Toronto restaurateurs Sam Kalogiros and David Minicucci of L'Unita have branched out with Malena, a new restaurant that abuts their existing eatery Avenue and Davenport.
Malena, which opened last spring, is set in a century-old home and preserves the building's original Victorian-style facade. Inside, the atmosphere is part classic Italian bistro, part chic modern dining room, blending homey details like dark wood floors and oversize decorative plates lining one wall with more sophisticated touches such as leather banquettes and angular hanging light fixtures.
On the second floor, a private dining room seats 40 guests, or can be reconfigured to seat 24 boardroom-style around a communal table. Alternatively, the space can also hold 60 for a reception, and there is an intimate dining nook topped by a hanging chandelier for smaller groups.
The restaurant bills its menu as "Ionian coastal cuisine," taking influences from both Greece and southern Italy. Creative seafood and meat dishes include offerings like Grilled octopus with pancetta, root vegetable fregola, Greek yogurt, and orange agro dolce; and sheep's milk ricotta gnudi with braised rabbit, spinach, and parsnip.
