Restaurant review:Gusto 101

Gusto 101

101 Portland St.

Toronto,On

Gusto's Spaghetti Chitarra alle Vongole e Gamberi, or for the easily exasperated, "the seafood one"

Yes, it's been a while since I posted a restaurant review, but when a foodie finds a reason as compelling as Gusto's inexpensive and hearty rustic Italian (and its $1 an ounce house wine), she also feels the need to share it immediately.

First, the down side. In my defence, I aimed to go here long ago, but arrived around 8:30 on a Thursday to a two-plus hour wait and gave up. Not going to happen, anymore, not for any restaurant and I don't care how big their beers are (Guu), how cheap their tacos are (Grand Electric), or how addictive their pizza is (Pizza Libretto). The good news is Gusto does take a limited number of reservations, but only twice daily, so 6 p.m. (the other option is 12 p.m.) on a Sunday it was. And thank God it was Sunday because I got to have their cheesy ooooey gooey, meaty, wild fungilicious lasagna --the Sunday night special-- for just $14.95, a steal compared to some of the upscale Italian places in this city.

Lasagne - tomato, wild mushroom, pork salsicce bolognese

But I digress, the ambiance in this garage turned rustic resto suit the food just fine, with exposed brick walls in the open space a cozy backdrop for the bustling resto. You're sitting fairly close to the party beside you, but not so much you feel like you're in their laps. The server (how's this for ultimate hipster name: "Amadeus") was uber friendly and unpretentious (despite the hipster-ness his name implies). 

He was great at recommending and when I was stuck debating between all four amazing-sounding salads, he told me to go with their most popular, the Cavolo Nero ($12.95). 

I am still thinking about this kale-based salad and he was completely right that here the kale is almost cooked by the acidity of the lemon vinaigrette which made it a much more mild pile of greens. And a pile it was, a hearty portion, with zante currants, toasted pine nuts and a generous does of shaved pecorino. I want to return ASAP for this salad alone. 

My friend went with the roasted beet carpaccio, with thinly sliced golden and red beets watercress, spicy pecans and goat cheese ($12.95) -- although on this night, it appeared they were out of the green and replaced it with Bibb lettuce.

At $16.95 for a plateful of good-sized clams and shrimp on fresh al dente noodles, her spaghetti (pictured at top of post) was also a hit for a good value.

Speaking of good value the incredibly cheap $1 ounce house red and white is a bargin, and tastes a lot better than I thought it would. Good thing I asked how much a "normal" person would order, my friend and I couldn't think of what a regular serving was, so just so you know, it is neither 3 oz. like she thought, nor 10 oz. like I did. He said 5 oz. or 6 oz. was the way to go and we did --twice. Two glasses for $12, at a trendy, buzzed about Toronto restaurant! I fear this is too good to be true, but then again, it is "on tap."

If I had a complaint, it would be the service is slooooow and got slower the later it got into our meal. We weren't waiting long for drinks or apps like some reviews I've read suggested, but it ended up being a two-plus hour meal (sans coffee and dessert, too full) when all was polished off  (getting the bill for the table next to us didn't help speed up the process any either). But I suppose that's why the wait here is also that long. 

My advice: Go soon! Great value, food and ambiance. But go early! Though this food is almost, and I stress almost, worth that wait.