Italian food often fills us with a desire to shout “That’s amore!” in crowded places because it’s just so darn good! It doesn’t matter if you’re on Team Pizza or Team Pasta – you’re allowed to enjoy both classic Italian dishes, plus more at these Italian restaurants.
This Italian gem is located right on Jasper Avenue – that, combined with its stellar cuisine, makes it a popular destination for everyone, not just those who work and live downtown. The menu features a huge variety of pasta, pizza, salads and classic Italian entrees, such as veal scallopine and rack of lamb. But it is the heavenly pasta that is the star here, with 16 different varieties, plus gluten-free and vegetarian options. And, of course, don’t skip the antipasti – Italian appetizers are always delightful.
This quiet Italian restaurant, located in a heritage house in the High Street district, has a distinguished, elegant aura. It’s a place to enjoy a peaceful meal, a glass of wine with your paramour, or a solo sojourn with a plate of pasta. The pizzas are all cooked to crispy perfection in the wood-fired oven on the restaurant’s deck (gluten-free upon request). If pizza isn’t your thing, try the penne pollo, a hearty pasta dish filled with tender chicken, gooey asiago cheese and crispy boar bacon.
Cibo is a small, modern Italian bistro filled with light, laughter and good food. The chefs can be convinced to add crispy prosciutto to almost anything, even salad (try it, it will change your life) and their meatball subs make them popular among hearty eaters tired of delicate Italian dishes. In evening, the restaurant becomes more formal, with an even better menu, filled with hand-made pastas and antipastas. Treat yourself to some of their made in-house burrata, a gooey, mozzarella-like cheese.
An Italian pizza parlour set up in a former beauty parlour – signs remain of the earlier tenants, like the original barber chairs on the main floor. The wood-fired pizza oven is constantly filled with pizzas hand-tossed by chefs trained by a professional dough boy from Italy. Their white sauce pizza is a big plus for anyone prone to spilling their lunch on their shirt. Of course, they also offer tomato sauce pizzas, you know, for the daredevils who live on the edge, stains and all.
Is it just a coincidence that one of the nicest, if not the fanciest, restaurant in Edmonton is Italian? It’s not just because of chef/owner Daniel Costa’s Italian heritage and yearly pilgrimage to the country of wine and pasta; it’s because every Italian dish tastes incredible but can also be presented in a manner befitting a contessa. Each bite of handmade pasta will convince you to move to Italy, or to never give up your seat in this restaurant (hold on tight, there are only 32 seats total).