Luca Del Rosso and Sharifa Jordan, the co-owners of La Cascina on Avenue Rd., announced today to their email list that they have sold the restaurant and will be closing next month. The message to their subscribers also shared the news that they are moving to Abruzzo, Italy to set up a bed-and-breakfast at Azienda Nicola Santoleri winery.
La Cascina opened seven years ago and swam against the current that favoured pan-Italian menus by offering dishes based on chef Del Rosso's Abruzzese heritage. They also quickly earned a reputation for straightforward, country-style preparations.
In her Kates 100 review of the restaurant (it ranked in the fifteenth spot on the 2016 Spend a Lot list), our critic wrote "this is the countryside Italian cooking that many pretend to but few master, for it is deceptively simple but many-layered."
The "various wonderful home-made pastas, often scented with truffles," were also a favourite.
The emailed announcement promised special dinners and wine events, including a Valentine's Day menu, throughout February.
They also say that they will continue to post updates to the La Cascina social media accounts with (envy inducing) updates from their Italian adventure.
La Cascina, 1552 Avenue Rd., 416-590-7819