What’s on the menu at Lardo, Little Italy’s new spot for Italian groceries, sandwiches and wine
And coming soon: dinner service
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Name: Lardo
Contact: 970 College St., lardo.ca, @lardo_carnevino
Neighbourhood: Little Italy
Owners: Gianpaolo “GP” Testa, Tenma Testa
Accessibility: Fully accessible
Update: Since the time of publication, Lardo has transformed into a restaurant and wine bar. It no longer serves sandwiches and is only open after 5 p.m.
GP Testa isn’t a chef, but he’s been chef-adjacent for a long time, working the bar at spots like Campagnolo, Bestellen and La Société (RIP) before trying his hand at the trades. That move was pre-pandemic, but the siren song of the industry called GP back, and he started working private events at the tail end of 2021. Around then, he had a fortuitous coffee date with chef Rob Rossi, who mentioned that the space next door to Giuletta was going up for rent.
On a whim, he signed the lease a day before leaving for a brief Italian sojourn. When in Rome, he did as the Romans do and wandered into a shop brimming with cheese, salumi and wine—and a concept began to take shape. The result, a few iterations later, is Lardo: a sandwich shop, deli and soon-to-be wine bar rolled into one.
Related: Cucina Mauro, a cozy Italian lunch counter tucked away in a North York industrial plaza
With the rising cost of, well, everything, genre-straddling spots are an increasingly popular option—with multiple revenue streams and one-stop-shop convenience, it’s a good deal for proprietor and customer alike. “It’s everything you want to get yourself in the mood to go home and cook, and much of what you need to do so,” says Tenma, GP’s partner in business and in life.
The food
Right now, Lardo’s focus is on daytime offerings, but the menu will soon expand to include shareable dinner plates. The plan is to transition into a full-fledged wine bar in the evenings. “This space will transform as we grow into ourselves,” says GP. The current daytime menu mostly consists of a rotating selection of simple, beautifully executed sandwiches, like one piled with mortadella, endive, plenty of Piave cheese and house-made giardiniera on a fluffy Portuguese bun. (Italian purists may balk at the bread choice, but GP heartily defends its honour, calling it an ideal sandwich bread.) On the retail side, there’s a small selection of quality meats—including Wagyu hot dogs—as well as cheeses and pantry staples, like olives and sauces.
The drinks
Robust and full-bodied Trucillo Grand Bar coffee underpins the coffee menu—think espresso, cappuccino and other such classic offerings. There’s (mostly Italian) wine, available by the glass and the bottle, and a few solid cocktails, including a delightful sbagliato, last year’s trendiest cocktail. There’s also Brio (which is actually made in Toronto), a few Italian beers, and specialty liquor and canned spritzes from local brands like Cicchetto (which is also made in Toronto) and PEC’s Wilda.
The space
Lardo consists of a neat sun-drenched storefront with a few counter seats, opening into a dining area along a wall of exposed brick. The plan is to bring in harvest-table seating as the dinner menu rolls out. In the back, there’s a production area complete with a hefty butcher block and a commercial meat slicer. The finishings are all earth tones, wood and granite—clean, unassuming choices that affirm the menu’s ethos of uncomplicated quality.
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