Cafe Nervosa is one of our favourite Yorkville staples so we were excited to check out Gusto 101, especially since hearing rave reviews from our fellow young professionals. Gusto’s owner is Janet Zuccarini, owner of Trattoria Nervosa in Yorkville since 1996, and designed Gusto’s dinner menu herself. Gusto 101’s location at King and Portland makes it the perfect spot for dinner before heading out for a night on the town in the surrounding area.
For the food and wine-loving YP, Gusto is heavenly. They even have a winery in the basement and wine on tap – we have not seen anything like it. The operation is a branch of urban winery Vintage One. The waiters take your order on an iPhone.
It certainly lived up to its name thanks to the delicious eats from Executive Chef Daniel Mezzolo, previously of Hockley Valley Resort. We started off with the Funghi
wild mushrooms, Gorgonzola, potatoes, bread crumbs and rapini, a typically unusual choice for us but one that caught our attention. It was well worth it. We then indulged in the tasty and comforting Ravioli di Zucca, a
roasted pumpkin ravioli with sage, brown butter and parmigiano. This was all accompanied by a side of smashed potatoes and Gusto Rosso, a Merlot that was available on tap for $1/ounce.
We were impressed by the selection of hearty salads, some of which reminded us of some of our favourites at Cafe Nervosa. They also feature a selection of pizza (the next table over’s looked so good it was difficult not to stare), pastas and a selection of Tuscan wood fired-grilled entrees.
If you have the leisure of taking lunch, Gusto 101 will be serving lunch starting February 20 and brunch will begin in March. Perhaps what we are most excited about is the large 90-seat patio set to open as soon as the warmer weather rolls around.