Toronto's newest Michelin-starred restaurant — DaNico in Yorkville is Chef Nico Schinco's ambitious modern Italian that earned its star within its first year of service. The pasta is extraordinary, the Italian wine list is curated obsessively, and the room is warm despite its Yorkville luxury-hotel surroundings. One of the most exciting openings in Toronto in years.
Neighbourhood: Yorkville · Address: 181 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON (check current address at danico.ca) · Hours: Tue–Sat dinner from 5:30pm
Why Visit
DaNico is the spot for Toronto food nerds and serious pasta chasers, with Chef Nico Schinco’s modern Italian tasting menu that genuinely earns its Michelin star. The intense focus on seasonal ingredients and a knockout Italian wine program set the mood for a real occasion.
What Makes It Unique
Unlike many fancy Yorkville haunts, DaNico manages intimacy and serious cooking in a comfortable, low-key room (no white tablecloth nerve here). The daily pasta offerings are wild—you’ll see shapes and sauce combinations not found anywhere else in town. Their sommelier will nudge you out of your usual Sangiovese rut with rare, compelling bottles from micro-producers.
DaNico opened in Yorkville and earned a Michelin star in its first year of operation — a timeline that reflects the ambition and execution Chef Nico Schinco brought to the project from the beginning. The restaurant is modern Italian in the fullest sense: rooted in Italian culinary tradition but not constrained by it, applying Canadian seasonal thinking to Italian forms and producing cooking that feels at once familiar and surprising.
The pasta program is the kitchen's signature achievement. Schinco makes pasta daily from heritage wheat varieties, shapes it into forms matched to the sauces they'll carry, and changes the composition weekly as new seasonal produce arrives. The result is pasta that has the right density, the right texture, and the right relationship to its sauce — qualities that sound basic and are genuinely uncommon. The Italian wine list was assembled with similar obsessiveness: deep regional coverage, strong representation from smaller producers, and a by-the-glass program that allows meaningful exploration without committing to full bottles.
The room in Yorkville manages the neighbourhood's luxury register without the stuffiness that plagues some hotel-adjacent restaurants. The design is warm — textured surfaces, Italian hospitality instincts applied to a Toronto context — and the service has the ease of a team trained by someone who understands that Michelin-star dining doesn't require formality to be excellent. DaNico is a notable addition to Toronto's fine dining landscape and has already generated the kind of repeat-visit loyalty that distinguishes restaurants with genuine depth from those sustained by novelty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does DaNico Toronto have a Michelin star?
Yes — DaNico earned a Michelin star in its first year of operation. It is one of Toronto's newest Michelin-recognized restaurants and is Chef Nico Schinco's flagship project. The star reflects the kitchen's consistency, the quality of the pasta program, and the overall dining experience including wine and service.
What is DaNico Toronto known for?
DaNico is known primarily for its house-made pasta program — fresh daily, seasonally changing, executed with Michelin-level precision. The Italian wine list is one of the deepest and most thoughtfully curated in Toronto. The restaurant is modern Italian in approach, rooted in Italian tradition but responsive to Canadian seasonal ingredients.
How do I book a reservation at DaNico?
DaNico takes reservations through Tock (exploretock.com). As a Michelin-starred restaurant, weekend dinners typically require 3–4 weeks advance booking. Weekday evenings may have shorter lead times. The bar counter occasionally has walk-in availability for the full menu — worth asking about when calling ahead.
How much does dinner at DaNico cost?
Dinner at DaNico runs approximately $120–180 per person for food (tasting or à la carte). Wine pairing or a by-the-glass selection adds approximately $70–120 per person. With tax and gratuity, dinner for two with wine is typically $500–700. It is priced comparably to other Michelin-starred restaurants in Toronto.