Unlock Toronto's best dining experiences: Go solo. Here's why

Toronto Star

4 days ago

Naturally, the outdoor patio at Enoteca Sociale is quiet during a heatwave. Still, I opted for a crisp pair of selvedge denim and a linen sweater. My partner was at pottery class, my best friend in Markham and never ventures downtown. I'd been meaning to try Enoteca ever since a handful of people I interviewed for another article called it their ideal treat meal. A reservation for one at the bar it is.
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Eating alone at the bar is one of the best ways to get to know a restaurant because the bartender becomes your inside guide. When I ask bar supervisor Julian Calderon for a pasta recommendation, he mentions two off-menu mainstays: the carbonara with guanciale (which I order) and the pasta alla gricia. For drinks, he offers a cocktail made with chinotto he's reduced into a syrup — a Manhattan-style drink called the Scappato. He also pours a small glass of a brown-butter and sage–infused cocktail, leftover from a batch he'd just made for another table. By the end of the night, a different server gives me a tip about Gaucho Pie Co., an Argentine empanada place on Geary Avenue. Despite dining alone, I was putting the social in Enoteca Sociale.