Sugo: Italian-American Classics That Never Miss

Think back to a childhood meal at an Italian-American joint, and chances are Sugo can bring that memory right back. When it opened in 2017, checkered tablecloths had fallen out of fashion and the city was turning toward Italy-proper trattorias. Sugo went the other way, serving big portions of the heavier-handed cuisine its founders grew up eating. Step through the door and you’re transported to an old-school New Jersey spot, where comforting classics are done just right. “This is the food I grew up around eating at my friends’ houses and in restaurants,” says operating partner Conor Joerin.

Joerin has been cooking in Toronto since he was 17. He opened Sugo with Alex Wallen and Scott Pennock, his partners at The Emerson next door, a space that now houses their sister pizzeria Bar Sugo. Joerin and Wallen grew up in Little Italy, surrounded by red sauce spots and the neighbourhood’s boxing gyms. The boxing posters and memorabilia lining Sugo’s walls are more than decor: the sport is an integral part of its identity.

The Same Spaghetti, Years Later

The menu is short, and it has barely moved in nearly ten years. “The core of our menu has been the same since day one,” Joerin says. The spaghetti comes three ways, with a veal and pork ragù, as a simple pomodoro or with pesto and tomato sauce, each one topped, of course, with a mountain of grated parm. Sandwiches, from the chicken and eggplant parms to Uncle Scotty’s signature meatball, come on sesame buns. Although a lot of people line up for the rigatoni rosé, you can order any pasta or sandwich blind and be in for a treat. Cannoli and tiramisu close things out, just as they should. All of this has landed Sugo a spot on our lists of the best pasta and the best Italian food in Toronto.

That consistency is the whole point. “There’s kids now that have come here when they were four years old and now they’re almost 14,” Joerin says. “And the spaghetti is going to be the same as the one they had when they were four.”

Value matters just as much. The veal parm, for example, is made with local Ontario veal striploin and sits at $22, while most pastas hover around $21. Even after becoming a successful restaurateur, Joerin insists: “I don’t want to feel like I’ve been ripped off.”

Sugo doesn’t take reservations, so expect a waitlist and a line to get in. The wait is well worth it, and portions are generous enough to satisfy any appetite worked up in line.

Drinks follow the same easygoing logic, with no strict Italian rules attached. Sugo makes a mean espresso martini, and nobody will blink if you order one with your pasta. The short wine list covers prosecco, lambrusco, a rosé, a white and three reds, with something for every kind of guest.

A Restaurant That Gives Back

Community runs through every part of Sugo, starting with the kitchen. When it opened, the team skipped the usual industry hiring network and recruited young boxers from local gyms. They had never cooked before, but they brought a discipline and healthy lifestyle that rubbed off on the whole crew. “Instead of sending someone home for a bloody nose from partying the night before, I’m sending kids home for a bloody nose from sparring too hard,” Joerin jokes.

Sugo now sponsors four hockey teams, two softball teams and young athletes in boxing and jiu-jitsu, covering tournament fees, equipment, hotels and flights. The team also works with the Parkdale Community Food Bank and the St. Felix Centre, and has hosted Christmas dinners at a neighbourhood church. During the pandemic, Joerin and his friends turned their kitchens toward shelters and front-line workers. “We cooked for everyone,” he says.

That same spirit fills the small, cozy restaurant every night. “You come into the restaurant and there’s little kids eating their first giant spaghetti. There’s elderly people celebrating their 80th birthday,” Joerin says. “Everyone’s welcome. It’s like a community center that way.” Under the checkered tablecloths and boxing posters, Sugo plans to keep serving the same plates for a long time.

Written by Marie-Ève Godin
Photography by Scott Usheroff

Updated on November 06, 2026

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