Cacio e Pepe
Four ingredients, nowhere to hide, and they do not hide.
Italian · The Junction
Nodo
The Junction’s neighbourhood Italian — pasta, a patio, and no ceremony
ItalianThe Junction, Toronto$$Details being confirmed
The review
Nodo is not the most interesting restaurant on Dundas West and has no interest in being. It is the one you end up in on a Tuesday when the plan was vague, and the reason it works is that the pasta is made with more care than the room's ambitions suggest.
Cacio e pepe is the test — four ingredients and nowhere to hide — and it comes out emulsified properly rather than as buttered noodles with pepper on top. The gnocchi are light. The pizzas are thin-based and finished after the oven, which is the right call on the prosciutto and arugula.
Honest notes: nothing on the menu is going to surprise anyone, the wine list is short, and the room is small enough to fill by seven. Brunch is the underrated visit — as good as most of Roncesvalles and with a fraction of the queue.
What to order
Gnocchi
Light enough to order as a main rather than a dare.
Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza
Thin base, dressed after the oven. The patio order.
What works
- Reliable rather than ambitious, which is what a neighbourhood needs
- Patio is one of the better ones on Dundas West
- Brunch is genuinely good and rarely as queued as Roncesvalles
What doesn’t
- Nothing here will surprise you
- Small room fills quickly at dinner
- Wine list is short
Verdict
Cacio e pepe on the patio, or brunch on a Sunday when Roncesvalles is an hour deep.