Canada’s Top 5 Italian Restaurants of 2026

Couldn’t make it to Italy this year? A taste of la dolce vita may be closer than you think. These are the five highest-ranking Italian restaurants on our 2026 list. At Vancouver’s Kissa Tanto, executive chef Joël Watanabe elevates Japanese-Italian fusion with deeply sophisticated dishes, dark Italian glamour and exacting Japanese attention to detail. Calgary’s DOPO offers a sumptuous take on rustic Italian fare in a warm, below-ground Tuscan tavern, where house-made pastas and generous secondi turn dinner into a feast. At Toronto’s DaNico, chef Daniele Corona presents Italian fine dining with an almost kaiseki-like refinement, balancing luxurious ingredients with seasonal Ontario produce. Montreal’s Gia Vin & Grill centres its lively, Italian-inspired menu around wood-fired cooking, from grilled arrosticini and seafood to sublime pastas and locally raised meats. Finally, Toronto’s Don Alfonso 1890 pairs spectacular city views with an artfully composed tasting menu that moves between distinctly Canadian ingredients and signatures from the original restaurant on the Amalfi Coast.

Kissa Tanto

The notion of taking itameshi (Japanese-Italian fusion comfort food) to a new, fine-dining level seemed thrillingly novel when Kissa Tanto opened 10 years ago. The food here still delights, thanks to the sophisticated imagination of executive chef Joël Watanabe and his team. Some dishes on the short menu have been there since the early days, such as charcoal udon with Dungeness crab and Calabrian chili butter, or the deep-fried whole Pacific rockfish (like giant tempura) with daikon-soy dip. But frequent specials keep things fresh and seasonal — burrata, for example, matched with organic beets and Hakurei turnips, chicories and a minted soy emulsion. Read more on Kissa Tanto here.

DOPO

Originally conceived as the second chapter of the dearly departed D.O.P., DOPO has evolved into a refined and more grown-up version of its predecessor. The result: a warm below-ground Tuscan tavern and a kitchen with an eye on luxe ingredients. This is a sumptuous take on rustic fare. Still a must-order is the puffy sea-salted grilled bread with whipped ricotta and the garlicky pickled green tomatoes (the recipe via Migliarese’s mother). House-made pasta is typically sauced simply, while the massive secondi courses — including the veal milanese topped with saffron, capers and butter — transform any meal into a feast. Read more on DOPO here.

DaNico

Dishes on both the prix fixe à la carte and the eight-course tasting menu are expressions of Italian fine dining, executed with an almost kaiseki-like refinement. This year marks a new emphasis on sustainable local Ontario produce, some coming from a partnership with the urban farm of Casa Loma’s gardens. So, nasturtium foam graces pigeon breast with red onion confit and balsamic-glazed fig, while tomato-seed and green-pepper salad is part of a dainty treatment of amaebi crudo with moqueca sauce and puffed tapioca. Opulent simplicity is a hallmark of their signature spaghettoni, boiled in an extract of Ontario mushrooms and finished with aged Parmigiano Reggiano and truffle. Read more on DaNico here.

Gia Vin & Grill

In a converted garage spiffed up with subway tiles, the kitchen serves up daytime antipasti and sandwiches with some pastas and secondi. Dinners feature excellent grilled arrosticini and seafood, sublime pastas, succulent meats from local farms and seasonal plates, such as mussels escabèche. Wines on the extensive list are natural…of course. After all, we are in Montreal. Learn more about Gia here.

Don Alfonso 1890

The experience is elevated: Views are spectacular, but they vie for attention once the artful plates arrive. Davide Ciavattella’s vision is maximal, as demonstrated in a fancifully plated eight-course tasting menu. Some dishes are distinctly local, while others — like the wild-rose-scented tagliatelle with eel gelato — originate from the original restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. The wine list is exceptional. Read the rest here.