Plant-based and pescatarian Italian restaurant Ufficio has called it quits – but another plant-based eatery has opened in its place.
Launched five years ago by co-owners Stacey Patterson and Jennifer Coburn, the Dundas West fine dining spot focused on seafood and pasta dishes, but expanded the menu during the pandemic to include vegan fried chicken and fish sandwiches in response to the rising popularity of takeout-friendly comfort food.
They also launched a ghost kitchen Stefano’s Sandwiches, specializing in takeout-friendly vegan sandwiches.
“Our regular customers at Ufficio are typically older, affluent people and I think they definitely express the fear of going back into restaurants,” Patterson told NOW earlier this year. “I’m going to be adjusting to Dundas and Ossington and the millennials by making prices a little more affordable but maintaining the quality. But the perception of us being somewhat fine dining – I’m not going there again in this lifetime.”
Ufficio’s Instagram account lists the closing date as July 5.
Gia Restaurant has since opened in the same space at 1214 Dundas West. Billed as “plant-forward dining,” the restaurant’s menu includes an assortment of Italian-style plant-based and vegetarian pasta dishes. It’s open for both indoor and patio dining.
