A small but thrilling menu of classic dishes will be sure to keep you coming back for more
By Vanessa Quon
Sugo’s front entrance located at Lansdowne Ave. and Bloor Street in Toronto. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)
With red-and-white checkered tables and floors, a chalkboard displaying the menu and a small diner-like bar for extra seating, Sugo looks like it was pulled straight out of a rom-com.
Located at Lansdowne and Bloor in Toronto’s Bloordale neighbourhood, and steps from Lansdowne Station for my fellow commuters, Sugo serves (self-proclaimed) authentic Italian-American cuisine.
But they’ve earned their “authentic” description. Sugo’s menu is small but rewarding. Written out on a large chalkboard on the wall above the front counter, the menu is viewable from the entire seating area, so the restaurant has no need to give out physical copies.
Aside from the chalkboard, the walls are lined with framed vintage boxing magazine covers, such as Boxing Illustrated and The Ring, along with an enlarged portrait of Rocky Marciano, a professional American boxer from the 50s. Besides running a restaurant, the owners have an obvious love for boxing. This added a personal touch to an already homey-feeling restaurant and made the place feel down-to-earth, which was something already felt by the employees’ friendly attitudes.
For their menu: first comes the parms, either ordered by itself or as a sandwich. You can choose veal, chicken or eggplant, all topped with melted mozzarella and tomato sauce. For their pastas: homemade ricotta gnocchi topped with even more ricotta and sauce, rosé rigatoni with grana padano cheese and spaghetti with house meat and tomato sauce, topped with parmesan and basil. You can also get a mortadella and prosciutto cotto deli sandwich or a single meatball topped with mozzarella and sauce.
The rosé rigatoni and veal parm combo and the spaghetti and meatball combo. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)
Dishes range from $10-$13, but you can combine two dishes together as a platter, such as the rosé rigatoni with the cheesy veal parm like I did, for an extra $10 charge. The combo has made its way onto my All-Time Favourite Foods list (don't tell my Nona that, though).
Sugo—meaning sauce in Italian—specializes in just that. According to an employee at the restaurant, the rosé sauce is their most popular. A blend of tomato and alfredo sauce, their rosé takes it to the next step with just the right amount of creaminess that will sing to your senses. Guests can also buy a $10 litre of any house-made sauce to take home.
Aside from their main dishes, you can get classic Italian appetizers such as mozzarella sticks, calamari or garlic bread, and desserts like tiramisu or gelato. The appetizers, or “small plates” as they call them, mostly range from $5 - $7, while the calamari stands alone at $12. The desserts are either $6 or $7.
The tiramisu dessert, made up of layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and a mascarpone cheese and cream blend, came with two spoons for sharing. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)
While you get whopping portion sizes for the main dishes, giving you enough to take home as another meal the next day (or more accurately, later that night), appetizers can feel lacking in comparison. For $7, you only receive four relatively small mozzarella sticks, making only two for yourself if you’re sharing. Not the best news for fellow cheese stick lovers.
The mozzarella stick appetizer that comes with four sticks and marinara sauce for dipping. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)
Another small complaint is the wait to get a table. While this can’t be helped by the staff, who were very friendly and diligent, it’s just a small annoyance having to wait up to two hours for your food when you’re already hungry (which is what happened to yours truly). The tiny restaurant doesn’t take reservations, so your best bet would be to visit between prime lunch and dinner times, say 3-4 p.m.
Despite a couple shortcomings, Sugo is the place to be for some saucy Italian-American comfort food. Mangia a il tuo cuore! (Eat your heart out!)