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Food & Drink

Patio: West Side

Rating: NNNNN


Bairrada

1000 College, at Havelock, 416-539-8239. Upfront, it’s a noisy Portuguese family-style take-away. But out back come spring, the College flagship gives way to a huge grassy backyard decked out with rows of picnic tables and a sunken grotto complete with burbling fountain. Bonus: spit-roasted pig every Wednesday! Other locations: 2293 St. Clair W, 416-762-4279. Best: besides suckling pig, count on succulent grilled-over-steam chickens doused with house piri-piri, sided with roasted potato balls (pass on the watery Portuguese-style boiled-to-death green veggies) gargantuan carnivorous platters of egg-topped steaks sided with smashed spuds ’n’ olives grilled sardines and barbecued salt cod. Complete dinners for $35 per person (lunches $25), including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $12. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30 am to 11 pm, Sunday 10 am to 8 pm (College) Monday, Wednesday to Saturday 10:30 am to 8 pm, Sunday 10 am to 8 am (St. Clair). Closed Monday Tuesday (St. Clair). Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Cafe Diplomatico

594 College, at Clinton, 416-534-4637. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer, this old-school Italian trat features an equally old-school menu at rock-bottom prices for the nabe. True, few come strictly for the food. But with its location at Little Italy’s busiest intersection, the Dip makes a great spot to soak up the sun by day and observe the College Street scene in all its glory by night. Best: veal sandwiches topped with optional cheese, fried onions, hot peppers or mushrooms veal scallopini in white wine with mushrooms, or chicken parmigiana, both sided with salad or pasta customized pastas – spaghetti, linguine, canneloni, gnocchi or lasagna – ladled with 10 different sauces (pomodoro, vongole, arrabiata, Alfredo, alla vodka) upgraded with grilled chicken or mamma-mia meatballs. Complete meals for $22 per person, including all taxes, tip and a domestic beer. Average main $12. Open Sunday to Thursday 8 am to 1 am, Friday and Saturday 8 am to 2 am bar till close. Licensed. Access: half step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Irie Food Joint

745 Queen W, at Tecumseth, 416-366-4743. A smashing backyard terrace, stylish digs complete with a wall of back-lit bottles of Red Stripe and a more than competent kitchen make this Harlem sibling one of the busiest scenes west of Bathurst. Best: spicy calaloo pepper-pot bisque sided with coco bread jerk chicken salad – a heap of iceberg, red cabbage and romaine topped with sprouts and deep-fried threads of caramelized sweet potato in creamy mango dressing mains like rasta-coloured fusilli with grilled tiger shrimp layered with sweet red-pepper coulis and spinach jerked pork loin chops sided with honey-glazed veggies and plain jasmine rice or spuds mashed with sweet kernelled corn. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $25), including all taxes, tip and an imported lager. Average main $18/$10. Open Monday 5 to 11 pm, Tuesday to Thursday noon to 11 pm, Friday to Sunday noon to midnight bar till close nightly. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Julie’s

202 Dovercourt, at Argyle, 416-532-7397. A terrific Cuban cantina year round, this tucked-away trat on a sleepy west-side street really blooms come summer. As trees whisper overhead and candlelight reflects off wine glasses, affable hosts Jesus and Sylvia dish up a classic pre-­Castro Havana card that’s perfect for sharing à deux under a starry sky. Reservations, needless to say, are essential. Best: grill-pressed pork, ham, pickle and Swiss Cubano sandwiches tapas like fried mashed-potato papa rellena stuffed with lean ground beef, onion, tomato and green olives purposefully bland yuca con mojo laced with lime and garlic piquant tomato-sauced pork sausage chorizos in red wine subtly complex Picadillo de Mamita pork and beef hash with jalapeños, raisins, currants and almonds. Complete dinners for $50 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $12. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5:30 to 11 pm, Sunday 5:30 to 10 pm, bar till close. Closed Monday. Licensed. Access: two steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Musa

847 Dundas W, at Euclid, 416-368-8484. Laid-back digs, low-markup plonk by the glass and a card of eastern Mediterranean mezes and salads make Amy Fleischman’s seven-year-old boîte a neighbourhood fave. Best: grilled steak salad with tomato, caramelized onion, green beans, portobello mushrooms and shaved Asiago over mixed greens seared free-range chicken in spelt pita with chilies, jalapeño, kefalotiri cheese, sautéed onions and arugula, sided with hand-cut fries just-like-Mom’s moussaka with béchamel sauce dandelion greens and rapini sautéed in ­olive oil and garlic and mixed with navy beans in lemony vinaigrette. Complete dinners for $40 per person (lunches/brunches $22), including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $14/$9. Open for lunch Thursdays and Fridays 11:30 am to 3 pm, and for dinner Sunday to Wednesday 5:30 to 10 pm, Thursday to Saturday to 11 pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. Bar till close. Licensed. ­Access: one step at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN

Red Tea Box

696 Queen W, at Euclid, 416-203-8882. Now in its seventh summer, this luxe bake shop with a tiny rear terrace and coach house specializes in sensational pan-Asian bento boxes as well as a large selection of estate teas and house-baked desserts. Warning: no reservations, so show up early or join the queue. Best: from a monthly changing card, miso-roasted chicken with grapefruit and yuzu soy-cured salmon with Asian pear crème fraîche and garlicky rapini sandwiches like Indo-spiced grilled chicken with onion marmalade on raisin sourdough sided with papaya slaw seasonable soups like roasted beet with black cumin seeds to finish, house-baked organic sour cherry chocolate brownies to sip, 30-some small-farm biodynamic and organic teas. Complete lunches for $25 per person, including all taxes, tip and tea. Average main $12. Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 am to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 7 pm, Sunday and holidays 10 am to 5 pm. Closed Tuesday. Unlicensed. Rating: NNNNN

Terroni

720 Queen W, at Claremont, 416-504-0320. Since it opened on Queen West back in 92, this string of southern Italian trats has become one of Toronto’s favourite pizzerias. Why, there’s even one in West Hollywood! Now, with the addition of cavernous digs in the old Courthouse, Terroni continues to pack ‘em in. Other ­locations: 57 Adelaide E, at Toronto, 416-203-3093 1 Balmoral, at Yonge, 416-925-4020. Best: grilled calamari over house greens house-made papardelle topped with crumbled sausage, wild mushrooms and garden peas secondi like slow-roasted pork shoulder in pan gravy very thinly crusted pizzas with minimal toppings. Complete meals for $45 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of featured wine. Average main $16. Open daily 9 am to 11 pm (Queen) Monday to Saturday 9 am to 11 pm, closed Sunday (Adelaide) Monday to Wednesday 9 am to 10:30 pm, Thursday to Sunday 9 am to 11 pm (Balmoral). Licensed. Access: barrier-free (Queen, Balmoral) two steps at door, washrooms in basement (Adelaide). ­Rating: NNN

Urbano

942 Queen W, at Shaw, 416-532-5088. Once popular brunch spot Sugar, this casual café offers a lineup of small shareable southern Italian plates. In other words, Italian tapas! Welcoming service, a more than competent kitchen and a secluded backyard terrace make this a great place to while away a summer’s eve. Best: whole wheat penne tossed with tomato, rapini, artichoke and Asiago beefy ­bresaola meatballs sauced with simple ­tomato purée portobello mushroom caps stuffed with sun-dried tomato and topped with molten chèvre at brunch, Pastapas Carbonara, fettucine thick with scrambled egg, prosciutto and Parmesan perfectly poached eggs with prosciutto and hollandaise on the side, grilled Italian sausage, generously portioned greens and polenta with shaved Asiago. Complete dinners for $30 per person (brunches $22), including all taxes, tip and a glass of house wine. Average main $8. Open for dinner Wednesday to Saturday 5 to 10 pm brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. Closed Monday, Tuesday, holidays. ­Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

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