By: Vanessa Quon
As fall looms, comfort food is starting to creep back into our lives, which is why Dal Moro’s Fresh Pasta To Go is a great place to help satisfy those carb cravings. Located at 605 Yonge St. in the Church and Wellesley area, Dal Moro’s serves fresh, traditional pasta, conveniently placed in to-go containers (think of Chinese takeout).
The quaint restaurant emits a delicious aroma as soon as you enter the door. It was like being back in my nonna’s house when she made her homemade Roma tomato sauce with meatballs. Nostalgia draws customers through the door before the flavourful fare even reaches their taste buds. To paint an even more charming image, you can spot long strands of spaghetti hanging from lanterns off the ceiling–which are also filled with even more pasta. Who wouldn’t love that?
Venetian chef Gabriele Dal Maro first founded the business in 2012 in Venice with a vision to provide affordably-priced, authentic pasta dishes. The franchise also has a well-loved location in Barcelona, Spain. This Toronto location is its North American debut, bringing real flavours from Italy to across the pond.
So what else makes Dal Moro’s unique from other pasta places?
“We make the pasta fresh in-house every day in front of the customers,” said Celio, the store manager.
The first step at this cozy food joint is to select your pasta: rigatoni, spaghetti, gnocchi, fusilli, fettuccine or linguine. They provide small sample cups of each pasta in front of the cash register to show you what each looks like, so you don’t need to worry too much if you don’t know the difference. Next, you choose your sauce. You could go with one of the bestsellers–pesto or bolognese–or try something a little out of the ordinary, such as their nero di seppia (squid ink) sauce.
Along with the meat and seafood classics, they offer multiple vegan and vegetarian sauce options. Mamma Rosa, alla Norma, al Formaggi and pesto are vegetarian, while Pomodoro and Aglio olio peperoncino are vegan. Celio also noted that the pasta noodles are egg-free and therefore vegan. Other sauces include amatriciana, chicken alfredo and Frutti di Mare, which is a (delicious) seafood sauce.
Some would say certain sauces go well with a specific type of pasta noodle, say, spaghetti bolognese or fettuccine alfredo, but you can always mix it up and try something new. I, myself, tried bolognese with rigatoni, and found it to be better than the classic combo.
After choosing your pasta and sauce, you can add extra toppings like seafood, chicken, bacon, green olives, mushrooms or mozzarella for an extra $1 to $2. Parmesan, chilli flakes and garlic powder are free of charge. Celio said the busiest times of the day are between 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. 8 p.m. While there are a few tables with enough room to fit four people, it would be best to avoid these times to get yourself and your friends a seat.
“This is a good place to go out with friends for a fun experience,” said Rosie Leonard, a customer at Dal Moro’s. However, Leonard doesn’t recommend trying it for a date as she referred to the pesto sauce she said she found on her chin and forehead.
Dal Moro’s also offers soft drinks, beers and wines, along with a homemade tiramisu dessert, making this a great place to chill out and relax with friends at the end of a long day.
