When I just moved to Toronto, I was struggling with looking for new restaurants. Yes, there are plenty of choices and more variety, but nothing really sparked my interests until I stumbled upon Giulietta on the list of Enroute magazine of Air Canada’s list of Canada best new restaurants 2018.
With a very low-key storefront, stepping into Giulietta was completely an opposite experience that I would’ve expected! The restaurant is quite deep. The decor is simple yet the details; Sleek fluorescent lighting, white marble lend an airier vibe, and some cool textural touches added to the walls, and the grey-ish red. All the aspects created a relaxing ambiance!
As their menu is designed to share, the portion was quite big! My mom and I started off with the radicchio di castelfranco. A salad with radicchio base (leaves are thinner and more tender than red cabbage!) bosco pears, hazelnuts, blue cheese (gorgonzola), lemon & olive oil. It was light yet appetizing! I was surprised that my mom found gorgonzola very acceptable as she doesn’t like strong cheese, such as goat cheese.
As much as I wanted to order the grilled octopus (appetizer), I didn’t, because we ordered two mains: a pasta and a pizza. For primi, I chose the agnolotti, filled with sweet corn, and paired with signorina mushrooms, grana padano, lemon and chive. It was a very comfy dish; buttery yet not too heavy! I could definitely have the whole plate for myself.
For pizza, we had the la giulietta, which is topped with Sicilian pistachios, lardo and smoked scamorza. They also offered their hosuemade chili oil on the side. The chili oil wasn’t spicy at all, but with a very subtle hint of black pepper-y aftertaste. The crust was chewy yet soft, and with generous amount of pistachio, it added the crunchiness. The lardo melted on the pizza; it was very satisfying!
The dinner at Giulietta exceeded my expectation as I had quite a few disappointing dining experiences before. Giulietta’s menu seems like any other classic Italian cuisine with plenty of pasta, pizza, and seafood, but the flavors diverge from the ordinary when it comes to dishes like the Sicilian pistachio pizza! I’ve noticed that the menu seems to shine a light more on its plant-based components rather than the standard heavy, meaty part. The service was spectacular; from the warm greetings from the hostess as soon as we entered to very knowledgeable and friendly staffs. As we were sitting close to the entrance, I’ve also noticed that the staffs know more than 85% of the customers who came in on that evening! Honestly, I can’t really think of any cons. I would definitely recommend it!
Giulietta
972 College Street, Toronto, ON
Tel: +1 (416)964-0606 (Reservation strongly recommended)
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