Bitondo Pizzeria is a pizzeria restaurant in Little Italy, Toronto.
Bitondo Pizzeria on Clinton Street has run a Little Italy storefront since 1960, panzerotti and meatball sandwiches with hot sauce and sweet peppers.
Signature dishes: Panzerotti, Meatball sandwich
Must order: The panzerotti, folded over and fried with mozzarella and tomato.
Tip: Cash only. Closed Sundays and Mondays. The tiny room seats six; most customers eat on the curb.
Address: 11 Clinton Street, Toronto, ON M6J 2N7
Sotto Sotto on Avenue Road has run Roman-style Italian below street level in Yorkville since 1993, chef Massimo Renzi's fresh pasta in an exposed-brick room.
Signature: Fresh pasta, Veal piccata
Order: A handmade pasta of the day and the veal piccata.
Tip: Drake's photo hangs on the wall and he eats here. Book ahead; the room seats 50 tightly.
Cluny on Tank House Lane is the King Street Food Co.'s French bistro in the Distillery District since 2014, steak frites and an attached boulangerie.
Signature: Steak frites, Plateau de fruits de mer
Order: The steak frites and a glass from the all-French list.
Tip: The patio runs onto cobblestones in summer. Sister boulangerie next door for takeout viennoiserie.
El Catrin on Tank House Lane in the Distillery District runs Mexican tapas with Canada's largest mezcal and tequila collection, plus a Sergio Sanchez mural.
Signature: Tapas-style Mexican plates, Mezcal flights
Order: The cochinita pibil tacos and a flight of mezcal espadin.
Tip: The 400-seat patio is the largest in the Distillery District. Brunch service Saturday and Sunday.
Lake Inez on Gerrard East is chef Robbie Hojilla's pan-Asian gastropub since 2016, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese and Korean plates with a 24-tap beer list.
Signature: Pan-Asian small plates, Ontario craft beer flight
Order: Three or four small plates and a flight from the rotating beer list.
Tip: Walk-ins easy at the bar Tuesday through Thursday. Weekends book on Resy. The Byzantine mosaic on the wall is original.
Patois on Dundas West is chef Craig Wong's Jamaican-Chinese fusion kitchen since 2014, fine-dining French training applied to Caribbean home cooking.
Signature: Double Down patty sandwich, Juicy jerk chicken
Order: The Double Down sandwich, jerk chicken between two Jamaican patties.
Tip: JunePlum by Patois next door at 796 Dundas is the patty-and-drink offshoot. Closed Mondays.
Mamakas Taverna on Ossington is owner Thanos Tripi's 85-seat Aegean kitchen since 2015, traditional Greek taverna cooking from scratch each morning.
Signature: Whole grilled fish, Saganaki
Order: The whole grilled fish, dressed Aegean style with lemon and olive oil.
Tip: Sister Bar Mordecai sits at 1272 Dundas West for a pre-dinner drink. Weekend lunch runs into early dinner without a break.
