A new Italian restaurant that took over the former home of an old Italian restaurant officially opens for business in Toronto this week. I bet it won’t come as a surprise when I tell you it’s in Little Italy.
It’s no secret that the volume of Italian food in Little Italy is waning these days.
Sure, newer ventures like Sal’s Pasta & Chops and Danny’s Pizza Tavern (and Danny’s Next Door, for that matter) are doing their part to revive the scene, but scores of old-school Italian restaurants, bakeries and businesses have also been closing their doors.
In the summer of 2025, it was Vivoli that vacated its stalwart space at the corner of College and Beatrice after 20 years. A true neighbourhood staple, the quiet closure caused an understandable stir among its fans.
Mercifully, though, its usurper promises to restore the address to its rightful place: serving droolworthy Italian fare, albeit in a slightly more youthful environs.
Opening its doors on Monday, Feb. 2, Osteria Alba is poised to be the latest restaurant to return Italian food to Little Italy, helmed by Executive Chef Adam Pereira, who spent eight years running the kitchen at St. Clair West’s Cano.
While Osteria Alba is undeniably its own entity, the goal in its inception was not to replace Vivioli: rather, Alba offers something of a rebirth to the Italian restaurant.
Completely redesigned to suit a younger audience, the restaurant still maintains a sense of classical Italian hospitality. An open kitchen allows diners an up-close view of their food’s journey to the table in a brightly lit entrance area, while, beyond, a more intimate dining room is a refined space for an intimate dinner.
On the menu, expect a lively lineup of Italian classics with subtle nods to French and Mediterranean cuisine.
Starters like a rich and unexpectedly sweet chicken liver pate, house-cured salmon swimming in basil oil and pillowy-soft gnocchi alla Romana set the scene before a full suite of pizzas and pastas steal the show.
If you want my recommendations, the mortadella pizza and lobster fettuccine absolutely must land on your plate.
Much like the restaurant’s concept itself, the menu pays homage to the space’s history as a traditional Italian restaurant while solidifying its own updated identity. Familiar classics bob and weave around played-out tropes and instead land in unexpected and frequently delicious territory.
It also helps that, come summertime (remember summertime?), the restaurant’s spacious side patio will prove an ideal spot to share a plate of pasta over an Aperol spritz. Sigh.
Osteria Alba is located at 665 College St., and reservations are open now.
Dining and Cooking