Casa Paco

The atmosphere is fantastic! The restaurant only sits 20 people total per night, so it’s a really intimate vibe. The decor is great and feels like warm. The service was exceptional, everyone has a job and does it well. The food was great, we didn’t have a thing that wasn’t too notch. The rabbit was my favorite and the variety of Amaro’s to sup post dinner. We were the last ones in the restaurant and they didn’t rush us out.

This is my new favourite Spanish place in the city!! Food, service, atmosphere was wonderful. On the weekends they have a fixed menu and honestly couldn’t be happier. The tuna and uni was to die for. The cured beef melts in your mouth. The service was so good.. they’re so attentive. Overall extremely pleased!!!

Another incredible evening at Casa Paco. The food was fabulous and service stellar. Hands down the best supper we’ve had in the past twelve months, across several continents. Thanks !! Wow! We had one of the best meals ever in Toronto. The food was so tasty, fresh, wonderful and delicious. Service was brilliant. I loved the Dahlia cocktail. The porchetta was divine!

Very charming spot with a great vibe tucked away on a side street off College. All five employees are owners of the restaurant and you can feel that they put their soul into their work. The food was excellent, the service was fabulous from the personal touches to the vibrant descriptions of the dishes. Will definitely go back.

I really wanted to like this place - my husband had loved his first time and wanted me to check it out, but we were both disappointed with our experience. The food was delicious but the service was just not it. Our server appeared a bit condescending right from the start - when we wanted to try items off the regular menu (not tasting), he got visibly upset and indicated it wasn’t allowed (I’d recommend including that on your menu / website). There were other little things he said throughout the meal that made me feel like he’s doing me a favour by serving us. Mind you this place isn’t cheap. The food we had was delicious - I truly enjoyed it - but i left the restaurant full, but also not satiated with my experience

Lovely Spanish food. Made me miss Spain alot. Service was good. Food excellent, on the pricier side but it is what it is. Pork paella was the best I've ever had. After the set menu for 2 we were still hungry. Also ordered the duck beer which went well with the food. Will be back.

Might be the best dinner experience I’ve ever had in Toronto. Hard to get reservations for a reason! Highly recommend for a special occasion

If I can, I’ll rate atmosphere 6 stars. I was a bit unsure when I booked this restaurant for our anniversary, since there are not sufficient google reviews for me to study. But after my first visit, I’m confident to say it’s a great option for anniversary dinner (or any other important occasions that you never want to xxxx up) Service is great. Feel welcomed the moment we stepped in. It was pouring when we walked over, so our jackets are wet. They help us to hang it and give us time to settle. All our questions about the menu and wine list are answered in details. Alva is really good at what she’s doing and you can sense the passion in her. Their tasting menu ($73 per person) portion is small. If you come hungry, you may feel like you need to add a few items. We had tomato bread, Piquillo Pepper, Castelfranco Radicchio Fonduta (charred radicchio with melted cheese) as appetizer from the tasting menu, and we added Boquerones anchovy (anchovy in criticus + olive oil) ($14). All the flavors are unique and each dish has it's own character. Then we have the Rubia Gallega, which is cured Ontario ribeye with chanterelle (a kind of mushroom), which is really buttery, soft, fragrant. We have to choose between Scallop Gnocchi and Charred Octopus (additional $16), and we chose the octopus. We were thinking a bit more octopus (eg. 2 tentacles) but turn out it's 1 tentacle cut up and some fregola. We didn't know fregola is a kind of pearl-like pasta, but it's written on the menu, so it's no fault from the restaurant, just we don't know well enough. Last dish, we can choose from 3 options. 1) Red Prawn Squid Ink Rice 2) Whole Grilled Market Fish (Mackerel) (Add $18) 3) Ontario Prime Striplion (Add $28) We chose the mackerel as we were told it's freshly arrived on the same day and it's debone. It's grilled perfectly, juicy and fatty! The wine that Alva suggested was a great pairing with the fish. We also added charred farm greens (rapani and kale) with lemon for extra $14. It was ok for me but my partner find is a bit too bitter and leafy. We normally don't eat too much carbs, but the paella from neighbouring table smells so good! Making us thinking to come back again for some paella. Ok, here comes the "down side" of this restaurant. But don't get me wrong, no one can please everyone, so same with a smaller size restaurant, they have their own limitations. I have heard that they have 2 front of house and 1 bar tender. Husband and wife run the kitchen. Therefore, they do all the prep work themselves, and can only open 4 days a week and starting service at 6pm. That means, seats are limited and difficult to book the desire slot if you didn't pre-book ahead of time. Also, they cannot accommodate big groups. From what I was told, they can only do group of 4 max. Also, if you don't go with the tasting menu, you cannot a la carte order the items on the tasting menu. Another common issue with restaurants in downtown, is that it is not wheelchair friendly. The washroom is in the basement and can only be access via a long and step stair. I would say I can get the same quality of food and wine from else where with slightly less, however, the atmosphere and service cannot be replicated.

Loved Casa Paco! Came here for dinner with my husband and we had the grilled octopus, the Iberico jamon, and the steak. Of note, they won't seat you early since only TWO people run the entire kitchen, so also along with that, come on time. The whole staff is so sweet and it's clear it's a passion project. Loved the food - one of my best meals in Toronto so far.

Intrigued that Casa Paco was endorsed twice in the recent Toronto Star article that interviewed 11 of Toronto's Michelin star chefs for their go-to spot to dine, I decided to visit for Paella Sunday. For the two of us, we ordered the Seafood Paella Set Menu and the Grilled Short Rib Steak. The good = The star of the night was definitely the paella. Every component of it was rich, smoky, and delicious. Generous and tender pieces of charred octopus and squid embedded in a flavourful seafood-infused rice, topped with juicy shrimp, mussels, and dollops of saffron aoili - it was an excellent dish! I was just a little sad that our mussels were on the smaller-side while the table next to us, who were well-acquainted with the chef, received the extra large and plump ones. The bad = Service was rather slow as it appeared that only one waitress was managing all of the tables. I had to ask for the finished paella pan to be taken away to make room for the short rib steak (our table for two was quite small) and it took some time for the machine to be brought over after our credit card was sitting out on the table. The coat check is a bit lackluster as they place them randomly on shared hooks spread throughout the restaurant. I watched one employee drop my jacket as he went to hang up someone elses'. The in-between = The starters of the Paella Set Menu were nothing to write home about. The flavour of the homemade tomato bread was tasty but the bread was more like a crostini and far too crispy for my liking. Additional slices would've also been appreciated as there was a generous amount of sheep's cheese that I wish I could've finished. The kale and cauliflower were charred well but way too salt-forward. Finally, the grilled short rib steak delivered as a piece of meat but was unfortunately uninspiring with no sauces or accompaniments. I wouldn't order this again. Overall, I enjoyed the paella enough to return just for it but I can't particularly say that I had a noteworthy experience with anything else.

We were looking forward to our reservation booked 3 weeks in advance. The restaurant is very cozy and the dining room is quaint and beautiful, the vibe is there and the service is great. When it comes to the food, unfortunately it didn't quite meet our expectations. The steak was tender after being braised overnight but the flavor was average, as you can see from the photo there is no sauce at all so it was a bit plain. The potato calamari mash underneath the octopus was pretty good. The third dish we ordered was a medley of mushrooms, had they served that with the steak at the same time, I think our experience would have been better. It was brought out as an appetizer first and the texture was one dimensional, the dish was all mushrooms.

When I see jamon iberico on the menu, it gets ordered. The thin slices of prized Spanish cured ham are all at once sweet, smoky, and savoury. Casa Paco points out that they serve the "pata negra" ($38) variety of the ham, which indicates it's produced with pure-bred Iberian pigs. Pedigree aside, it's tasty and the plate contains plenty of slices to go around. The duck ragû gnocchi ($26) showed promise with its sizeable portion - a lot heftier than my friend's tendril of octopus - and intoxicating aroma. And while the sauce was hearty and delicious (the shredded duck tender and flavourful), the actual gnocchi was overcooked and bordered on mushy. Perhaps its because the pasta was boiled and then also cooked in the sauce. If so, the chef either needs to boil the gnocchi less or consider pan frying it to form a crust, prior to finishing it within the ragû. A dessert is a must, and the coffee cardamom cheesecake ($15) is highly recommended. Prepared crustless, the outer edges of the sweet takes on a Basque cheesecake quality so it's caramelized and dense. Yet, at the centre there's a lovely coffee cardamom sauce that gives it a lovely hit of cool sweetness that's almost like a cold molten lava cake. A unique dessert indeed. I preferred the cheesecake to the brûléed lemon flan ($11) where the sugar was overly toasted and started emitting a bitter taste. The sugar slight slip aside, the dollop of cool cream against the slightly warm flan was a nice touch. It wasn't until after the dinner that I came across a Toronto Life article about Casa Paco. What makes it particularly unique is their four owners - Rob Bragagnolo, Caroline Chinery, Tommy Conrad, Ailbhe McMahon - are also the restaurant's only staff, giving the establishment a mom and pop feel as customers will continually encounter the same faces. Maybe that's why we found dining there so relaxing. We felt taken care of and loved hearing McMahon mention that several of the flora scattered throughout the restaurant was saved from a local resident who had too many at their home and forced by their landlord to dispose of them. If only I lived in Little Italy, I too would become a familiar face amongst Casa Paco.

Part of a longer review... Casa Paco's kitchen produces dishes that are, for the most part, astounding--both for the quality of ingredients and for the unpredictable twists Bragagnolo gives them. One that still dominates my thoughts is the bruléed chicken liver paté ($21) with seasonal crudité and grilled house bread. It's essentially what it sounds like--a creamy pate that's disguised as a crème brulée. The glass-like torched topping cracks like a sheet of ice when hit and reveals a silky paté. Throughout our meal, the rhythm of service is perfectly timed and we never feel rushed. I appreciate the attention to detail in every aspect--from the ambiance to the guest experience and, of course, the food.

Just stumbled upon this place last night, sat for a drink and we had three and still we didn't want to leave! Beautiful place with a cute little patio. Delicious cocktails and such lovely people working there. It's become my new favourite place to go to for drinks.

Excellent. Will likely be a 1 star Michelin restaurant. Food is delicious and the service is attentive. Had the following: Tomato bread & olives with boquerones and Iberico - delicious. The boquerones and iberico were plentiful. Probably needed to add another round of bread Steak tartare- their take on tartare is basically a blue steak. Delicious and different. Lobster pasticcio- cheesy and heavy Squid ink rice - delicious Porchetta - phenomenal. And large portion. Ganbarra mushrooms - very flavourful.