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Neighbourhoods of Taste: Little Italy, Powered by Square
Written By
Posted Aug 17, 2026
Neighbourhoods of Taste: Little Italy, Powered by Square
Written By
Posted Aug 17, 2026
Little Italy has always been one of those neighbourhoods that rewards the wanderer. College Street has its flow - espresso in the morning, patios filling up by mid-afternoon, dinner crowds spilling out well past dark. What makes it work is the mix: long-standing community roots alongside newer spots that bring something genuinely different to the block. The businesses here aren’t chasing trends - they’re building something. And with tools like Square they can stay focused on what they do best.
Little Italy
582 College St
Track & Field
Track & Field holds a special kind of status in Little Italy. It was Toronto's first lawn games bar, and after losing its original home in the basement of 860 College, it came back bigger in 2021 just down the street at 582 College. The new space trades the dive-bar basement for two full floors of retro-leaning party room: two lanes of bocce ball, tabletop shuffleboard, a photo booth, a dance floor, and a 30-foot bar pouring cocktails on tap. It's loud, social, and built for groups - the kind of place where the night gets away from you in the best way. With bocce lane bookings, party packages, and a packed bar all moving at once, Square keeps the taps flowing and the games going.
Track & Field
Little Italy
582 College St
Track & Field holds a special kind of status in Little Italy. It was Toronto's first lawn games bar, and after losing its original home in the basement of 860 College, it came back bigger in 2021 just down the street at 582 College. The new space trades the dive-bar basement for two full floors of retro-leaning party room: two lanes of bocce ball, tabletop shuffleboard, a photo booth, a dance floor, and a 30-foot bar pouring cocktails on tap. It's loud, social, and built for groups - the kind of place where the night gets away from you in the best way. With bocce lane bookings, party packages, and a packed bar all moving at once, Square keeps the taps flowing and the games going.
Little Italy
538 Manning Ave
DownLow Chicken Shack
DownLow Chicken Shack built a near-cult following in Vancouver before making its move east, and the Toronto location on Manning Ave has picked up right where the west coast reputation left off. The focus is premium fried chicken - raised without antibiotics, cooked to order, and served in sandwiches, by the piece, or as tenders with spice levels dialled exactly where you want them. Sides like mac and cheese, pickle slaw, and baked beans round out a menu that's straightforward by design and satisfying every time. It's the kind of spot where the line moves fast and the food is worth the wait. Square helps keep that pace - quick checkouts during the lunch and dinner rush so the team can keep up with demand and get great chicken into people's hands.
DownLow Chicken Shack
Little Italy
538 Manning Ave
DownLow Chicken Shack built a near-cult following in Vancouver before making its move east, and the Toronto location on Manning Ave has picked up right where the west coast reputation left off. The focus is premium fried chicken - raised without antibiotics, cooked to order, and served in sandwiches, by the piece, or as tenders with spice levels dialled exactly where you want them. Sides like mac and cheese, pickle slaw, and baked beans round out a menu that's straightforward by design and satisfying every time. It's the kind of spot where the line moves fast and the food is worth the wait. Square helps keep that pace - quick checkouts during the lunch and dinner rush so the team can keep up with demand and get great chicken into people's hands.
Little Italy
607 College St
Bar Pompette
The Pompette universe has taken over a stretch of College Street in the best possible way. What started with Restaurant Pompette - a quietly celebrated French fine dining spot - expanded into Bar Pompette at 607 College, and then Bakery Pompette at 655 College, all within steps of each other. The three are run by the same team: chef Martine Bauer, sommelier Jonathan Bauer, and bartender Maxime Hoerth, whose collective CVs include cooking for the Prime Minister of France and winning the title of best sommelier in France. Bar Pompette brings that pedigree to an all-day format - espresso and pastries in the morning, light plates and serious cocktails by evening, all in a space with the easy elegance of a Parisian side-street café. Next door, Bakery Pompette produces pure butter croissants, sourdough baguettes, and rotating pastries from scratch daily, using organic Canadian flour and a 24-hour fermentation process. Between morning line-ups at the bakery and the full arc of Bar Pompette's day, Square helps both operations flow without friction - from the first croissant to the last cocktail.
Bar Pompette
Little Italy
607 College St
The Pompette universe has taken over a stretch of College Street in the best possible way. What started with Restaurant Pompette - a quietly celebrated French fine dining spot - expanded into Bar Pompette at 607 College, and then Bakery Pompette at 655 College, all within steps of each other. The three are run by the same team: chef Martine Bauer, sommelier Jonathan Bauer, and bartender Maxime Hoerth, whose collective CVs include cooking for the Prime Minister of France and winning the title of best sommelier in France. Bar Pompette brings that pedigree to an all-day format - espresso and pastries in the morning, light plates and serious cocktails by evening, all in a space with the easy elegance of a Parisian side-street café. Next door, Bakery Pompette produces pure butter croissants, sourdough baguettes, and rotating pastries from scratch daily, using organic Canadian flour and a 24-hour fermentation process. Between morning line-ups at the bakery and the full arc of Bar Pompette's day, Square helps both operations flow without friction - from the first croissant to the last cocktail.
Little Italy
324 College St
Found Coffee
Found Coffee is the kind of spot that earns a regular rotation fast. Founded with an Australian specialty coffee ethos, the College Street café focuses on ethically sourced, carefully crafted coffee alongside a clean, health-forward food menu. The interior is modern and unfussy, with a back patio that's become a warm-weather staple for the neighbourhood. Every shot feels deliberate here - it's a place that takes the craft seriously without taking itself too seriously. For a small business running a tight, efficient operation from morning rush to afternoon wind-down, Square keeps the day running without getting in the way.
Found Coffee
Little Italy
324 College St
Found Coffee is the kind of spot that earns a regular rotation fast. Founded with an Australian specialty coffee ethos, the College Street café focuses on ethically sourced, carefully crafted coffee alongside a clean, health-forward food menu. The interior is modern and unfussy, with a back patio that's become a warm-weather staple for the neighbourhood. Every shot feels deliberate here - it's a place that takes the craft seriously without taking itself too seriously. For a small business running a tight, efficient operation from morning rush to afternoon wind-down, Square keeps the day running without getting in the way.
Little Italy
577 College St
J's Steak Frites - Little Italy
There's something almost refreshingly stubborn about J's Steak Frites. The menu is salad, steak, and unlimited fries. That's it. And yet these are consistently the hardest tables to get in the city. Husband-and-wife team Jad Sfeir and Tara Tang built the concept on the idea that a great Parisian steakhouse experience shouldn't require a special occasion. A 10oz AAA striploin grilled over an open flame, the team's legendary house butter sauce, and frites that keep coming - all for a set price. It's a simple formula executed with real care, and the neighbourhood has embraced it completely. With reservations running tight and a steady pace of table turns, Square helps the team keep service moving smoothly so the focus stays on the food and the room.
J's Steak Frites - Little Italy
Little Italy
577 College St
There's something almost refreshingly stubborn about J's Steak Frites. The menu is salad, steak, and unlimited fries. That's it. And yet these are consistently the hardest tables to get in the city. Husband-and-wife team Jad Sfeir and Tara Tang built the concept on the idea that a great Parisian steakhouse experience shouldn't require a special occasion. A 10oz AAA striploin grilled over an open flame, the team's legendary house butter sauce, and frites that keep coming - all for a set price. It's a simple formula executed with real care, and the neighbourhood has embraced it completely. With reservations running tight and a steady pace of table turns, Square helps the team keep service moving smoothly so the focus stays on the food and the room.