Restaurants › Italian
L'Unità
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- 134 Avenue Rd. (at Davenport Rd.) • View on map »
- 416-964-8686
- http://www.lunita.ca/
It might not be as buzzy as new kids like Buca and Enoteca, but this Av and Dav trattoria holds its own in the heated battle for the city’s best Italian—even on a wintery weeknight, the place is jammed. With chef Doug Neigel now behind the stoves at sister restaurant Maléna, former sous Stephen Gouzopoulos has been promoted to top toque, and the cooking is better than ever. Sardine crostini—a menu fixture from day one—capture Sicily on a plate: uncommonly moist fillets laid on wafer-thin focaccia and served with a piquant olive and caper tapenade and lemony fennel slaw. Pillowy potato gnocchi are hand-dimpled to catch a deeply comforting venison red wine ragoût; a whisper of reggiano gives the dumplings a jolt of umami without dominating the dish. Pan-roasted cobia (a Pacific fish that tastes like the love child of halibut and black cod) is moist and meaty, perched on a warm salad of earthy beluga lentils and oven-dried tomatoes. Cannoli from pastry chef Leigha Dimitroff could be the best in town. Crisp pastry is wrapped around a heavenly filling of mascarpone studded with white chocolate and zinged with candied orange. The wine list takes you on a platinum card tour of Italy with a pit stop in Ontario, and the first-class selection by the glass includes some big ticket bottles preserved in an Enomatic dispenser. Attentive service never wavers, even as the room fills and the noise level deafens. Mains $16–$36.
- Closed Sunday
- Bring your own bottle
- Vegetarian
134 Avenue Rd. (at Davenport Rd.)
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