The Good Son - Queen West

1096 Queen St W,
Toronto, ON M6J 1H9
About the Restaurant

Chef Vittorio Colacitti has an unusually varied resume. Heโ€™s done fine dining (at George, Lucien and Didier); heโ€™s done corporate gigs (he was a chef with Loblaws); heโ€™s done pizza (at Pizzeria Via Mercanti and in Italy) and heโ€™s done television (he was on season four of Top Chef Canada). Now heโ€™s doing his own thing with The Good Son, his new restaurant on Queen West.

โ€œItโ€™s Toronto cuisine,โ€ Colacitti says. โ€œIt focuses on balance. Itโ€™s seasonally driven and locally driven as much as possible.โ€

The Good Son takes over the space formerly occupied by Nyood, the erstwhile supper club, and it officially opened on June 11. The menu, which is designed for sharing, is split into four parts: cold, hot, wood (as in from the wood-fired oven) and pizza. Colacitti takes cues from many cultures: his potato-wrapped shrimp ($13) are seasoned with jerk spices and served with a Thai-inspired mango salad, while his steak tartare ($19) is a direct homage to the French cooking from Didier.

Pizzas ($15-$19) are a hybrid between Neapolitan-style and Roman-style, which means theyโ€™re slightly thicker and crispier than something youโ€™d find at Pizzeria Libretto, and theyโ€™re cooked for a bit longer at a lower temperature.

The interior is plastered with antiques: old clocks line one wall, plates line another and mismatched chairs are scattered throughout. And yes, there is exposed brick, filament bulbs and reclaimed wood.

โ€œWe want to get away from that supper club feel,โ€ Colacitti says. โ€œThis is just a restaurant.โ€

But it's a little bit more than that: at the entrance, thereโ€™s a pantry that sells imported grocery items (such as tea and olive oil), and upstairs, a sister venue to be known as Wayward prepares for its opening later this summer.

Published on: Jun 12, 2014