There's something about Little Italy that still draws me in after all these years. It has an effortlessly lively energy where everyone seems to be gathered on a patio. During FIFA, the neighbourhood becomes even more animated, even on nights when no one is actually playing.

Tucked just off bustling College Street is Casa Paco, a charming restaurant that feels like you're being welcomed into someone's home. They now offer two tasting menus: a more elaborate chef's menu in the dining room and a shorter experience at the bar.

The five-course chef’s menu ($145 per person) offers plenty of food, enough to leave you fully satisfied. Still, the restaurant also offers a few additions if you want to augment the experience.

We added their signature Rubia Gallega ($28), a labour-intensive dish that Chef Chinery and Chef Bragagnolo have considered removing from the menu more than once, only to keep it because diners love it so much.

Using Ontario wagyu, they cure the beef in house for nine months until it develops an incredible natural sweetness that's unlike anything I've tasted. These paper-thin slices are finished with creamy burrata and fresh truffle for an extra touch of decadence. Layered onto the airy crackers, everything comes together in one cohesive bite that's sweet, savoury, creamy, crunchy, and packed with umami.

Oh, and those darker hues along the edges of the meat? Rest assured, it's not mold. Rather, it's from the truffle wash they use to finish the beef.

The chef's menu begins with a trio of snacks to whet the appetite. The meaty boquerones started to lean a little fishy when eaten on their own, but the tangy sea asparagus balanced everything out, adding a lovely fresh crunch against the white anchovy. It also paired beautifully with the tomato bread, which was exquisite thanks to beautifully ripe tomatoes.

The only bite I didn't really sample was the octopus carpaccio, which I've sadly lost my taste for after learning more about these brilliant, misunderstood creatures. My husband, however, assured me it was delicious.

Seafood reigns supreme on Casa Paco's menu, and we were lucky enough to visit while the last of the B.C. spot prawns were still available. As always, they were wonderfully sweet with that firm yet delicate texture that makes them so sought after. They're served with a well-seasoned chilled baby gem soup that looks like wheatgrass but tastes nothing like it. I only wish there had been more of the smoked cucumber, which added such a wonderful crunch against the silky purée.

Even their heirloom tomato salad gets a kiss of the sea with cubes of bluefin tuna scattered throughout. I'll admit, I never imagined pairing tuna with strawberries, and I'm not sure I'd do it again. It's not that the combination is bad, but the two ingredients don't really complement each other either. Something lighter, like scallops, might have been a better match.

It almost felt like Casa Paco was serving all my favourite ingredients, as my eyes immediately lit up when the zucchini blossom arrived, something I always look forward to eating but would never attempt to make myself. Stuffed with a scallop and lobster mousse, the blossom can be enjoyed on its own or elevated even further with the intensely flavourful lobster emulsion, which tastes like a lobster bisque crossed with hollandaise.

Before we could even finish the dish, a plate of socarrat arrived. The rice cooked in a seafood stock and enhanced with a the flavourful oily sobrassada.

Once it was scraped up, we’re told to take the toasted crispy rice and mix it into the remaining lobster emulsion. What a fantastic idea. It immediately made me regret not leaving more sauce behind. It was so good that it convinced me I need to return for Casa Paco's Sunday paella nights.

For the main course, diners choose between a fish or steak to share. We kept the seafood theme going with the Dover sole, which is carefully deboned, brined, grilled, and filleted for sharing. It arrives with a Basque pil-pil sauce made from the fish bones, cod, and aromatics before being emulsified with olive oil into a silky, almost velvety sauce. Such a shame the dish wasn’t accompanied by a piece of toasted bread for mopping up every last drop.

Having been brined, I found the fish just a touch salty on its own. Thankfully, bites of the accompanying radicchio salad balanced things nicely. Either the vinaigrette or another ingredient lent the salad a subtle licorice flavour that I normally wouldn't enjoy, yet somehow it really worked here.

Before dessert, a simple raspberry ice palate cleanser arrives.

Which leads me to point out that the chef's menu doesn't include dessert. Consequently, if you're craving something sweet, you'll want to add one to finish the meal.

The coffee and cardamom cheesecake ($18) is more than enough for two to share. Casa Paco's Basque cheesecake is lightly burnt, fairly dense, yet wonderfully creamy. The coffee flavour comes through clearly, while the cardamom leaves a subtle warmth that gently tingles on the finish. Very interesting indeed.

For an even richer ending, the chocolate and olive oil truffle ($16) is a solid log of silky dark chocolate ganache that practically melts on the tongue. It's only lightly sweetened, making it surprisingly balanced, and pairs beautifully with the cheesecake if you want to mix and match bites.

Unlike the aperitif selection, the digestif menu isn't printed because their amaro selection of roughly 100 bottles is constantly changing. You'll simply have to trust Gary Danaie, their sommelier, to find the right one for you. After my husband mentioned that he normally enjoys cognac, grappa, and Scotch, Gary recommended the Ximenez Spinola 2018 Battonage ($22). He absolutely nailed it. The spirit carried the richness of cognac, a touch of grappa's bite, and somehow finished with lingering caramel sweetness.

Since joining the restaurant in June 2025, Gary has dramatically expanded the wine program from my previous visit. Focusing on Spanish and Italian wines, he has an infectious passion for explaining every bottle. We sampled several grape varieties we'd never even heard of before and thoroughly enjoyed the experience ($85 for the wine pairing).

Even more impressive is that Gary is the restaurant's only employee. The other four people you'll see working throughout the evening are all owners and founders: Chef Chinery and Chef Bragagnolo in the kitchen, Tommy Conrad behind the bar, and Ailbhe McMahon leading the front of house.

All five jump in wherever needed, serving dishes, clearing plates, checking on guests, and keeping the restaurant running. The downside is that, with only one seating each evening, dinner unfolds at a leisurely pace. Our five-course menu with an add-on and dessert stretched to three-and-a-half hours. Antsy diners who struggle to sit still have been warned.

Restaurants often talk about hospitality, but Casa Paco genuinely lives it. With every owner contributing to the experience and Gary guiding diners through an exceptional wine program, the restaurant feels remarkably personal. It's the sort of place you settle into for the night rather than simply dine at.

Azhar Kitchen & Bar is one of the many restaurants that forms the Gusto 54 chain, and it is no less inviting and delicious. After attending an event in Ossington, we were peckish and in search for a satisfying dinner before calling it a night. After being turned away from other Ossington establishments, it was Azhar that took us in and welcomed us onto comfortable seats at the bar.

Famished, we opted for shared starters, and I was excited to find zucchini flowers ($15) on the menu. The delicate flora is stuffed with a smooth cheese filling, which the menu describes as feta based but I tasted a faint blue cheese element as well, and deep fried giving the flower petals a light crunchiness, the centre a heat that blends with the creamy cheese, and the stem that zucchini texture and taste. Now these are the kind of flowers I like getting.

The babaganoush ($12) could easily satisfy four people, a huge mound of the roasted eggplant with a tart hit of date and molasses syrup and added crunchiness from a sprinkle of seeds. I appreciate Azhar’s use of vibrant high-quality olive oil that can blend with the eggplant or shine on its own. Either goes so wonderfully with the hot-from-the-oven pita that so soft and chewy. We thought one pita would do but after the first glorious bite, we immediately wanted another. The second arrived in no time and was equally piping hot… like singe your fingertips type of hot.

Being a weekday vegetarian, I appreciate the host of meatless options on Azhar’s menu. Although, I found they are generally a series of dishes (a side, a plant-based protein, etc.) that need to be ordered together, rather than having one dish that works as a complete meal. Accordingly, unless others at the table also want to go meatless it would be too much for one person.

In the end, I thought the Mujadara rice ($21) would be the best bet for a main, albeit a tad heavy for one (there were leftovers to bring home). The fragrant stewed lentils and caramelized combined nicely with the basmati rice studded with raisins and spices to create a flavour-packed dish. Generally, I’m not a fan of fruit with rice, but when combined with the creamy labneh, the raisin’s sweetness helped tone down the yoghurt’s acid. I wish there was the option to add another vegetarian protein to really round out the dish, a handful of roasted mushrooms might be great with the rice.

Service was top notch even sitting at the bar. The bartender was by to make sure we were satisfied and taken care of whenever he had a chance, and despite also having to man the bar was engaging and welcoming. In fact, if I had to describe Azhar with one word it would be ‘welcoming’, from interactions with staff members to the dishes that draw you in for another bite - Azhar would be one big welcome mat.