New Italian restaurants in Toronto are serving up everything from traditional staples to contemporary creations, but one thing remains constant: they hit the spot, no matter what.
When scoping out a dinner reservation that’ll please everyone, there’s no cuisine easier to fall back on than Italian. Whether it’s pizza, pasta or antipasti, Italian restaurants across Toronto have a near-perfect record for knocking it out of the park.
Luckily for us, there’s an ever-expanding number of them in the city that you can check out, including a fresh new crop that have opened their doors in recent months.
Here are five new Italian restaurants in Toronto you need to try at least once.
Proper
Though the loss of La Cubana’s original Roncesvalles location shattered hearts across the city, this American-Italian venture that took over certainly softened the blow.
Specializing in downtown vibes and New York City-inspired Italian fare, this stylish new spot is waking up the neighbourhood’s nightlife potential while serving sleek cocktails and “New York Italian, served proper.” Get it?
Pastalia
Parmesan wheels are no longer exclusively the domain of old-school, white tablecloth Italian joints. At this casual West Queen West restaurant, you can take your parm-wheel creation to go.
Something like a Subway for pasta instead of sandwiches, here, you can craft your perfect bowl, picking out your ideal pasta shape, sauce and toppings.
Osteria Alba
This stylish new Little Italy haunt took over the space recently vacated by the iconic Vivoli, and it was a worthy swap.
With a kitchen helmed by Adam Perreira (Cano), this spot is a contemporary interpretation of the neighbourhood’s Italian history, with inventive takes on classic dishes, like house-cured salmon stagionato, pillowy-soft gnocchi alla Romana and mortadella-pistachio pizza.
Blue Horse Cucina
One of two new ventures from the team behind the beloved, but tragically now-closed, Kramer’s Bar & Grill, this Etobicoke eatery is an entirely new operation inspired by the team’s Italian heritage.
Expect a casual, friendly atmosphere complete with checkered tablecloths and bountiful plates like ossobuco tagliatelle, grilled seafood platters and veal piccata, all with the same family vibes that made Kramer’s a local staple.
Notte
Though Amano Trattoria, the lauded Italian venture from Yannick Bigourdan (Lucie, The Carbon Bar), was a local staple, it’s been overridden by this refreshed concept, which might just be even better.
The menu, designed by chef Michael Angeloni, is designed for late-night get-togethers, with a full salumi bar, handmade pastas and epic shareable plates like 12-oz. bone-in veal parmesan.
Dining and Cooking