Name: Oretta
Contact: 633 King St. W., 416-944--1932, oretta.to, @orettatoronto Neighbourhood: King West
Owners: Salvatore Mele (Capocaccia)
Chef: Christian Fontolan
The food
Familiar Italian staples, like salumi, Roman-style pizzas and house-made pastas. The lunch and dinner menus are similar, though panini are only available midday, while more substantial mains, including grilled branzino or a show-stopping two-pound T-bone steak (with three sides) are available in the evening. No time to stay? To-go pastries, sandwiches and pizzas are available from the restaurant’s café.
Mozzarella di bufala with heirloom carrot agrodolce, pickled peppers and pistachios. $16.
The restaurant’s signature cavoletti salad is made of shaved brussels sprouts, almonds, pickled red onion and pecorino. It’s finished with crispy prosciutto. $14.
Chitarrina with tomato sauce, stracciatella cheese and basil oil. $16.
Advertisement
Risotto al salto: crispy pan-fried risotto, mushrooms, pecorino fonduta. $22.
The assorted sweets platter features the chef’s choice of house-made treats that may include olive oil cake, cannoli, chocolate tarts and gelato. $16.
The drinks
A short list of beers, Italian wines and a selection of cocktails, including a barrel-aged negroni. The bar hosts a daily 4 p.m. aperitivo hour featuring complimentary snacks.
Left to right: Pazza di Te made with vodka, Briottet crème de fraise, Soho lychee liqueur, lime juice, cranberry juice and fresh strawberries ($14), and a barrel-aged negroni made with gin, Dubonnet Rouge, Averna and Campari. ($14).
The space
Italian for “about an hour,” the 220-seat Art Deco–inspired Oretta took a year and a half to build. A café tucked in the rear of the restaurant flanks a courtyard slated to be a 40-seat patio when the weather cooperates.
The café is open for breakfast and lunch for take-out or dine-in. The space can be booked as a private dining room. Photo by Renée Suen
The main-level dining room and bar.Photo by Renée Suen Booth seating is in the back near the kitchen.
Advertisement
Room dividers slide to separate the private dining room and demo kitchen on the 70-seat mezzanine level.
Here’s the mezzanine dining room again.
The view of the main-level dining room from the mezzanine.
The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.
