There’s something so very right about L’unita, and it’s not just the food. Owners Sam Kalogiros and David Minicucci must have sprung from the womb with the hospitality gene, which comes in handy when you’re a couple of budding restaurateurs. Not only do they remember how you like your cocktail (from three restaurants ago), but the duo bend over backwards to satisfy your every whim.

Enter the doors of their swank new Italian trattoria (in the former space at Ave and Dav in which Arlequin defined fine dining for decades), and you know their infusion of energetic yet refined vitality is as perfect as a lightly truffle-oiled risotto.

Edison bulbs dot with a candle-like sparkle; an atmosphere so textbook ideal, other restaurateurs can only dream to emulate: rustic wood tabletops, original brick walls and distressed English-
cottage wallpaper perfect this picture of the traditional colliding with the modern.

By the time peppery gratis grissini (house-made bread sticks) arrive we are lightly buzzed on ambience alone. With its accompanying dip du jour (a mélange of eggplant and basil) we just know we’re in for something superior.

Culinary finesse from a young chef like Doug Neigel (former chef at the Park Hyatt) is pretty rare. Some might say that rustic Italian is a lot easier to pull off than classic French, but so few get it right. A fritto misto ($13) — a plate of lightly battered and fried zucchini, squash and squid — is an impressive opener; and if you aren’t going to make your own salami and cure your own hams, then it’s a smart move to feature maestro Mario Pingue’s Niagara region–based charcuterie of cured delights ($15), paired with a tart ice-wine mustard for dipping. Mmmarvelous.

Momentum picks up with the arrival of an osso bucco tortelloni ($17) bursting with sweet, gorgeously tender shank meat in a well-seasoned pool of veal broth and perhaps the best browned parmesan frico ever. A crispy, thin-crusted funghi pizza ($14) does nothing to slow our appetite. Though a slightly more exotic blend of mushrooms would be nice, a mound of chunky cremini mixed with molten fontina cheese and caramelized onions will have us back for seconds later.
Already impressed by Neigel (and a bit full: thankfully portion control is not one of this young chef’s tropes), we see the Muskoka native climb to even more stellar heights with a plate of impossibly tender off-the-bone short ribs ($24) with the most delightful red-wine reduction that is sheer syrupy splendour. A slightly over-grilled and butterflied rock hen ($22) sports a nice smokiness, and a side of clever sweet-pepper and onion relish is as true a treat as a ridiculously inexpensive bowl of gorgonzola gnocchi ($5) that’s worth loosening your belt for.

The repast comes to a close with a refreshing range of Italian desserts — no molten cakes or crème brûlés lurk in the offing. A dark chocolate espresso cake ($6), mounded with a cloud of whipped cream and two synapse-sparking chocolate covered espresso beans, is the essence of decadence. Cannoli ($6)? Perfect. Period.

Of course, even the best food can be diminished by poor service. But L’unita has that down, too. Neophytes the owners ain’t when it comes to front-of-house duties. So it’s no surprise that servers display a keen knowledge of the menu; napkins are unobtrusively replaced or lovingly folded as needed, and water glasses never stay empty long enough to notice.

Sotto Sotto watch out. It’s a rare thing when two young guys who’ve never owned their own place get it so right the first time out. If it is, as they say, their lifelong dream, this is one we all hope they never wake up from.