In a competitive city like Toronto, it’s a triumph to stay open for five or 10 years. So 36 years? Now that merits a standing ovation. Gio Rana’s Really Really Nice Restaurant serves Italian cuisine in Leslieville, the large nose adorning its exterior one of the most recognizable restaurant facades in the city. (Say you’re going for dinner at the Nose and most people will know what you’re talking about.)
And it’s not just the Rana family who have stayed the course, according to Margio Rana, who describes herself as “Gio Rana’s second-favourite daughter and kind-of chef.” “We have staff and guests that have stuck around with us for decades and that makes us beyond proud,” she says.
Signature dishes include the crespelle and involtini, both of which have been on their menu for years — and for good reason, Rana says. “Both of these items were made alongside some really great chefs, so it’s nice to still honour those talented people,” she says, “plus they connect to our family origins in a really original way.”
As food costs have skyrocketed, Rana says they’re faced with a challenge, albeit an exciting one: how do we elevate humble ingredients? “(But this) is what Italian cooking is all about,” she says. “Now more than ever we can bring what we grew up eating and doing to the restaurant.”
Read on for the spots that Rana savours most when she’s not slinging pasta alongside her family.
