Gold Winner Ristorante a Mano Silver Winner Il Mercato Bronze Winner The Bicycle Thief “I would eat it every day for the rest of my life,” says Patrick Gaetz about Ristorante aMano’s spaghettini con polpette, and he’s not alone. That’s the fan-favourite dish on the eatery’s expansive pasta menu, thanks to its spicy meatballs, bocconcini, […]
il Mercato
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Bedford Restaurant
Gold Winner il Mercato Trattoria Silver Winner The Chickenburger Bronze Winner Finbar’s Irish Pub The Bedford iteration of il Mercato has been treating local lovers of Italian cuisine to big-ass pasta dishes, full-bodied glasses of wine and towering desserts for 15 years, putting mall restaurants around the municipality to shame with its very un-mall atmosphere. […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Italian Restaurant
Gold Winner Ristorante a Mano Silver Winner Rinaldo’s Italian American Specialities Bronze Winner Il Mercato Ristorante a Mano has a good thing going, says GM Patrick Gaetz. “We offer great traditional pastas, a cozy atmosphere—it’s probably the whole package, the consistency. We don’t make a lot changes because we know why change something that isn’t […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Bedford Restaurant
Gold Winner il Mercato Silver Winner Finbar’s Irish Pub Bronze Winner The Chickenburger “I think il Mercato stole a little bit of Halifax’s heart,” says Bertossi Group’s John Michael Brewer of the restaurant that got its start on Spring Garden Road, but continues to blossom in Sunnyside Mall. “It’s always been a staple.” With a […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Stephanie Bertossi
Co-owner of The Bertossi Group (The Bicycle Thief, il Mercato, La Frasca Cibi + Vini, Ristorante a Mano) Stephanie Bertossi says it was a fluke that she ended up in the food industry. “I moved to Calgary and I had to get a job,” she laughs. “And I just never looked back.” Since then, she’s […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Bedford Restaurant
Gold Winner The Chickenburger, Bedford Silver Winner il Mercato Trattoria Bronze Winner Morris East, Bedford Don’t be chicken when you’re eating here—bring a pocket full of quarters so you can shake your tailfeathers jiving to the jukebox. A crowd favourite for 70 years, The Chickenburger brings guests from all over, hungry for a tasty burg […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Italian Restaurant
Gold Winner Ristorante a Mano Silver Winner The Bicycle Thief Bronze Winner il Mercato Trattoria Maurizio and Stephanie Bertossi have been dishing out award-winning tastes of Italia for years. Their simplistic, yet detailed approach to presentation, decor and flavour earn all four of their restaurants an authentic trattoria experience. Risorante a Mano looks to bring […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Pasta
Gold Winner Vinnie’s Pasta Bar Silver Winner Ristorante a Mano Bronze Winner il Mercato Trattoria Vinnie’s has been the underground pasta favourite for a long time, and this year it finally unseated the competition. Hidden in a residential area of the south end, you have to already know about Vinnie’s in order not to miss […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Bedford Restaurant
Gold Winner il Mercato Trattoria, Bedford Silver Winner Finbar’s Irish Pub Bronze Winner The Chickenburger, Bedford With the Halifax version of il Mercato transforming into La Frasca (which is also sure to be delicious), its diehard fans can at least take comfort in the fact that their beloved Italian spot lives strong in Bedford. There’s […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Italian Restaurant
Gold Winner il Mercato Trattoria, Halifax Silver Winner Ristorante a Mano Bronze Winner daMaurizio Fine Dining Since 2002, il Mercato has been owning gold for Best Italian restaurant—although this one will be its last. The Spring Garden legend, best known for traditional dishes, fresh pastas and sweet desserts (most famously their true Italian gelato), has […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Desserts
Gold Winner Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery Silver Winner The Middle Spoon Desserterie & Bar Bronze Winner il Mercato Trattoria, Halifax When you’re looking to satisfy a sweet-tooth craving, Sweet Hereafter is the place to go. It has—brace yourselves—100 different cheesecake flavours. That’s almost too much deliciousness to even fathom. Even Joanne MacDougall, who owns the place […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Pasta
Gold Winner il Mercato Trattoria, Halifax Silver Winner Vinnie’s Pasta Bar Bronze Winner Ristorante a Mano Collecting its second gold of 2013, downtown’s recently departed il Mercato wins for Best Pasta. Its true-Italian-inspired dishes included handmade ravioli, seafood linguine with garlic in white wine cream sauce, pesto penne with sundried tomatoes and arugula…yep, our mouths […]