very enjoyable. Service was good, staff friendly but seemed to be under pressure.

This was my second time here,6 of us managed to getseated with no booking very promptly.Staff were polite and eficient,food was lovley.nice sunday diner.Never disappoited!!

Perfect for lunch. Food is amazing...

joint best pizzas in dublin. had pizzas here on friday, a margerita and rucola (with parma ham). quality is up there with anywhere in italy, cooks in 3 minutes, proper oven, great friendly service, well managed and very reasonably priced. its closest rival (for me) doesn't open evenings or weekends, so this is my top recommendation for evening or weekend pizza.

Canalettos is right beside my work so I'm been here many a time for lunch. Usually the food is great and has the best lasagne i've tasted in Dublin. But the last few times i've gone the food has been cold or reheated! They are great for very small groups but anything larger (we were 9) they're desperate, waiting an hr for food of poor standard.

I work close by, so have had lunch here many a time. The food is consistant, and tasty. It's the perfect place for a quick lunch and priced well for what you get. My favourite is the Tortellini.....

As I work in the area we frequently pop over to Canalettos on a Friday lunch time. The restaurant used to be packed, but now you do not need to have a reservation! The service is fast, friendly enough and fairly efficient and they are good at making changes to dishes (like olives in a calzone) - but at a price - even if you take the other items out (in this case the olives were swapped for the ham). I do enjoy it here, more so if I can eat upstairs, but have a major issue with the service charge on the bill at lunch time. Because its so busy there is not that much 'service' and they do not make you feel special or valued in any way. I think that tips should be discretionary - and that large office parties would be generous when they felt it was warranted. Favorite aspect - they have a pizza with potatoes on it!!

Ate here on Friday lunchtime. Hadn't booked but arrived around 12.30pm and got a table near the window. My friend arrived and we ordered. She had the lasagne, which she said was lovely and I ordered the lemon sole which, acc. to the menu, was in a light batter - it arrived, no batter on it, and very lemony. I like lemon, but it was pretty overpowering and quite greasy. We both had fries but they were overdone, crispy but obviously overdone. We got the bill and a service charge had been added on - for a table of 2 at lunchtime!!! Bad value for money and the arrogance of adding on a service charge for a lunch hour visit means I won't be going back.

Chose a window seat here on a stylish high table - the waiters dealt with it admirably given that it was clearly the most awkward table in the place. Food was great, simple but tasty and fresh italian. Friendly service at a good price, definitely worth a visit for a quiet evening out.

Went on a cold and wet miserable night with a friend. We were the only two people in the place for the entire time we were there. It is possibly down to the interior as lights were up full blast, dodgy arabian (?) musak was on the airways (peculiar for an italian restaurant) and the TV was on in the middle of the restaurant which ended up dominating our conversation sadly. However the food was good. Really good. The pizzas were superb. Pizza bases cooked perfectly and just the right amount of toppings. Only fault, I ordered calamari to start and it came very plain. I asked for tartare sauce with it but obviously created a dilema in the kitchen as nobody seemed to know what that was. I eventually got mayonnaise with sweet chilli (I think) through it. But besides that the calamari was delicious. Pleasant waitress, but no management around, which is prob why lights, music & tv were all wrong. The decor is nice though. Overall... Good food, atmosphere needs work.

the Calzone is fab!!!

I love Canalettos. I went for lunch during work and even though they were very busy, we got a table for 2. The service is always friendly and efficient. The pizzas are a decent size, thankfully no bigger and always very tasty. There is never room for dessert though..

Very nice restaurant with great selection on the menu - have been for lunch and dinner and you get what you order. Staff are very friendly and gave great advice regarding wine. Totally recommend the organic chicken - was very tasty. Nice atmosphere with a mixed crowd including a group of native Italians which is always a good sign. Really enjoyed and will be back.

I had lunch here today and I must say I was very disappointed. I had the Rigatoni with prawns. When it arrived half the prawns were in their shells, this put me right off as the legs and all were left on. It was too difficult to break the prawns out of their shells so I didn't bother but I have to say it ruined my lunch. If the dish just had de-shelled prawns it would have been lovely very tasty but looking at shells and legs turned my stomach. Overall major disappointment.

I love Canaletto! Given the area is now surrounded by franchises, Caneletto makes real, simple Italian food for people that want more than pizza with over-sweetened sauce and boingy cheese or flabby pasta. The menu may be generic, pan-Italian food, but at least it is real Italian food. The linguine with pesto is delicious, but my favourite is the penne arrabiata. The decor is small and comfortable. And the staff are always incredibly nice. I would recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for good, real Italian food.

I have been here for lunch on 2 occasions as it is just around the corner from where I work. It is always busy with the luch time rush and the staff struggle to deal with all the customers. I had a tomato, courgette pasta which was quite bland and tasteless. They forgot about one of the orders at our table and my collegue was left waiting 20 mins for a salad. Nothing spectacular, plenty of restaurants in this part of town of a much higher standard.

Loved it!! Had dinner in Canalettos last night, thought it was fab. Had bruchetta for starter which was gorgeous and a really generous portion, then a lovely pasta dish with prawns for main course. Will defo be returning soon! Also the gentlemen serving us were very nice.

Visited Canaletto's for lunch with colleagues. The service was slow and awkward. We asked for water and got a litre of lukewarm tap water for 8 people! Lasagna had more sauce in it than meat, which in hindsight was a good thing, because the meat in it was sour! Moreover, this was accompanied by freezer chips that tasted just horrible. Very bad food and very bad value for money. Will not be going there again.

Lovely place to eat and meet friends. Staff are great and really look after you. I have eaten many times here and I recommend it to people too.

I enjoy going and eating at canalettos, but i have to say, Some dishes are not as good as you can expect from an Italian restaurant, but the overall quality is good. The staff is always nice. I can recommend the Cheese platter as starter (maybe to share if you're not that hungry), or the bruschetta (value), as main Linguine con Scampi Italian taste, or Straccetti con vino bianco e rucola. Fish is also very good. Tiramisu is the right choice. otherwise a sorbetto. Avoid the pesto pasta and the glass of wine (the house wine is rubbish), go for a bottle instead. Pizza is very good and and is the right choice if your are still undecided.

Visited Canalettos last Tuesday Dec 18th, very nice location and the food was excellent but not great value for money. Four of us ordered two starters among us, a main course and bottle of beer each plus coffee and the bill was 96 euro, a bit steep for lunch but the pizzas were top class. After the main course the waitress took away our plates but never offerred us the dessert menu or asked if we wanted coffee so after a few minutes we had to call over a different waitress for cofees.

I'm an habitual customer of Canaletto and I've tried everything in the menu. Some dishes are not as good as you can expect from an Italian restaurant like this, but the overall quality is good. The staff is always nice. I can recommend the Cheese platter as starter (maybe to share if you're not that hungry), or the bruschetta (value), as main Linguine con Scampi (authentic Italian taste: lovely!) or Straccetti con vino bianco e rucola. Fish is also very good. Tiramisu is the right choice if you're still a bit hungry, otherwise a sorbetto. Avoid the pesto pasta and the glass of wine (the house wine is terrible), go for a bottle instead. Pizza is ok.

I have been here twice and I have no real complaints. This is a good place to get quick wholesome food at a decent price for lunch. Its not a 5* restaurant but its really good for lunch. I had the Pasta, Pizza and Salad here with Friends and there was not a single complaint each time. The food is good, the service is decent and its quick and good value for money. Wouldn't go here for dinner but will go back time and time again for lunch.

Rumours that 'Canalettos' translates from Italian as 'cooked from canal water' might be a bit harsh but after eating here I wouldn't be surprised. Had some salad or other for starter that would be put to shame by a take away salad from the supermarket. The pasta was so bland it doesn't even deserve the creativity involved in coming up with a decent adjective. It was just bad. Like fellow reviewers it's hard not to comment on the appalling acoustics. It can be a very noisy eatery. It's a shame the food doesn't match the trendy signage outside.

I have been to Canalettos a few times with work. For larger groups you are always seated downstairs, it's hard to have a conversation because it gets too noisy. Service is quick but the food isn't great. It's basic Italian food, nothing special. I had the Tripoli pizza and it was so salty! How can you go wrong with a pizza!!

Went here for a quick 'business' lunch and were seated downstairs. There was a cosy atmosphere until a leaving party were seated near us. The acoustics were so bad that everytime anyone at the other table laughed the noise was unbearable. We asked the waiter if he could ask the table to be a bit quieter as they were getting very loud but he just shrugged and walked away. The food was very good and had no problems but paying the bill was painfully slow. I wouldn't go here again and I was glad to hear other diners complaining to the manager about the noise downstairs.

The food is ok, some of the pasta portions are a bit small considering the price & I am not very pleased to see the service charge added on at the end. The waiting staff always break your 20euro note into 5's and coins also. Quite sneaky.

I am very good client of Canalettos rest. It the only rest in the area that does good Italian food or near to it we go there in special times...........the new manager has done wonders for it very good and the staff are excellent...

Was in for lunch last Thurs and was pleasantly surprised that everything was all good! Service was friendly and quick and the pizza was gorgeous, wouldn't say it's great value and a bit sneaky putting on service charge regardless of number of people. I had been previously and didn't have such a positive experience so can fully appreciate all the not so positive comments!

Went to lunch here last friday for the second time. The first time had a table upstairs, this time we were seated downstairs...awful! The acoustics downstairs is terrible, the chairs scraping the floor is deafening and when full, the noise was just unbearable! The food here is good, pasta very well cooked and the pizza is very good. The service however while prompt is quite rude, staff seem to have a bad attitude which is a shame. Overall good food, upstairs seating fine but staff and downstairs seating a big let down.

Went to lunch in Canalettos last Friday, my sweet chilli chicken wasn't very good but I did taste the pizza and it was very tasty. The desert was also disappointing but most of all, the service was very poor. There are plently of good restaurants on Baggot Street that offer very good service and very good food for the same or less money, I will not be rushing back to Canalettos any time soon, I'll happily skip over the road any day of the week.

Can I just start by saying that the pizza here is really good. I have no issue with the food in this restaurant. I have an issue with bad service and hidden extras. It's a pity, because I do like the food here. I think people are generally not good at complaining about bad table service/attitude problems/general bad manners. If any of my work colleagues ask for my opinion on this restaurant, I definitely won't recommend it. I won't be going again.

Just had a lunch in Canaletto’s... WHAT AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE - except for the food. So I'll start with the good the pizza was great can't fault it! The service was dreadful. When asked if we wanted a drink we asked for water in a jug we were still given water in a bottle a litre bottle opened and poured into our glasses before we could say anything, that was ok we said we would just pay for the bottle but at €5.50 a litre its a bit much! I had a nice pizza and asked for extra toppings of olives and rocket salad (extra toppings were not on the menu) the charge for the rocket was €2.50 now that’s just ridiculous. They also had a service charge on the menu, which I really disagree with, it’s only lunchtime and there were only four of us not ten! When I brought up these issues with a waiter, he shrugged a little argued that well you drank the water and then remarked, "Don’t complain to me". On leaving the restaurant I was delighted to hear another table complaining saying they were really unhappy!! When I returned to work, I phoned and asked to speak to the manager to give him a heads up on his staff’s attitude. I now know why they are so bad because he was worse then them. Very rude and argumentative. This was my second time eating in Canaletto’s the first time was not much better but I thought I would give them another chance. Well never again!! Go there at your peril and be prepared to scrutinise your bill..

Really nice lasagne, the pasta sheets are really well cooked. Lovely starters, which are very filling and a nice selection of home made desserts. Great value for money too at lunchtime.

A great spot for a quick lunch, the food was top quality with a good selection on the menu. Service was efficient and friendly.

Nice Staff, really nice Pizzas especially the veggie one with roasted peppers, courgettes...Lasagne are really nice as well which can be hard to find in any other restaurants- Overall good.