Lobster Linguine
The signature. Expensive, generous, and worth ordering once.
Italian · Yorkville
Sotto Sotto
The Yorkville basement where the pasta arrives after the movie stars do
ItalianYorkville, Toronto$$$$Details being confirmed
The review
Sotto Sotto's reputation is built on two weeks in September when the film festival fills every seat, which does the other fifty weeks a disservice. It is a candlelit stone basement off Avenue Road that cooks straightforward Italian very well.
Lobster linguine is the signature and the dish worth ordering once — generous, rich, priced accordingly. The veal chop is the other order, thick and grilled and left alone. Burrata to start, before the volume of everything else.
Honest notes: this is Yorkville, so the bill will confirm it. During TIFF it is effectively closed to the public. The low ceilings mean a full room is a loud room. Go in February and it is a different, better restaurant.
What to order
Veal Chop
Thick, grilled, no interference from the kitchen.
Burrata
The correct first course, and a rest before the rest of it.
What works
- The room is genuinely atmospheric, not staged
- Open every night, late
- Service handles a full room without visible effort
What doesn’t
- Yorkville prices
- Impossible during the film festival
- Low ceilings amplify everything
Verdict
Burrata, then lobster linguine. Go in February, not September.