Toronto Midtown’s Super Delicious Italian Restaurant 🍝

🌟This is an Italian restaurant that I’ve walked past many times but was always deterred by the sight of a full house. With the mindset of “it must be good if it’s so crowded,” I finally pushed open the door on a Saturday evening and unsurprisingly had to wait for half an hour before I could sit down. 🌟This place might just be the second Italian restaurant that wowed me after Yorkville Buca. Ambiance: 2/5 - quite noisy, lots of families and big parties Deliciousness: 4.5/5 Price: $$ 🌟Appetizer - Mussels Steamed in White Wine You can choose between a tomato sauce or white wine base. I opted for the white wine base, considering I was going to eat a lot of pasta. Overall, it was decent, just a light steamed mussel, not very special. 🌟Pasta - Penza Italian Ham and Tomato Pasta 5/5 Seems to be the house specialty. I was a bit disappointed at first because I didn’t see a lot of meat, but my taste buds were eventually won over. The shy sweetness of the tomato, with the occasional appearance of a small chili pepper, layered with the saltiness of the ham slices, was carried into my mouth by the humble pasta, creating a crazy mix that had me reaching the bottom of the plate before I knew it. 🌟Pasta - Nico Black Pepper Beef and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta 3/5 Maybe because the Penza was too rich, the Nico just felt like “black pepper beef chow mein” to me. The wide noodles didn’t hold the thin sauce well; it felt like dry fried beef ho fun might be more interesting. 🌟Pasta - Basta Pasta Shrimp and Spinach Juice Pasta 4/5 As the only white sauce pasta on the table, this was quite delicious. The rich white sauce coated the long noodles, it was good without being outstanding. 🌟Dessert - Olive Oil Cake 4.5/5 I was initially put off by the strange name of this cake, but I was relentlessly recommended by a heart and somewhat handsome server. It turned out to be really unique, not too sweet, but also not a light texture; it’s a cross between bread and cake, mixed with the aroma of olive oil, accompanied by vanilla gelato on the side. 🏡 Grazie Ristorante Overall, it’s a Midtown Italian restaurant worth trying. No fancy environment/menus, just passionate staff and a lively atmosphere. For a moment, it felt like I was having pasta at an old friend’s house. If you’re near Eglinton, it’s worth a try. #TorontoDT #TorontoLife #WeekendFoodExploration #FoodDiary #TorontoFood #TorontoFoodExploration