Italian restaurants in North America
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A
Trattoria Nostrani
Dinner at this trattoria is like a trip to Italy, complete with fresh pastas made by hand daily. The menu changes often, so return trips are a delight. Choose a theme to guide you through artful food - for a seaside vacation, start with the seared rare scallop salad followed by the talierini with clams or the sautéed shrimp with toasted orzo.
reviewed
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B
Serafina
This lovely neighborhood restaurant in Eastlake specializes in Tuscan-style cooking, with simply prepared meat and fish as well as pastas that can be ordered as a first or a main course. A gorgeous, leafy deck area behind the restaurant now doubles as the entryway to Cicchetti, Serafina’s new sibling. Reservations are recommended.
reviewed
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C
Madame K’s
An elegant red-and-black pizza parlor with an old bordello feel (the building was once a brothel), this small, chic place is packed out for dinner. It’s also a popular place for drinks and desserts. There’s a really nice patio out back, or you can let history repeat itself in the upstairs dessert room with a decadent ‘Chocolate Chip Orgasm’ ($7.50).
reviewed
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D
Capo's Italian Cuisine
The gangster theme starts when you enter through the rear and someone peeks through a peephole to let you in. It's a shtick, for sure, but it's not overdone and just makes the meal - fit for Don Corleone himself - more fun. Psst, here's a tip: any of the house specialties is good, but the Maker's Mark New York steak is worth bustin' outta' jail for.
reviewed
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Ristorante Damiano
If you can’t stomach the thought of a huge plate of pasta and a bottle of wine, head to this contemporary Sicilian café for piattini (small plates) and wine by the glass. It’s a small space, but the large windows and open kitchen make it modern and convivial, especially compared to the old-fashioned eateries on Hanover St.
reviewed
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E
Piccolo
This teensy spot, mere steps from the boardwalk, pays homage to the original Venice with vintage black-and-white photos and Carnevale masks. The food too is as authentic as it gets with beef carpaccio, Tuscan bean soup, pistachio-encrusted lamb loin and any of the homemade pastas getting big thumbs up from the grown-up bohemian crowd. No reservations.
reviewed
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F
Il Buco
This magical nook is a real charmer – it boasts hanging copper pots, kerosene lamps and antique furniture, plus a stunning menu and wine list. Sink your teeth into seasonal and ever-changing highlights like white polenta with braised broccoli rabe and anchovies, homemade pappardelle with a mélange of mushrooms, and a succulent Dijon-crusted lamb chop.
reviewed
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G
Michelangelo
Finicky purists scoff at Michelangelo, but for a cheap plate of spaghetti Bolognese and a convivial crowd, it's hard to beat this hole-in-the-wall joint in the middle of the Columbus St action. Wine comes in rooster-shaped pitchers, and big bowls of gummie bears get passed around for dessert. Fun, easy and fast - except when there's a line. Cash only.
reviewed
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H
Pasto
Italian food gets a contemporary twist at this candlelit cove with its copper ceiling and exposed brick walls. There are some interesting pasta dishes, but the chef’s talent truly shines when it comes to more complex mains, such as squab (young pigeon) with roast apples and spaghetti squash. The six-course tasting menu for two is a steal at $60.
reviewed
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I
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.
reviewed
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J
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.
reviewed
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K
L'Opera
Even simple dishes like bruschetta and pesto gnocchi become feistily flavored culinary works of art at this elegant dining shrine. The waiters are old-school and the sommelier capable of dissecting each wine down to the molecular level. We were blown away by the ravioli ai tartufo (truffle ravioli) and the buttery filet mignon with wild mushrooms.
reviewed
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Ristorante Fiore
Come to Fiore - not for anything so special out of the kitchen, but for the fabulous roof deck (the only one in the North End). It's a wonderful place for a cocktail on a warm summer evening. The menu offers all of your favorite Italian standards, most served with Fiore's signature homemade pasta: you'll certainly be sated if you decide to stay for dinner.
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Café International
The name may be generic, but the food is far from canned at this lively eatery on Little Italy’s main drag. Carefully prepared but unfussy dishes draw in the crowds to feast on homemade pastas, thin-crust pizzas, satisfying sandwiches, calamari salad and superb cappuccinos. In the summer, try to snag a sidewalk table for prime people-watching.
reviewed
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N
Panozzo’s
Stock your picnic basket for the Museum Campus at Panozzo’s. The neatly shelved Italian import store has a deli counter in back that’ll stack take-away hot (house-made meatball) or cold (prosciutto and mozzarella) sandwiches, plus lasagna, rice balls and roasted chicken. Grab a bottle of wine or beer, Italian cookies or cheeses to accompany your selection.
reviewed
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O
Ca’ Del Sole
Sitting beside the fireplace within the Mediterranean walls of Ca’ Del Sole, it’s easy to feel like one of the Hollywood powerbrokers who frequent the place. Efficient, low-key service at this industry haven, bordering NBC/Universal’s busy Gate 3, keeps dealmakers happy while talking numbers over fresh insalata di mare and pumpkin-stuffed mezzelune.
reviewed
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P
Carmen
Exposed brick walls and candlelit tables are good for romance; interesting and exotic menu combinations are good for culinary indulgence. The innovative menu offers a selection of small plates providing a fresh take on traditional fare; mains such as pork roast and seared tuna sit alongside classic pasta dishes.
reviewed
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Q
Al Crostino
This isn't the best food in the city but, at these prices, it's pretty damn tasty. Simple, hearty food is served in reasonable portions. The pastas are probably your best bet, although the steaks can be an equally good choice. In summary, Al Crostino is a welcoming trattoria, where the chef is known to check on patrons and the service is refreshingly attentive.
reviewed
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R
B&B Ristorante
From thriving Italian restaurateur and TV chef Mario Batali and his winemaking partner (the other ‘B’), this risk-taking restaurant delivers eccentric yet tantalizing dishes, such as beef-cheek ravioli, baby red-oak leaf salad with blood-orange dressing and lamb’s brains with lemon and sage. Extravagant Eurocentric wine list. Reservations strongly recommended.
reviewed
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S
Lavagna
Dark wood, flickering candles and a fiery glow from a somewhat open kitchen help make homey Lavagna a late-night hideaway for lovers. But it's laid-back enough to make it appropriate for children, at least in the early hours before the smallish space fills up. Delicious pastas, thin-crust pizzas and a few eclectic mains, such as rabbit ragout, are standard fare.
reviewed
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Stratta
If you’re not feeling flush enough for chef Alessandro Stratta’s high-end dining room, try his laidback trattoria instead, with tables near the casino floor. Wood-oven-fired pizzas, meatball sandwiches and pasta puttanesca keep both the pretheater and preclubbing crowds happy. Tiramisu, cannoli, bombolini and house-made sorbet and gelato tip the dessert scales.
reviewed
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U
Salas’
Above Percy’s Bistro but with a separate entrance, this Newport institution for the hearty, hungry and thrifty serves simple and tasty Italian and seafood dishes, plus a children’s menu. Huge plates of pasta in red-clam sauce are sold by weight, and you’re likely to be a little sentimental for the place after eating their fantastic clam boil.
reviewed
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V
Amelio’s
Smack in the middle of the McGill student ghetto, this well-known joint has fed generations of students with generous portions of pizza and pasta. A medium pizza (always crisp and heaped with toppings) is enough to stuff two people. And the pasta dishes come with sumptuous bread and crisp salads. Lineups outside the plain flat-top structure are common around 6pm.
reviewed
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W
Pizzeria Napoletana
Homemade pasta sauces and thick-sauced pizzas (over 30 different types of each) draw Italian-loving crowds here all year long. The pizza crust – nice and crunchy – is the secret to Napoletana’s success. The dining room is simple with neat wood tables and chairs. Lines can be long, particularly in summer, so avoid peak hours. Bring your own wine.
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Bootlegger Bistro
Ideal spot after doing some outlet shopping, or if you’re just killing time before catching a red-eye flight. This classy brick-walled Italian joint with lipstick red tablecloths and leather booths serves up hand-tossed pizzas, baked lasagna, ravioli and eggplant parmigiana, plus ‘graveyard’ old-school pasta specials (from 11pm to 6am). There’s live entertainment nightly.
reviewed