A little taste of Italy in Chinatown

Strada 241 

The restaurant opened by the Rubino brothers, is named in reference to "underground home dining". Strada 241 offers home cooked Southern Italian cuisine in a beautiful open and modern space.

Their dinner menu boasts antipastis and lots of oven-baked pizzas.

I ordered the linguini puttanesca pasta, which featured little-neck clams. I love clams in pasta and puttanesca pasta, so it was the perfect combo! Typically, puttanesca pasta is made with spaghetti and means "whore-style pasta". At another restaurant, a little Italian cook stressed that I should order something else off her menu, whispering what puttanesca meant. I love it! It's salty, full of garlic and lots of flavour. Why would I let a little Italian slang change my mind?

Linguini Puttanesca

The meatball pizza was delicious, featuring fresh and local ingredients. They also provided their own chilli olive oil for dipping. yum!

The Alessandro Pizza - tomato, Strada 214 meatballs and lots of cheese!

Beautiful open concept kitchen

The restaurant is beautiful, featuring high ceilings, original floors, exposed brick, lovely light fixtures and tabletop foosball games!

Love this space!

The service was fantastic and the menu prices were quite reasonable. Everything is made in-house, and next time I can't wait to try their antipasti and in-house gelato! The menu offers simple Italian cocktails and emphasizes rustic Southern Italian cuisine. In the heart of Chinatown!

The room is great for groups and is also an all-day cafe. I look forward to trying it again. Anyone want to join?

Strada 241 // 241 Spadina Avenue, Toronto // 647.351.1200

http://strada241.com