Buono Ristorante

What is Buono Ristorante? Taking over the former Verdi space on the Mount Pleasant East and Leaside stretch of Bayview Avenue, Buono Ristorante offers an intimate neighbourhood Italian dining room styled with warm wood panelling, crisp table settings, and soft pendant lighting. The room seats around 40 diners inside, expanding in the summer with a sidewalk curb-lane patio for open-air dining. It functions as an unpretentious, reliable gathering spot for neighbourhood locals, multi-generational family dinners, and relaxed weeknight dates.

Buono Ristorante Menu & What to Order The kitchen focuses on classic Italian trattoria fare, leaning heavily into house-sauced pastas, comforting mains, and crisp antipasti. A reliable meal begins with the crisp calamari fritti served with a tangy dill sauce or the caprese salad with bocconcini and balsamic reduction. For mains, the fettuccine mare monte—tossing shrimp and porcini mushrooms flambéed with brandy in a rich rosé sauce—is an essential order, alongside the decadent gnocchi gorgonzola and slow-cooked veal ragù in the spaghetti Bolognese. Pair your pasta with a glass of Tuscan Chianti Classico or an Italian Valpolicella Ripasso.

Know Before You Go Tables can be reserved directly through their website or by phone, which is highly recommended for Friday and Saturday evenings when the room fills quickly with local regulars. Paid street parking along Bayview Avenue is competitive during dinner hours, but nearby Green P municipal lots on Millwood Road provide easy parking. The restaurant runs split daily service, opening for lunch and reopening for dinner in the late afternoon.