Restaurants Guide › Midday

Mercatto

Reviewed by Toronto Life
Editorial Review

A renovation has taken this booming downtown lunch spot ever so slightly upmarket, and an Enomatic wine-serving system that preserves open bottles with nitrogen adds considerable heft to the by-the-glass list. In spite of a larger sel­ection of antipasti, the food is the same as ever: dependable salads and thin-crust pizzas backed by decent pastas and a smattering of daily specials. A pasta special of paccheri (they’re like manicotti, but without the ridges) stuffed with spinach and fresh ricotta is sauced in a sharp marinara sauce—trad trattoria cooking, but fresher tasting. A grilled octopus salad finds large, smoky prawns and tender-sweet octopus tendrils on good arugula and sliced fennel. The pizzas are the best reason to eat here, with 15 very good selections. Service varies from efficient to slow and ill timed. Closed Sunday.

Related Restaurant Reviews
Moe Pancer's Deli

After 47 years, Moe Pancer’s move three blocks south has ...

Grains Eatery

This airy, sunny café has found its niche: weekday lunches ...

Hannah’s Kitchen

This cafeteria-style spot features homestyle cooking with stick-to-your-ribs specials: chicken ...

Jakes Specialty Sandwiches

With rich red and gold decor matched by the aroma ...

Avenue Café and Bistro

This sleek, modern bistro, with its whitewashed walls and cool ...

Related Features

Danny Grossman Danny Grossman

How the modern dance guru, whose company performs at Harbourfront this month, would spend a single perfect day. Toronto on ... By Amy Verner

Hog Wild Hog Wild

Sweet, rich and gloriously sinful, Lai Wah Heen’s Wuxi spareribs make a perfect mid-winter meal. So we got chef Ken ...

Under the Influence Under the Influence

Through his short, bright career, Scot Woods has been obsessed with bringing the world’s cuisines to his cooking. Other chefs ... By James Chatto

Today in Toronto

January 9, 2009

AC/DC

The grimy Aussie rockers are back for their second Toronto stop on the Black Ice ...

Medea

The production of poet Robinson Jeffers’ version of the Euripides drama opens at the Canon ...

RSS Feed [?]