Although inflation has caused the cost of dining out to soar, there are many standout restaurants in the city with quality food at reasonable prices. And when it comes to restaurant recommendations, who better to trust than a chef — and a Michelin chef to boot!
Chef Devindra Singh, recently awarded a Bib Gourmand for Indian Street Food Co.— a Leaside favourite that delivers a succinct menu of delicious street food and regional curries from all around India — recently shared his favourite affordable restaurant in Toronto where two can dine with wine for under $100. Read on to find out which spot he selected.
Chef Singh wants to eat at: La Vecchia
“This restaurant is well-known for its great recipes and dishes and for the amazing service,” he recently told us. “I like to order the pollo savoia (pan seared chicken breast scaloppine), and the wine menu is also affordable.”
La Vecchia
Does anything scream Italian comfort food more than a heaping bowl of freshly made pasta? At La Vecchia, although pasta fresca is in abundance — there are six dishes on the menu (and an additional six wheat pasta options) — the extensively traditional menu also boasts some of the city’s best Italian fare. For those craving something a bit lighter, there are a number of fish and seafood dishes, including a pan seared Mediterranean sea bass as well as soups and salads, which you can enjoy with the delicious house-made focaccia topped with seasoned olive oil and a richly flavoured balsamic vinegar. Although some menu items command higher prices — we’re looking at you, calamari e gamberi — your best bet is to stick to the pizza, done in a classic thin crust with simple but superb toppings: think Gorgonzola cheese, spicy Italian sausage and rapini. A lot of its appeal lies in the decor, like the stone and stucco walls, which are covered in framed black and white photos of Italian movie stars. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to old-school Italy without ever having to leave Toronto. 2405 Yonge St.; 90 Marine Parade Dr.
If you want to know where chef Steven Molnar of Quetzal eats cheap, click here, for Rob Rossi of Osteria Guilia click here. And to find out where chefs Kate Chomyshyn and Julio Guajardo of Fonda Balam get an affordable meal, click here.
