This Montreal restaurant feels straight out of Italy and serves pasta in a giant cheese wheel

You don’t need to book a flight to enjoy a little slice of Italy. Right here in Montreal, you can enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of La Dolce Vita, all by just booking a table.

This Montreal restaurant makes it easy to get classic Italian flavours, cozy trattoria vibes and a seriously unforgettable pasta experience — no passport necessary.

Tucked away in Old Montreal, Jacopo is an Italian restaurant offering authentic dishes made from fresh, seasonal ingredients.

With its cozy and casual ambiance, it’s the ideal spot for lunch, brunch, or a fun evening out.

Located in the heart of Old Montréal, the restaurant, spread across two floors, provides the perfect backdrop for a great meal.

Set on Place Jacques-Cartier, Jacopo blends rustic Italian charm with modern elegance. Inside, you’ll find exposed stone walls, warm wood accents, hanging greenery, soft lighting and crisp linens that’ll have you feeling like you’re dining in a little trattoria in Rome, rather than Canada.

During the warmer months, the restaurant offers a picturesque terrace that makes for a dreamy spot to linger over dinner and a glass of wine surrounded by the beauty of Old Montreal.

The menu celebrates traditional Italian cuisine, with fresh ingredients and house-made pastas. Chefs Giovanni Vella and Jason Jang take inspiration from rustic Roman trattorias, creating a menu of fresh dishes and Italian classics.

Diners can start with antipasti like the house bruschetta, beef carpaccio, homemade focaccia, or popular calamari fritti, which is fried calamari served with a lemon aioli sauce, before moving on to handmade pasta, seafood and meat dishes.

For pasta, the restaurant offers classics like spaghetti amatriciana, featuring guanciale, onions, garlic, tomato sauce, chili, pecorino and basil, and linguine pescatore, pasta topped with lobster, scallops, cherry tomatoes, pangrattato and a creamy bisque sauce.

The restaurant also offers hearty “secondi,” or second courses, including a salmon fillet with mashed potatoes, asparagus and black fish roe served with a lobster bisque, as well as braised short ribs served with asparagus and gremolata polenta.

One of Jacopo’s signature experiences is its fettuccine pasta special, which is prepared tableside inside a massive wheel of aged cheese.

Fresh fettuccine pasta is served with a creamy white wine and truffle sauce and prepared directly in a hollowed-out wheel of pecorino cheese, allowing the heat to melt the rich cheese into a silky sauce.

Not only does it make for an entertaining presentation, but it also results in a creamy, cheesy pasta that’s both simple and packed with flavour.

Diners also commend the wine menu here, which features a wide selection of private imports. You can refer to the in-house sommelier to find the perfect pairing for your meal.

It practically goes without saying that no Italian dinner is complete without dessert, and Jacopo offers a few enticing, classic options, including tiramisu and three flavours of cannoli.

Between its elegant atmosphere, authentic Italian flavours, and cheese-wheel pasta, it’s easy to see why Jacopo has become a favourite in Montreal for both locals and visitors.

If you’ve been dreaming about an Italian getaway but aren’t ready to book a flight, this Montreal restaurant offers the next best thing.

From the cozy ambiance to the fresh pastas, Jacopo delivers a little slice of Italy right in the heart of the city.