Everyone has lost their shit over Eataly's Toronto opening. I get it. It is awesome. Imagine a behemoth Italian produce market spread over three floors with four restaurants. Eataly is a tasty, high-end slice of Italy right in the heart of Toronto. Yes, it is kinda bougie, but that really is the appeal.
Trattoria Milano is the most all encompassing restaurant inside the Eataly building and has a complete menu filled with mid-century Milano vibes. Pasta, salads, risottos, fish, meat, beautiful deserts. Yum. Very serious yum.
I LOVE a Negroni, so I got stuck right in to Trattoria Milano's version featuring sparkling Italian rosé (Sbagliato Rosa). One of the great things about the location of the restaurant is that it includes large windows that look out over Bay Street. People watching while cocktail sipping is an excellent way to start the night, even if you do have company.
Did I mention I love a Negroni? Oh, I did? Cool, well here is a picture of my looking smug and happy about my choice of drink to prove it.
A cheeky little appetizer? Don't mind if I do! I am a pescatarian, so I enjoyed fried sardines while my glorious dinner friend, Erin, nibbled a few Mondeghili (Italian style fried pork meatballs.)
Salads aren't boring when they are served in fresh light Milano style ! The Insalata Invernale is made with Italian treviso, radicchio, anchovies, barolo vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, which in short means it is delicious.
Pasta al dente, please and thank you! The seafood fusilli had me dreaming of the Amalfi Coast (which is actually nowhere near Milan, but whatever...it's my daydream! AND it is a lot closer to Milan than Toronto, so don't at me).
Look, I have to admit I ate two plates of risotto. It was for research purposes, I swear. If you asked me to pick a favourite between the Gorgonzola and pear and the mixed roasted mushroom I would probably pretend not to hear you and look the other way. I am not choosing. They were both SO good and I will forever eat two plates of risotto.
For the meat eaters, there was a saffron risotto made with bone marrow brodo that made me question a) whether I could pretend I wasn't pescatarian and b) whether I had more room for risotto. I didn't try it, but I looked at it lustily. I also cast a lusty eye at the lamb shank and the veal chop, which Erin assured me were both beautiful. She had particular high praise for the "juicy" lamb.
DESERT. OH. HONEY. YAS. I had a bonet, which google tells me is a rich chocolate and amaretti dessert traditionally eaten in the cooler months in Piedmont. Lovely. My bonet (and I stress "my" because this isn't a desert I would care to share), was an Italian chocolate budino with salted caramel and crumbled amaretti. I was in love. I sank it down with a hearty swill of an Italian red that I regretfully forgot to note the name of. Sometimes you just have to live in the moment, right?
Trattoria Milano: it's a yes from me.