Casa Toscana
Imagine walking along the rolling hills of Tuscany.
The vineyards are a luscious green, as far as the eye can see.
You walk into a quaint, Italian home. You enter Nonna’s kitchen and smell the sauce simmering on the oven.
Are you there with me?
Welcome to Casa Toscana. Tuscany brought home to you.
Casa Toscana opened May 2018, and is located in Grimsby, Ontario- in Grimsby’s second oldest home built almost 200 years ago.
Not only is Casa Toscana a lunch and dinner restaurant, but it is also a cafe and retail store specializing in high end gourmet Italian foods.
Luca Vitali, the owner of Casa Toscana was born and raised in Tuscany. When he journeyed to Canada 12 years ago, he wanted to bring a piece of Tuscany with him, so that’s when he created Casa Toscana.
Luca successfully did this in many different ways.
COOKING CLASSES:
Luca’s mother was the first person to create cooking classes in Tuscany, so he wanted to bring everything he learned from the best to you in Grimsby, Ontario.
Luca hosts cooking classes annually from January-April but unfortunately it may differ this year due to COVID-19.
TICO LICENSE:
Luca has his TICO license and partners with a travel agency to create custom tour groups and tours a few times a year to create a trip of a lifetime for 16 different travellers.
THE KITCHEN:
In every meal that is created at Casa Toscana it is made only with the freshest ingredients, DOP ingredients, or ingredients directly imported from Italy.
RETAIL SHOPPING WITH ONLY HIGH END ITALIAN PRODUCTS:
Ranging from the variety of the best Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oils, to Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and DOP Italian Cheeses, this retail store (located in the restaurant) is definitely one of Niagara’s most unique.
Good things to know before your visit:
Personally, now a days, I find it difficult to know the exact ingredients, or where those ingredients actually came from when I dine at a restaurant. If you’ve ever worked in a chain restaurant before, you will know that a lot of restaurants version of “fresh guacamole” entails coming from straight from a bag that has been sitting there for who knows how long.
At Casa Toscana you don’t need to worry about this. Their delicious pasta is made fresh every morning with only two ingredients.
One of those ingredients being purified water while the other is flour coming straight from Altamura- a city in the Pugil region which is famous for their pasta and bread.
On your next visit to Casa Toscana, make sure to try out the pasta for yourself. You won’t believe how good it is until you personally try it.
DOP-
DOP is an acronym that you will see frequently on Casa Toscana’s menu.
This is a good thing.
During my visit and after seeing D.O.P reoccurring with many different menu items, our server Spencer explained to us that D.O.P is an acronym that is a guarantee from the government of Italy that it has been imported directly from Italy. It also means that the DOP item meets the highest of standards, and that every element of the product is quality tested.
So when you see DOP on the menu, this is another reassurance you are enjoying only the most quality ingredients.
Our experience at Casa Toscana:
My boyfriend John, and I wanted to dine at Casa Toscana for a few different reasons.
our appetizer: Burratina Di Puglia
To try out a new restaurant and to support local (supporting local is huge during these difficult COVID-19 times)
To go on a romantic date night. We’ve only heard great things about Casa Toscana, including how cozy and intimate the atmosphere is, so I thought this would be the perfect place to go for our next date night.
I was right.
As soon as we arrived at Casa Toscana, we were greeted by the friendly wait staff. We had a reservation (which is 100% recommended), and were seated at our table as soon as we got there.
This warm, cozy and inviting atmosphere makes it stand out from many different restaurants.
The service was friendly yet informative. We had Spencer as our waiter and he made our night amazing (I recommend asking for him on your next visit) . He was timely with our drinks, and three course meal, yet rushed was the last thing we felt. The way we felt was perfectly happy and in the moment. We turned off our phones (other than to take pictures of our picture worthy food) and it’s like all of our problems went away. Almost as all we were responsible of doing was to be in that moment together enjoying our wine imported from Tuscany, each others company and our fresh, handmade meals.
This to me is a rare feeling, but it was one I will remember forever.
After we told Spencer we enjoy red wine, he recommended the Fattoria Le Fonti Chianti Classico from Tuscany. This wine is a bit pricier than some of the other wines offered, but completely worth it.
For our appetizer we enjoyed the Burratina Di Puglia which is fresh Burrata cheese served with crostini and seasonal garnish. We loved it.
Cacio E Pepe V
I knew before my arrival that I was ordering a pasta dish. After hearing so many great things about it, I felt like it would be a missed opportunity by not getting it. For my main I ordered off the staple menu (the menu that doesn’t change) and got the Cacio E Pepe V. This is a spaghetti dish with pecorino cheese (DOP) as the sauce, served with fresh ground black pepper.
Tagliatelle Pere, Gorgonzola, Burrata Pasta
John ordered off the featured chalkboard menu (which changes every Friday) and got the Tagliatelle Pere, Gorgonzola, Burrata Pasta. This pasta was loaded with flavour from the combination of the two different cheeses, and is usually served with walnuts. Casa Toscana did a fabulous job accommodating my peanut and nut allergy which I told Spencer about at the start of our visit. For everyone who is gluten free, Casa Toscana accommodates by having a high quality gluten free pasta that is made in Tuscany.
For dessert we had the Pannacotta which is a Tuscan cream pudding with seasonal dressing.
Overall, we had a memorable and fantastic experience at Casa Toscana. Next time I go, I will be making my reservation for a Thursday night because that is when they host their weekly gnocchi night. If you enjoy gnocchi a good thing to know is they only serve gnocchi on Thursdays because that is exactly what they do in Italy.
I am so excited for you to experience this restaurant, and feel free to tag me in any posts or photos you take during your experience (@bycourtneytodd).
Remember, make a reservation in advance and after you’re done taking photos turn off your phone and indulge in this authentic experience.
