We’ll see you in there.
Connect to customize your food & drink discovery.
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Bar Notte
If you like this, you’ll also like:
Ever found yourself wandering downtown Toronto, round midnight, long after most restaurants have closed their kitchens?
In a state of stone cold sobriety, (or warm, fuzzy inebriation), you’re on the prowl for a last call and some late-night munchies.
And sure, there are lots of after-midnight pints and platters of wings to be found.
But maybe you’re craving something more… Refined… Unusual... Gastronomically satisfying… And – why not? – Sexy…
Partners and co-owners of the high-end Italian trattoria, Amano, Adam Teolis and Michael Angeloni cop to having experienced such cravings at the end of a long day of work at their Esplanade restaurant. As luck would have it, when the pair, along with partner, Yannick Bigourdan, opened Amano Trattoria in 2021, adjacent to the dining room was a long cavernous space, which they used for storage, private events and making pasta.
Then one day, it hit them: Wouldn’t it be great if that dreamed-about downtown place that satisfied everyone’s (including their own) late-night cravings just happened to be right next door?
And so it was that, following a renovation by DesignAgency (responsible for Amano’s décor) in October of 2023, Bar Notte opened its doors.
In truth, from Church Street, it’s easy to miss the doors. From the street, Bar Notte possesses the secrecy of a speakeasy – an impression that’s confirmed when you slip inside.
Immediately, everything’s shiny black and dark wood, with lighting turned down romantically low. Retro splashes of scarlet, deep forest green and neon add just enough buzz and electricity to the otherwise noir-ish vibe. There’s a real intimacy to the space, which only seats 30. But the room is so luxuriously long, and the tables so generously spaced – with the exception of a communal black marble table (used by day for rolling out pasta dough and making chocolate) – that you can really kick back and sprawl out.
On one wall, Michelangelo’s David sports a tri-coloured red-white-and-green man-thong. Another entire wall features a black-and-white mural of a tuxed and grinning Dean Martin, posing against a rural Tuscan landscape and sporting an eye-popping Technicolor lei. The art (by Adam Nathan of Jelly Funk) is a reminder that Bar Notte’s offerings are deeply steeped in Italy, but in a manner more playful than reverential.
Indeed, at the same time as he venerates his Italian roots, executive chef Angeloni loves to poke a little fun at them. As he declares, “I’m inspired by my heritage, but not defined by it.”
Angeloni’s father’s family emigrated from Le Marche region of Italy, landing in Scarborough, where young Mike and his eight cousins spent weekends in his Nonna’s basement, helping her make pasta that she distributed throughout the neighbourhood (in return, she never had to rake her lawn or shovel her sidewalk). Meanwhile, his mother’s family was Polish, which led to late nights helping his mother and aunt make pierogies (also distributed to the neighbours). Angeloni’s split culinary personality shows up in various guises on Bar Notte’s menu where pickles happily co-exist with pepperoni and prosciutto.
Like many chefs, Angeloni dropped out of high school, envisioning a career in professional soccer. But after blowing out his knee, he changed plans and serendipitously found his way into a kitchen. Not just any kitchen, but that of Dario Tomaselli, head chef at one of Toronto’s finest Italian restaurants, Oro. From there, it was all uphill, including stints at Splendido, Black Hoof and Grand Electric, working alongside the likes of David Lee, Grant van Gameren, and Colin Tooke.
Aside from sharing real estate space and owners, Bar Notte and Amano also share the same kitchen. Consequently, despite their distinctive personalities, there’s a lot of flow and synergy at play. Guests frequently begin the night with starters and cocktails at Bar Notte before heading next door to Amano for dinner. But opposite waves of migration occur as well, with Amano diners enjoying a bite and night cap at Bar Notte.
In keeping with its name, Bar Notte wears its late-night mantle proudly. Yet its menu of assaggini – small, shareable plates – is eclectic and appetizing enough to lure guests in search of an early dinner.
At first glance, the “Italian ‘ceviche’” seems like a misnomer. Of course, ceviche, made with tender strips of marinated seabass, isn’t Italian. But when you bathe it in saffron-infused lemon juice and add briny olives and capers, it comes deliciously close.
Equally surprising is the marinated octopus. Paper thin slices of this Mediterranean mollusk are marinated to tangy perfection in a tomato vinaigrette, then sprinkled with chopped green pepper, fennel and toasted hazelnuts, the latter adding nutty sweetness and crunch. Having spent four years in Grand Electric’s Mexican kitchen, Angelino can’t resist bringing some heat to this otherwise refreshingly cool dish with the addition of burnt jalapeno oil, charred for hours until it’s black as night.
Even more off-the-charts is the beef tartare cannoli. Yes, you read that correctly. Guests often do a double-take when scanning the menu, but venturesome souls will thank themselves – and Angeloni – for this unique treat. Instead of sweet, the cannoli shell skews savory, thanks to a little red wine and cocoa powder. Crisp and delicate, it’s the ideal cradle for the luscious, melt-in-your-mouth beef, glossy with fresh egg yolk and Italianized in all the right ways due to judicious use of house pickles, Calabrian chile paste and a mixture of crispy shallots, capers and shredded Parmesan.
Already a fan favourite, the cannoli are an exception to Angeloni’s rule of frequently switching up the menu. Removing it could conceivably instigate a popular revolt.
Speaking of popular, it’s hard to think of Italian food without conjuring meats and cheese. Bar Notte enthusiastically devotes a whole section of the menu to both staples, once again taking on classics and tweaking them with sprezzatura.
A big, gorgeous round of moon-white burrata, artisanally made by Sul Tavolo, is ringed with a garland of fresh green herbs and confit tomatoes (more tri-colour Italiana!) Cut into it and luscious creamy stracciatella pours out. Fortunately, there’s plenty of Blackbird bread to mop it all up.
Those who appreciate the long-lasting marriage of prosciutto and melon, but worry that it’s become a little stale, will thrill at Angeloni’s revamped version. Delicately shaved dry-cured ham is layered with compressed cantaloupe, lightly pickled with peperoncino vinegar, then given further verve and piquancy courtesy of fresh mint, Calabrian chilis and fresh cracked pepper.
For those who like their Italian meats and cheese in sandwich form, Bar Notte offers a couple of robust “sangwiches.” In addition to the deliciously messy Sloppy Giuseppe, a take on the Sloppy Joe featuring a brisket bolognese, smoked provolone and Nonna Angeloni’s 40-clove tomato sauce, there’s a dreamy Mortadella Sangwich in which the namesake sausage is layered with n’duja and stracciatella and squeezed between two chewy triangles of foccaccia.
If you prefer your meats and cheese, in pizza form, you’re also in luck – well, sort of. Recognizing that the Toronto pizza bar has been raised loftily high, particularly when it comes to Neapolitan pies, Angeloni sensibly decided to not even go there. Instead, he went to Rome where he did as the Romans did and decided to make pinsa, a cousin to pizza whose hand-pressed, twice-baked dough integrates seven different varieties of flour (including rice and soy), leading to a lighter, airier crust.
At Bar Notte, the pinsa is served by the slice (actually a pair of slices), the better with which to mix and match with other plates. Toppings are unfussy and resolutely old-school. The Rosso ‘Roni is nothing more than small, crisp discs of Grande rosso pepperoni, layered onto a melted bed of smoked provolone and drizzled with chili-infused honey. The Truffle Shrooms pinsa features Yukon gold potato topped with semi-soft taleggio cheese, truffle honey and roasted garlic.
Gastronomy aside, Bar Notte take its mission as a bar seriously, albeit not without injecting some fun into the proceedings. There are a handful of beers from Italy along with Italian-inspired brews made locally by the likes of Fairweather and Junction. The wine list is short, sweet and downright Italian, but guests also have access to Amano’s more expansive cellar, which runs the gamut from easily recognizable styles, varietals and regions (you can drink Barolo by the glass) to unique, hard-to-get-and/or-understand wines from obscure Italian vineyards.
Dean Martin would no doubt approve of the prominence given tococktails. One whole menu page is devoted to Signaturas (Gin Basil Fizza and Amano Sour) and Classicos (Negroni and Aperol Spriti). Another rotating roster introduces more eclectic categories such as “For the Curious” and “For the Adventurous”.
Inspired by the flavours (and scents) of Mom’s garden, L’Orto de Mamma is a fragrant mix of Beefeater gin and Frangelico with lime and a house-made cucumber-mint-basil syrup. Topped with frothy aqua faba and a scattering of greenery, it’s as if your mouth has been immersed in an orchard.
Equally fragrant and frothy is the Profumo di Casa. Absolut is layered with an herbaceous infusion of lemon grass, fennel and thyme. Apple, lime and the lemony fizz of Lurizia gazzosa add plenty of citrusy zing and the whole bold shebang is topped with a stormy cloud of herb foam.
More discrete (in flavour, but not in hue) is Il Turista. A deep purple mixture of Aperol, Prosecco, blueberry syrup, and orange, it’s delightfully fizzy and refreshingly fruit-forward.
Then there’s the aptly named Intenso. Its bracing foundation of aged Havana Club only gains in intensity thanks to the bold presence of grappa Morbida, sweet vermouth, Campari, cherry liqueur, and grapefruit bitters.
If Bar Notte’s food and drink options are expansive, indulging in myriad flights of fancy, the same can’t be said about dessert. There’s only one – a tiramisu – and, perhaps for this reason, it’s the only classic that Angeloni doesn’t mess with. It’s silky and subtle, beautifully balanced, and disappears with frightening speed if you’re not careful (and how could you be?).
“It comes down to way the cream is made,” explains Angeloni as to why he believes it ranks among the best tiramisus in Toronto. “I don’t know how to say it delicately, but I don’t think a lot of people in the city do their cream justice.”
Angeloni makes his cream with a whole lot of egg yolks so that it’s rich and luscious. “And that’s just the base,” he points out. “Our cream takes a lot of time to make properly.”
At this point, Adam Teolis joins in. “Mike will never take the easy way. And that’s why he opened a bar. He was like ‘I’m never going to go home’.”
Recommended For You
