From the team behind Lucia and Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, Sal’s Pasta & Chops is a new Italian-Canadian spot now open in Little Italy. It takes over the former home of Wolfie, which surprised diners when it shut down in May after less than a year.
Michael Sangregorio and Fabio Bondi have happily swooped in to fill the hole left by Wolfie, with homemade pastas, nostalgia-inspired meats and international wines. Nestled between the CHIN Radio building and the Royal Theatre, Sal’s is named after both of their fathers — each named Sal. After years of searching, Sangregorio says the Little Italy space just made sense.
“When they first immigrated to Toronto, like many other Italians, our fathers settled on College Street, so we just thought it was a very fitting location, like a coming home of sorts,” says Sangregorio. “My dad is still active with Sunday lunches and dinners, and both of us get excited to cook together. We built a pizza oven together from scratch, and make salumi together every year.”
To honour their namesakes, the owners have collected old photos of their dads from their early days in Canada. The images are enlarged and framed as a personal tribute on the walls.
“There’s going to be hundreds of photos of them in the restaurant,” Sangregorio says.
Fans of Lucia will recognize some of the “greatest hits” on the menu — like the hand-rolled ziti — alongside new antipasti and a lineup of handmade pastas. One throwback favourite even gets the full tableside treatment, served straight from a parmesan wheel.
As for the chops side of the menu, expect to find no shortage of mouth-watering lamb, pork and veal.
Sal’s has plenty of Italian and French wine labels and wines on tap, including some curated specially for Sal’s from Tawse Winery. While Sangregorio assures these, like the specialty cocktails, are affordable, he also suggests there are more expensive bottles for those extra special nights out.
The spacious eatery seats 70 guests inside, as well as an additional handful of diners on the back patio and CaféTO sidewalk patio.
Sal’s Pasta & Chops is located at 614 College St.
