Name: Angolino
Neighbourhood: Junction Triangle
Contact: 1595 Dupont St., 647-748-2426, angolino.ca, @angolinoresto
Owners: Rozi Bali, Chris Goulart and Tyson Liebrecht
Chef: Tyson Liebrecht (Bosk, Vertical)
A mostly northern-Italian menu, with a focus on game meats like wild boar and venison. “We’re trying to be as authentically Italian as possible,” says Bali, who met Liebrecht at cooking school (they both graduated from George Brown’s Italian program). The kitchen makes four different types of noodles, including bucatini and curly bells of campanelle. Hearty bowls of pasta are garnish free—because what nonna accents a plate with micro-greens?
The daily salumi board with house-baked focaccia. This selection includes coppa, wild-boar salami, salame gentile and culatello (all supplied by East York’s Paganelli’s). $20.
Wild-boar meatballs topped with fontina and served with creamy polenta. $12.
Agnolotti stuffed with ricotta and spinach, cooked in brown butter. $14.
House-made campanelle in a wild-boar ragu. $16.
Braised beef short rib topped with pine nuts, served with rapini. $24.
Tiramisu made with mascarpone, chocolate, salted caramel and Kahlua. $7.
A short list of moderately priced Italian wines, two Duggan’s Brewery beers on tap (as well as a selection of cans) and Italian apéritifs and digestifs.
The 26-seat space (“angolino” is Italian for “nook”) is a work in progress, and is currently decorated with photos of Bali’s Italian cooking stage. In the New Year, an Italian teacher will visit one night a week to give mini language lessons for free.
Chef Liebrecht at the slicer.
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.
Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.