Spero Ristorante - York

Spero restaurant is tucked away in a plaza and easy to ignore or overlook. Inside the ambiance is serene, the service friendly an attentive.The menu offers traditional fare. Note that the medium size pizza bruchetta is enough for four people! The veal recipes are satisfying, but not adventurous in terms of spicing. Veggies are fresh and cooked well, but presented without pretension. You probably won't have room for dessert.The wine list is sure to please at all price levels, but I would like to see more Canadian wines.

Four of us dined at this restaurant on Saturday evening. It was a cool evening

I moved to the Newmarket area in 1986 and soon discovered a great Italian Restaurant in what was then called the Weston Produce Plaza. Yes, very Italian and perfect for the clientele that frequented the plaza. Years past and that same restaurant lost it's status for me...until now! A new chef, Eugene Plank entered! I believe new ownership with a name change to Spero Ristorante occurred and this plaza is now referred to as the Nature Emporium Plaza. Anyway, what I do know for sure is after deciding to give this same location a try again it was absolutely amazing! Same location, same atmosphere, but the tastes and presentations brought me home! The food which made this restaurant my go-to with clients, family and friends has returned and I can only attribute the turnaround to the great new Chef!

I live in East Gwillimbury, which is just north of Newmarket, east of Yonge west of Bathurst. My husband and I enjoy going out to dinner on Saturday nights, but don't like to go far anymore, especially in winter. One evening, I googled "wood oven pizza, Newmarket", and Spero Ristorante popped up. We were very excited, but weren't expecting much. This Restaurant is situated in the strip plaza, southwest corner of Yonge/Mulock, but the south side of the plaza. The restaurant is very popular and busy, especially on a Saturday night. Spero's takes reservations, and I have never had a problem with a reservation. However, I have gone out of my way to go into this restaurant during the week, and I have found it fairly empty, only to be turned away by the owner under the pretense of understaffed. I have friends who come a long way to meet me for dinner, and I find it exasperating to be turned away by a local restaurant, when we have gone out of our way to get there...especially when it is relatively empty. However, the restaurant is nicely decorated, and the atmosphere feels right. It is relatively quiet, so that you can have a conversation with the person(s) you are with. I find the menu has something for everybody (pasta, wood oven pizza, meat, chicken, fish), and the wine list is extensive enough. The service is not consistent, which is why I have given this restaurant a 4 out of 5. There are times I get my food in a fair amount of time (this is not a fast food restaurant, thankfully), but there have been times I have waited over an hour to get my main course, again when the restaurant is not at capacity). Even if the restaurant is full on a Saturday night, the owner/staff are aware of what is necessary to get the job done in a reasonable amount of time. While this is a nice restaurant, it is a "middle of the road" type of place. I do believe it is a family restaurant, but not meant for small children. If you live in Aurora or Newmarket, this is a very nice restaurant. Please make sure you have a reservation.

Had a reservation for 8pm on Valentine's Day. I called ahead to confirm shortly before setting out for the restaurant. We waited inside the door (with many others) for 10 minutes without being greeted. When I tracked down one of the staff he told me I'd be seated on a first come, first served basis and that it would be about 20 more minutes.We waited twenty more minutes and it looked like it would still be a long while.My Valentine and I went to the grocery store to pick up fixins' for a late dinner. It sure didn't make for a happy Valentine's Day for me. I sent an email to the restaurant the next day, but heard nothing back. Not sure what a reservation means to the folks at Spero.