Giulietta

There comes a rude discovery for most 30-somethings—chefs included—that the hedonistic dining habits of their 20s need to go. The music is suddenly too loud, the room too dark, and the hangovers—oh, the hangovers. At his new Italian restaurant, 35-year-old chef Rob Rossi (Bestellen) is aging with his clientele, opening the kind of place where lambrusco gets top billing over craft beer. It’s lighter in every sense of the word: a tangle of cacio e pepe pulsing with Kampot black pepper; a lightly sauced white pizza topped with lardo, smoked scamorza and Sicilian pistachios on a paper-thin crust; and a stew of braised goat over polenta that’s primed to become one of the city’s best winter dishes all too soon. The Red Fife tiramisù is a convincing argument that growing up shouldn’t have to mean skipping dessert.

972 College St., 416-964-0606, giu.ca