I had heard about the opening of Citta earlier this year and was thrilled to find out that it was so close to my place.  Lord knows I love my “neighborhood bubble” and sometimes its hard to get me to venture out of it!  Citta is yet another project from the “kings of Toronto” Charles Khabouth and Hanif Harji.  Although they do own some of my fave spots (ie. Patria) it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be an automatic home run.  Nonetheless I wanted to try it out and was excited for what the possibilities could hold.

My bestie has the same thrill of discovering new places as I do and we were long overdue for a catchup.  We also both love Italian food and so the recipe for the perfect Friday night was born.

Citta is located on Fort York right next to Hunters Landing making it the perfect place for all those condo dwellers.  The outside is adorned with massive windows so you can get a sneak peek inside as you walk by.  I remember thinking how warm and cozy it looked and how there was a calm chaos among all the diners.  The hostess was absolutely delightful which is always a pleasant surprise in Toronto.  We waited a few minutes which gave us time to take in the beautiful space. We both said that it was a mix between the feel of Terroni (open, authentic) and Gusto 101 (kitschy, trendy) with the expected splash of glamour (leather, chandeliers) made famous by the owners.  There were a few different styles of seating – large family style bars, minimalistic tables, banquettes and circular seating.  We were taken closer to the back where we sat at one of the banquette tables (see 3rd picture).

Photo Credit:  Best of Toronto

Photo Credit:  Best of Toronto

Photo Credit:  Best of Toronto

Everything on the menu looked so good! We literally were ready to order everything but clearly had to restrain ourselves.  Our waitress was super sweet and very helpful with guiding us on what to select.  I often find that waitstaff can be push or even suggest more food than needed but she was really honest with us.  She also let us taste between two of the wines we were trying to choose from which I never ask to do!

What we ended up ordering:

Zucca Fritta – wood roasted squash + pepperoncini + scallion + yogurt + lime
Barbabietola Crostini – wood‎ roasted beets + marjoram + ricotta
Cavolo – kale + tomato + walnuts + bread crumbs + pecorino
Spaghetti Pomodoro – tomato + basil + parmesan
Spaghetti Carbonara – pancetta + egg yolk + pecorino
Canoli – bufala di ricotta + pistachio

Our starters – the squash and the crostini.  I love crostini – anything on bread with cheese is basically my favourite.  We debated between ordering more starters (because they all sounded so delish) but since we decided on a salad for some greens we figured two was enough.  The squash was the first thing I tried and I liked the dish overall but felt like it had a little too much of a deep fried taste to it.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind deep fried dishes but it almost overpowered the other ingredients.

The crostini was my favourite and it might be because I’m one of those strange people that actually likes beets!  The combination of ricotta, beets and toasty bread was finger licking good!  The only thing was that the bread got a little soggy right where the beets were sitting but it didn’t take away from the overall dish.

The kale salad was a much bigger portion than we expected but it was a perfect addition to our order since we knew we were getting pastas for our mains.  It was a very simple salad, the kind you could make at home, but delicious none the less.  Such a fresh salad with a slight crunch from the walnuts and a touch of creaminess from the cheese.  Definitely going to try and recreate this one myself!

And finally our mains!  We both ended up going for spaghetti dishes.  Also, since the menu is inspired by seasonal ingredients they were actually in the midsts of changing their winter menu to Spring. Some of the dishes weren’t available for that reason but the ones we wanted were.  I’m now curious to see what is going to be included on the new menu!  My bestie had the pomodoro and I had the carbonara.  Won’t lie, the portions were huge and given what we had to start we could have absolutely just shared one!  The pomodoro was a really nice simple pasta dish, you could taste the freshness of the sauce and it had just the slightest spicy kick to it.  The carbonara was creamy, peppery and the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night.  Again, another simple dish but done really well.

And finally, dessert. Yes we were ridiculously full and probably didn’t need dessert but how can you say no when anyone says the word Canoli.  I was expecting just a traditional style canoli but what came out was the furthest thing from traditional.  The shell was partially dipped in dark chocolate and the filling was sprinkled with crushed pistachios.  It wasn’t overtly sweet but a nice ending to a wonderful dinner.  There were two servings and we only got through one.

So I mean obviously I hated it.  Kidding. It was awesome, no complaints from this girl.  The service was on-par, the food was delicious and its the kind of place I can totally see myself stopping in on a Friday night or hosting a bigger group of people at.  Can’t wait to come back and check out more of the spectacular dishes.

Discover Citta:
http://www.cittatoronto.com
Twitter:  @CittaToronto
Instagram: @Cittatoronto
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CittaToronto