Toronto has one of the most underrated pasta scenes in North America. But the city’s best spots share a frustrating trait: They’re not easy to get into. A 10-seat lunch counter in Dovercourt with no reservations and dining hours that end at 2 pm. A Bloordale red-sauce joint where the room fills before they unlock the door. A College Street dining room that earned a Michelin star and ranked third-best Italian restaurant in the world in 2026, quietly, while most of the city had no idea. They do now.
If you want great pasta in Toronto, you have to be a little determined and focused on the delectable prize. With that in mind, we will narrow things down for you here. These are the 10 Toronto Italian eateries worth rearranging your schedule for.
Famiglia Baldassarre
Signature Dish: Whatever pasta they made fresh that morning. It changes daily, handmade from scratch, and gone when it’s gone.
Vibe Check: Ten seats. A working pasta factory behind you. Industrial Geary Avenue out the window. It’s less a restaurant than a side effect of one of the city’s busiest pasta wholesale operations.
Address: 122 Geary Ave, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Famiglia Baldassarre has been supplying handmade fresh pasta to umpteen Toronto restaurants for years. The dine-in counter is open Tuesday to Friday, noon to 2 pm only, no reservations. You’re eating the exact same pasta going out to half the Italian kitchens in the city, except you’re eating it at the source. Show up early or don’t bother.
Sugo
Signature Dish: The rigatoni. Rich, saucy, properly portioned. The carbonara gets mentioned in nearly every review.
Vibe Check: Neighbourhood Italian in Bloordale. No fuss, no pretense, just a room full of people who came for the pasta.
Address: 1281 Bloor St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Sugo takes no reservations, ever. Three Toronto guys with 35-plus combined years in hospitality built the Italian-American spot they’d want to eat at every week, and it shows. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30am. Things fill up fast, so get there early.
DaNico
Signature Dish: Gragnano spaghetti with mushrooms and truffles. The tasting menu is the real experience, but that spaghetti is what people mention afterward.
Vibe Check: A former bank building on College Street. High ceilings, precise plating, Chef Daniele Corona running an Italian kitchen that pulls from everywhere.
Address: 440 College St, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: In 2026, 50 Top Italy ranked DaNico the third-best Italian restaurant in the world. Third. In the world. It also holds a Michelin star, earned while most Torontonians were still deciding which Dundas West spot to try. Not the cheapest night out, and reservations go quickly. But it’s right here on College Street.
Giulietta
Signature Dish: Butternut squash agnolotti and pappardelle al ragù. The cacio e pepe is worth asking about.
Vibe Check: A Brockton Village room that feels like a serious restaurant without making you feel like you need to dress up to deserve it.
Address: 972 College St, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Chef Rob Rossi’s restaurant has been on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for years, most recently at number nine. Every pasta is made from scratch. Reservations open two weeks out on OpenTable and fill fast. Check for last-minute weeknight cancellations if you can’t plan ahead.
La Palma
Signature Dish: Without the blink of an eye, it has to be their 100-layer lasagna. Yes, really.
Vibe Check: Stylish Dundas West spot with a bar next door at Casa La Palma. The room has energy and the food photographs as well as it tastes.
Address: 849 Dundas St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: The lasagna at La Palma is a serious piece of cooking and it sure delivers. People book specifically for it. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re behind.
Enoteca Sociale
Signature Dish: The amatriciana and the cavatelli with chicken liver. Classic Roman preparations done right.
Vibe Check: Over 11 years on Dundas West, which in Toronto restaurant years makes it practically a dynasty. Warm, neighbourhood, regulars have their table.
Address: 1288 Dundas St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Enoteca Sociale doesn’t chase trends. It makes house pasta, executes classic Italian, and does it more consistently than most places that opened last year. More spots should do this.
Piano Piano
Signature Dish: The canestri alla vodka. You already know.
Vibe Check: Harbord Village neighbourhood Italian built for long dinners. A room you don’t want to rush out of.
Address: 88 Harbord St, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Piano Piano is the kind of place you come back to. And that is why it also made our Ultimate Toronto Foodie Guide. The vodka pasta has been a reference point on Toronto menus for years, but this version earns it. Works for most occasions. Book ahead on weekends.
Proper
Signature Dish: From-scratch pasta that rotates. Italian-American red-sauce kitchen at heart, so expect depth in whatever’s on.
Vibe Check: Roncesvalles, casual and easy. Chef Julien Cawagas came from Giulietta and brings the same attention to pasta without the two-week booking window, at least for now.
Address: 392 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Proper opened in 2025 and already has a loyal Roncy crowd. When a chef leaves a top-ranked Italian restaurant to open his own place, it’s worth checking out. It’s not fully booked yet. That’s a reason to go soon.
Spaghetti Western
Signature Dish: Housemade noodles and panuozzo on sourdough buns from local bakery Grayson’s.
Vibe Check: A family-run pasta shop in the Upper Beaches. Feels like something that belongs on a very specific European side street, but it’s on Kingston Road.
Address: 998 Kingston Rd, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Although Spaghetti Western only just opened in August 2025, it has already made a name for itself… and made our list. The east end has needed a spot like this for a while. Go before the lineup gets too serious to attempt.
7 Numbers Authentic Southern Italian Cuisine
Signature Dish: The lobster linguine. Southern Italian cooking from a kitchen that’s been at it for years.
Vibe Check: Family-run on Eglinton West by Rosa Marinuzzi. Warm in a way that takes time to build.
Address: 516 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto and 307 Danforth Ave
Why It Made the Cut: 7 Numbers doesn’t always make the trendy pasta lists because it’s been around long enough to be overlooked. The lobster linguine is one of the better pasta dishes in Midtown and the kitchen has earned its regulars.
Go get some pasta in TO!
Ten spots, spread across the city. Some have been open for well over a decade. One ranked third in the world last year! All of them are worth making plans for.
Next time the craving for incredible Italian hits, don’t just Google “pasta near me.” Pick something from this list, check the hours, and actually go.
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