Italian restaurants in Toronto
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A
Pizza Libretto
A bit north of Queen West in Portugal Village, Pizza Libretto crafts what is arguably the best pizza in town. The secret? A wood-fired oven built by a third-generation pizza-oven builder with stones shipped from Italy. Besides certified Neapolitan pizza and other Naples staples, the menu also includes a prix fixe lunch (salad, pizza and gelato for $15) and an all-Italian wine list. Make sure you reserve your table for weekends.
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Serra
Serra is an unassuming neighborhood joint with funky retro lighting and cute staff, managing to be hip without straying too far from classic Italian stylings (on the walls and on the plates). Try a wood-oven pizza with grilled tiger prawns, scallops, artichoke hearts and ricotta ($14) or a herb-rubbed free-range chicken breast with sweet potato, spinach and mustard jus. Perfecto !
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C
Kit Kat
A saving grace near the Theatre Block is Kit Kat, where the vibe manages to stay low-key (dare we say, bohemian) despite the surrounding glitz. It's a cute Italian shopfront restaurant, complete with red-and-white checked tablecloths, serving traditional southern Italian pasta and meat dishes like osso bucoMilanese ($22) and spaghetti pescatore ($20).
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Terroni
Terroni is a traditional Southern Italian grocer and deli. Wood-fired pizzas, wines by the glass and fresh panini all approach perfection, served in a busy and upbeat environment. The Adelaide St location is best; it’s in an old courthouse with marble throughout. Don’t bother trying to order a diet Coke at either location, though: these folks are cola purists.
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D
Il Fornello
One of five Il Fornellos in Toronto, this insider’s favorite is popular not only for its seafood-favoring menu but also its 200-seat patio overlooking Lake Ontario. If you’re not fancying fish, there are plenty of other options, including gourmet pizza. We like the fig pizza: mascarpone, figs, honey and prosciutto are a few of the ingredients. Delightful.
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E
65 Degrees
This relatively new kid on the Little Italy block seems to be making good, serving grilled steaks, lamb, chicken and seafood, along with classically hewn pasta and risotto dishes. We can recommend the gnocchi with Alaskan lobster, mixed peppers, baby spinach and cherry tomatoes in a zingy lemon saffron sauce ($16). The interior design is downright sexy.
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F
Spiaggia
A contemporary Italian bistro lifting the tone of far Queen St E, Spaggio delivers its fare in a homely interior or on the front patio, perfect on a balmy summer eve. Starters include simply prepared mussels and calamari plates and light salads moving on to grilled meat, chicken and fish mains. The wine selection takes some beating.
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G
Autogrill
Wow, this sub-street room is soooo sexy! Leave the uncool you at the door, slink down the stairs and order a martini at the bar. Cream leather dining booths await, from which friendly staff receive orders for 10-inch stone-baked pizzas, rigorously re-interpreted pasta favorites and magical risottos.
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Gio Rana’s Really Really Nice Restaurant
Don’t be deterred by outside appearances: though ‘Gio’s’ home was once a nondescript 1950s bank building, the interior is actually (we have to say it) really, really nice. Hip without trying too hard, Gio’s serves up southern Italian staples such as hot sausage risotto, veal, and ‘sexy duck.’
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H
John’s Italian Café
John’s classic joint wouldn’t look out of place in New York’s Little Italy, or even New Jersey. The tree-shaded patio is the perfect summer-night stage for a bottle of Chianti and a fresh cornmeal-crust pizza piled high with toppings. The coffee’s good too.
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I
Mercatto
One of an effervescent string of Italian deli-cafes, Mercatto serves up creative panini, pasta, risotto, frittata and pizza dishes at a central dining bench beneath entirely out-of-place chandeliers. Espresso in the morning or wine at night; dine in or take out: you’ve got options.
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J
Bar Italia
Locals love Bar Italia, a place to see and be seen (especially from a vantage point on the coveted front patio). Grab a sandwich or al dente pasta, with a lemon gelato and a rich coffee afterward – and while away the entire afternoon or evening.
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