Alessia Cara picks Toronto's most authentic Italian spots
The Brampton-raised pop star shares her picks for Italian restaurants in Toronto that pass the family test—Giulietta, Enoteca Sociale, and others.
Brampton-raised pop star Alessia Cara has strong opinions about which Toronto Italian restaurants actually measure up to authenticity—and would earn her Italian family's approval.
Cara, whose parents are both Italian-Canadian, recently shared her thoughts with Dished Toronto on where she'd take her Italian family to prove the city knows how to do Italian cuisine. Her picks include Giulietta, Enoteca Sociale, Famiglia Baldassarre, and Occhiolino Pastificio.
"I feel like Canada, or Toronto, makes really good modern Italian food," Cara said, though she acknowledged she might face criticism from purists for embracing the modern interpretation. The distinction matters—authentic doesn't always mean traditional, and the city's Italian restaurants have carved out space between old-world techniques and contemporary sensibility.
Each of Cara's recommendations represents a different approach to Italian dining in the city. The restaurants range from casual to refined, but all share an attention to ingredient quality and technique that separates them from generic chain operations. For anyone seeking Italian food that doesn't feel like a tourist trap, Cara's endorsement—backed by genuine family ties to Italian food culture—carries weight that a standard review can't match.