Second Paese location opens in Toronto

 TORONTO—After running Paese Restaurant on Bathurst Street in North York for 22 years, chef-owner Tony Loschiavo recently opened a second restaurant of the same name, this time on King Street West in the entertainment district.

With what a release last month described as a  “90-seat dining modern Italian eatery,” Loschiavo has continued with his philosophy, “Inspired in Italy, Made in Canada.”

Paese executive chef Christopher Palik has fashioned a menu for the second restaurant that continues to feature seasonal items using local ingredients from a small organic farm he cultivates with Loschiavo, whose mother brought tomato seeds and dried beans for a garden with her when the family moved to Canada from southern Italy in 1965.

The menu has been updated to appeal to the downtown crowd, with some items being carried over from the original restaurant.

A late night menu of bar snacks includes potato gnocchi poutine, mini calzones and brio-espresso ribs. The Paese signature mains have been put on the menu as well.

For those who want to bring their own wine, there is no corkage fee on the first bottle except on Saturday when $25 is charged. All wines are sold with a flat markup of $25 a bottle.The restaurant has a 300-label supply of wine, with 15 by the glass at prices ranging from $9 to $15.

Chicken saltimbaca goes for $23, veal sausages with $20, and for vegetarians, white bean, sundried tomato and asparagus “meat balls” for $20.

Among the pastas are saffron linguini ($18) and vela and spinach ravioli ($20).
A whole grilled fish of the day is $26.

The highest price item is house aged beef ribeye with mushrooms and lentils, $30.
The restaurant interior features walnut butcher block tables and bar, black chairs and reclaimed brick.

The kitchen of the restaurant that formerly occupied the space has been stripped clean and replaced with brand new equipment.

Loschiavo’s company, L-Eat Group, owns the Paese restaurants and the L-Eat Catering company.

In July, he will also be opening L-eat Express, a neighbourhood café with only counter service and specialty coffees, located on Adelaide Street, just west of Spadina.