This place is located on Ontario Street beside...
This place is located on Ontario Street beside the memorial gardens. When I was a kid growing up here in Stratford I remember going to this building with my mother to buy me clothes. It was for as long as I could remember Brown's clothing store. Little did I know that as an adult I would be eatting and drinking in the same building. Stranger things happen I suppose. The establishment is divided into a higher end upper restaurant and the lower casual "basement". As noted in the heading the focus of this post is the downstairs casual restaurant and bar. To call it a basement does it a diservice as it is decorated in a sleek modern fashion that blends well with the location. Entry can be had from Ontario street through the main doors and down the stairs or from a back door just off the corner of memorial gardens and the alley by the apartment building. To the right of the stairs is restaurant style seating and the open kitchen. The floor is architectural concrete throughout the place with oriental rugs and the exposed brick and stone foundations give a cosy old world feel. To the left and straight ahead is the bar, booth seating and a half dozen tables toward the back entry. Tucked behind the stairs is a wonderfully done wine cellar with a glass wall for viewing. Nice touch. We tend to always sit in the bar area either at the bar or in one of the booths. The decor here is dark mahogany woods, sleek lighting and surprisingly for a basement some nice sized windows. They also have local art on the walls and it is available for sale. The menu is straight forward and uncluttered. They have an extensive list of hand made pizza with top notch ingrediants which you can order as you like or in pre-done combinations. I must say that the pizza is excellent. Yes... a bit more expensive that the usual delivery fare, but the quality and taste is well worth the price. They had a special on friday nights last year and I hope they do it again, buy two pints of stratford pilsiner and get a margaritia pizza for half price. We did this several times during the winter months. Yes this place stays open in the winter....high marks from me as many of the good places in town close. Three other notables on the menu are the Mushroom Brushetta...unbeleiveably good.....the mussels...the best and probably only place to get them in town....and virtually any pasta on the menu is top notch italian. The quality and presentation is excellent in all the pasta dishes. The only place in town that can come close is the daily pasta special at Fosters. Service has always been good. Friendly and prompt. Downstairs at Pazzo is worth a visit for a drink, food or both.