Introducing: Osteria dei Ganzi, a new casual Italian restaurant in a historic Jarvis Street mansion
Name: Osteria dei Ganzi Neighbourhood: Church-Wellesley Village Contact info: 504 Jarvis St, 647-348-6520, ganzi.ca, @ganzitoronto Owners: Dan Gunam (Roosevelt Room, Story’s), Luca Viscardi (Toula) and Ron Yeung Chef: Guerrino Staropoli (Cherry Hill House, Mississauga)
The Food: Casual Italian with pastas, cicchetti (small snacks typical of Venice) and simple meat and fish plates. Italian barbecue and pizzas made in an outdoor oven are added to the menu in the summer.
The Drinks: The small, accessible wine list is comprised of 40 Italian and Ontario bottles. Classic Italian cocktails are available from the bar, like an aperol spritz and martinis with blue-cheese-stuffed caper berries.
The place: The restaurant occupies the sprawling first floor of the historic Gooderham House on Jarvis Street. The dining room has been fully restored by Mennonite craftsmen, and there’s an airy solarium bar looking onto the wrap-around patio with custom-built floating wine racks made from reclaimed wood from a 170-year-old barn.
The Numbers: • 195 seats on the outdoor patio • 88 seats in the dining room • $30 for a bottle of wine • $8 for a glass of wine • 3 paintings in the dining room dubbed the “Ladies of Ganzi” • 2 bronze owls at the building’s entrance • 1 Vespa hanging on the wall next to the bar
