Osteria Alba

What is Osteria Alba? Taking over the corner of College and Beatrice Street that housed neighbourhood fixture Vivoli for two decades, Osteria Alba injects modern energy into Little Italy. Executive Chef Adam Pereira (of Cano fame) partnered with chef Ying Gui to reimagine the address as a sleek, contemporary Italian restaurant. The redesign contrasts a lively open kitchen up front with an intimate dining room in the back, alongside an outdoor patio and a covered rooftop cocktail terrace.

Osteria Alba Menu & What to Order The undisputed headliner is the Gnudi ai Funghi, a holdover signature from Pereira's Cano days featuring pillowy ricotta dumplings in a rich mushroom truffle cream sauce. Start with the thinly sliced Carpaccio di Manzo dressed with herb-lemon olive oil, crispy capers, and egg gel, or split a blistered Mortadella e Pistacchio pizza straight from the wood-burning oven. The spicy Rigatoni alla Vodka with crispy pancetta hits every classic note, while seafood lovers will appreciate the heaping Linguine ai Frutti di Mare or whole roasted Branzino al Forno.

Know Before You Go Weekend dinner slots book out days in advance through Resy, but early walk-ins can regularly snag a perch at the open-kitchen bar counter. The restaurant operates continuously from noon through dinner seven days a week, making it equally suited for an afternoon spritz on the patio as a late-night feast. Hop on the 506 Carlton streetcar and disembark right at Beatrice Street, as street parking along College is notoriously tight on busy evenings.