best pasta toronto

These are Toronto’s best spots for takeout pasta

Comfort food is king

We don’t know about you but another lockdown and stay-at-home orders have us reaching for comfort food. When dry noodles and jarred sauces aren’t cutting it, chefs across the city are here to rescue you with their incredible pasta dishes. With both indoor and outdoor dining closed, some restaurants are even selling pasta meal kits to go so you can make your restaurant favourites from home. Here are our top picks for Toronto’s best takeout pasta.

 

Famiglia Baldassare

 

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Located on Geary St., an out-of-the-way strip home to breweries, galleries and industrial shops, Famiglia Baldassare is one of the city’s best sources for fresh pasta. The shop’s famous Wednesday and Friday lunch menus are currently offered in takeaway form. Available for a two-hour time window and featuring an ever-changing line-up of dishes, Famiglia Baldassare’s previous lunch offerings have included duck cappellacci with butter and reggiano, rigatoni al forno baked with a selection of four cheeses and lasagna bianca, which features layers upon layers of ricotta and spinach.

 

Il Covo

 

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Il Covo, a cozy spot in Little Italy for homemade pasta, wine and good conversation, is currently offering a takeout menu as well as a series of home dinner kits. Two pasta dishes are included in the dinner kits. Both serve four people and come with recipe cards so that you can make the perfect pasta at home. The Linguine alle Vongole ($48) features four pounds of British Columbia manila clams, chilli, garlic, parsley, micu fazari olive oil and verrigni pasta. The Pasta all’Amatriciana ($40) includes rigatoni pasta, diced cured pork guanciale, Il Covo’s house tomato sauce, ground pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. Il Covo’s regular takeout menu also offers five pastas with no prep required, ranging from $16 to $23.

 

Gusto 101

 

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A King West favourite, Gusto 101 is a staple for Southern Italian fare, including some of Toronto’s best takeout pasta. The popular restaurant is offering customers the choice of ordering directly from the restaurant for pickup or delivery through DoorDash. Five pastas (ranging from $15 to $24) are available for order, including the mouthwatering mafalde ai funghi, which features heaps of portobello, porcini and oyster mushrooms smothered in truffle cream sauce. The takeout menu also features an antipaste section with tasty bites to accompany your noodles, such as crispy charred Brussels sprouts or lamb meatballs in tomato sauce.

 

Sugo

 

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As its name suggests, Sugo is a pint-sized Italian-American restaurant that specializes in red sauce pastas. The restaurant offers four classic pastas on its takeout menu ($14-$16) including ricotta gnocchi, rigatoni, spaghetti and spaghetti pomodoro. Sugo also offers a series of rotating special pastas each day. Some past favourites have included the meat and cheese lasagna and the spaghetti burrata with pesto cream. Sugo also sells its homemade sauces, so customers can make their favourite Italian dishes at home.

 

La Pecora

 

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La Pecora is currently operating a takeout pasta pop-up out of Twist Gallery at 1100 Queen Street West. The menu changes daily, but always offers fresh, handmade Italian pastas, pizzas and other specials. Recent pasta creations have included pappardelle with oxtail ragu, meat and cheese lasagna, rigatoni in pork ragu and spaghetti with rapini pesto. La Pecora also has six pasta kits available for delivery, ranging in price from $14 to $18. Each pasta kit serves one and includes instructions for cooking it at home.

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