(Image: Jackie Pal)
Name: Città
Neighbourhood: Harbourfront
Contact Info: 92 Fort York Blvd ., 416-623-9662, cittatoronto.com
Owners: Charles Khabouth (Patria and La Société), Hanif Harji (Weslodge and Storys) and Adam Brown of the local Fox and Fiddle
Executive Chef: Ben Heaton, formerly of The Grove
The Food: Heaton’s seasonally inspired menu of Italian comfort food is filled with bright and rustic flavours—the roasted cauliflower dish, for instance, has the vegetable prepared three ways (sliced raw, roasted and pureed), then topped with crispy capers and wine-soaked raisins and an emulsified dollop made of those same two ingredients. Wood-burning ovens on both ends of the restaurant fire out pizza, sourdough, ciabatta and baguettes, but Heaton likes to throw mussels, fish and bacon into the flames for a kiss of smoke, too. Almost everything is made in-house or locally sourced, with one big exception: dry pasta from Afeltra . Says Heaton: “when you can get a superior ingredient somewhere else, you go for it.” The restaurant also serves a weekend brunch that offers breakfast-inspired pizzas and panini, as well as porchetta and eggs. A pizza delivery service is in the works.
The Drinks: An Italian wine list features reds and whites from Northern, Central and Southern Italy. Byblos ‘s bartender Clayton Cooper has crafted a cocktail list that stars Italian ingredients like orange blossom, espresso and pink grapefruit.
The Place: Co-owner Hanif Harji found everything in the space, mixing ornate pieces like high-backed green leather banquettes and a wall montage of gold-rimmed mirrors with more casual wood tables and farmhouse chairs. And because it’s CityPlace, ground floor or no, it’s all surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.
303956 Città is on the main floor of a towering glass condominium on Fort York Blvd., just east of Bathurst. (Image: Jackie Pal) https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-1-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-1.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-1.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-1/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-1 0 0
(Image: Jackie Pal)
303957 https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-2-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-2.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-2/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-2 0 0
303958 Cauliflower is prepared three ways: roasted, sliced raw and blended with crème fraiche. The dish is finished with capers, lemon and raisins ($8). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-3-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-3.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-3.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-3/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-3 0 0
303959 Thinly shaved fennel with grapefruit and clementine are sprinkled with crushed pistachios and finished in a roasted lemon vinaigrette ($12). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-4-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-4.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-4/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-4 0 0
303960 Dry-roasted Brussels sprouts are topped with wood-fired pancetta and three poached quail eggs. All crostini are served on toasted, house-made Italian bread ($8).<br />
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303961 Whole branzino and mussels (a recent daily featured dish) are smoked in the wood-fired oven and come dressed with charred puntarelle and pops of red roe ($26).<br />
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303962 A classic Italian ragu, the Bolognese with house-made tagliatelle uses three cuts of meat and is cooked down for five hours ($19). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-7-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-7.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-7/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-7 0 0
303963 Handmade tortellini stuffed with Mozzarella di Bufala and ricotta, cooked with kale and dressed with a walnut pesto ($18). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-8-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-8.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-8.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-8/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-8 0 0
303964 David Mattachioni, formerly of Terroni, helms the ovens at Città. His Consenza pie is topped with house-made peperoncini, oyster mushrooms, soppressata and basil ($18). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-9-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-9.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-9/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-9 0 0
303965 Città's pastry chef makes new bomboloni daily. Flavours vary but have included salted caramel (pictured), and Nutella ($6). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-10-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-10.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-10/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-10 0 0
303966 The Corso Venezia stars floral orange blossom–infused vodka, balanced with aloe vera and lime juice ($14). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-11-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-11.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-citta-cityplaces-new-rustic-italian-kitchen/slide/citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-11/ citta-harbourfront-toronto-restaurants-11 0 0
West: 3
East: 0
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