New Italian restaurants in Toronto are serving up your favourite dishes, from antipasto all the way to dolce, and putting their own unique spins on them in the meantime.
From fashionable spots serving pasta made fresh in-house daily to lively eateries that pay homage to one of the biggest hubs of Italian culture outside of Italy (New York City, of course!), the city is bubbling over with places where you can load up on parmigiano and carbs.
Here are some new Italian restaurants in Toronto you need to check out.
Fuoco Mio
Head to this cozy food truck turned restaurant for a true taste of Calabria on the Junction-Baby Point border.
Here, you can dine on a comprehensive selection of Italian classics, from antipasti favourites like bruschetta, steamed calimari and polpette, followed up by a bounty of pizza, pasta and primi options, all made fresh to order.
Occhiolino
Leave it to Little Italy to be home to one of the hottest new Italian spots to open this year.
Casual-yet-contemporary interiors blend with breezy service and a bevy of different pasta dishes, the noodles for which are all made in house. Pair with pre-pasta snacks like focaccia di Gesu and burrata or carne crudo and watch your worries melt away.
Public Gardens
A decidedly unique but always welcome take on Italian food, this lively King West spot pays homage to New York’s distcint interpretation of the cuisine.
With interiors that make you feel like you’ve just stumbled in from Central Park and a menu replete with comfort food staples like mozzarella sticks, braised meatballs (served, as they should be, with a thick stick of garlic bread), pizza, pasta and plenty of cocktails, this spot will have you shouting “I’m walkin’ here!” at the 504 streetcar.
Armonia Pasta Bar
Who doesn’t like pasta? No one, that’s who!
That’s exactly why this Parkdale pasta bar cuts out all the nonsense (meaning, anything that isn’t pasta, save for a selection of antipasti and desserts,) and leaves you with a sublime menu featuring the likes of beef osso buco ravioli, roasted eggplant gnocchi and shrimp linguine with leeks and Sambuca cream.
Bar Niro
The perfect spot for a casual date night or pre-dinner cocktail, this Dundas West snack bar specializes in aperitivo-based cocktails and small plates.
Here, sipping on a Negroni while nibbling focaccia, cured meats, olives, potato chips and cheeses feels undeniably sophisticated, aided, no doubt, by their dutifully restored 170 year-old bar and antique furniture.
Fareen Karim at Armonia Pasta Bar
