10 h. ago Toronto Italian joint closes permanently for owners to start something else

An Italian restaurant in Toronto has closed down permanently as its whole team moves on to pursue a new project.The city has been wracked with restaurant closures lately, it seems. From 20-year-old Italian mainstay Vivoli to beloved Leslieville sandwich shop Leslieville Pumps, it feels like nothing is immune to the winds of change anymore.One of the latest Toronto restaurants to shutter is the Junction Triangle's Lucia, an Italian joint that kept the community fed with its fill of $25 weekday lunch prix fixe menus and indulgent standalone dishes like mozzarella-stuffed gnocchi and Nutella tiramisu for the better part of six years.Before Lucia, the team was behind the now also-closed Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, which, not unlike its sister restaurant, served a menu created with locally grown produce and ethically sourced ingredients served with a signature Italian flair.As of June 27, though, Lucia has officially gone the way of its forebear, as t...

Culture

35 h. ago Toronto Italian restaurant shuts down after two decades in business

An Italian restaurant in Toronto that was a cornerstone of its neighbourhood has officially closed down after two decades in business.It should come as no surprise that, in Toronto's Little Italy neighbourhood, there's no shortage of Italian restaurants and businesses. That said, there are fewer today than there once were, when the neighbourhood was a magnet for waves of Italian newcomers eager to make their mark on Toronto.Just look at this year's Taste of Little Italy — if scores of attendees are to be believed, there was nary a cannoli or tortellini in sight.Even though the neighbourhood's concentration of Italian businesses has been on the downturn, a handful of long-standing businesses have managed to stick around while groovy fusion spots and farm-to-table concepts fill in the gaps between them. We're talking about places like Sotto Voce, San Francesco Foods, and Riviera Bakery, the kind of places you wouldn't be afraid to drag your Nonna to.Thoug...

Economics

7 d. ago MLSE boss says cutting Italian stars offers opportunity for Toronto FC

In opening the MLSE vault to bring in Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi midway through the 2022 MLS season, Toronto FC looked to change the struggling franchise’s fortunes. It didn’t happen. This week, the 4-10-5 team cut bait with the two designated players, agreeing to a mutual termination of contracts that ran through […]

Other

8 d. ago Toronto FC ends failed Italian experiment, buys out Bernardeschi, Insigne next

Over-spending at the wrong time on the wrong players caught up with Toronto FC.

Other

2 w. ago Exclusive new Toronto pizza window only sells 100 slices a day

A groovy Toronto Italian restaurant is celebrating summer by selling slices out of a window all summer long.Raffaella, formerly Raff's Pizza, has sure come a long way since owner and Head Chef Simon Vickerson's early days of selling late-night slices to weary club-goers on Toronto sidewalks.The Toronto chef's journey began when he started popping up at venues across the city with his mobile pizza oven, whipping up pies for passersby and updating social media with his whereabouts. Using his grandmother's (the titular Raffaella) recipes and techniques, Raff's Pizza Stand became one of Toronto's ultimate secrets for a quick slice.Nowadays, he's heading up the kitchen at Raffaella's brick-and-mortar restaurant inside the Annex Hotel, which opened to a fair amount of buzz in early 2025, thanks to its palate-pleasing menu of American-Italian classics, like spaghetti Bolognaise, arancini, chicken parm, and, of course, pizza.An accessible blend of trendy and ...

Economics

3 w. ago Toronto's Taste of Little Italy fest had barely any Italian food and people noticed

Taste of Little Italy is one of Toronto's most anticipated annual food festivals, but if you went expecting actual Italian food on the roster, you may have found yourself senza fortuna.Largely settled by droves of Italian newcomers in the early and mid-twentieth century, Little Italy has been a hub for Toronto's culinary and cultural scene — as well as the city's Italian community — for the better part of a century.Once almost exclusively populated with Italian bakeries, restaurants, and businesses, the neighbourhood's star has only continued to rise in recent decades as its business landscape, just like the city at large, grew increasingly diversified.Nowadays, a stroll along the stretch of College Street between Bathurst and Ossington will reveal nearly every type of cuisine under the sun, from Asian fusion brunch to Indian fine dining, so, it may not come as a surprise that Taste of Little Italy, the neighbourhood's annual weekend-long street festi...

Other

3 w. ago Some of Toronto's best tacos can be found at this hidden pop

Tucked deep within an Italian restaurant, with limited hours, no reservations and a menu of Toronto-style takes on traditional Mexican fare, the city's hottest taco spot is wooing in-the-know diners to King East. A recent pivot from an admired hospitality team, Mikey Dreams of Tacos is creative and a little wild, with a killer menu of new and old faves.In the run-up to his current role as executive chef and co-owner (with Adam Teolis) of Amano Trattoria and The Berczy Tavern, Michael Angeloni has dabbled in American barbecue, rallied behind nose-to-tail cooking and, during four years running Grand Electric, made his fair share of tortillas loaded with braised and grilled proteins, as well as ceviche, salsas and guac. It's this specific part of Angeloni's past that has recently piqued the interest of new fans and inspired Mikey Dreams of Tacos, a pop-up taking place on the last Monday of every month inside Bar Notte Social Club."Word has gotten around,"&nbs...

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