Plant-based Italian cooking that will convert even the most committed meat-eater. Cashew-based ricotta, gluten-free pasta options, and a Sunday brunch that's become a neighbourhood institution.
Neighbourhood: Leslieville · Address: 1006 Queen St E, Toronto, ON · Hours: Tue–Fri 5–10pm | Sat–Sun 10am–3pm, 5–10pm · Price Range: $$ · Phone: (416) 462-1818 · Editorial status: Not yet verified
Nodo reimagines Italian classics, using inventive plant-based ingredients without sacrificing flavour or indulgence. Their vegan ricotta and brunch menu go way beyond the usual vegan fare.
Unlike many vegan spots, Nodo offers Italian comfort food that actually feels homemade — from house-made cashew cheeses to genuinely good gluten-free pasta. Their fully plant-based brunch has a cult following in Leslieville, rare for a cuisine usually heavy with dairy and meat.
Nodo is the restaurant that convinced a generation of Toronto meat-eaters that plant-based Italian cooking was worth taking seriously. The kitchen operates out of a modest space on Queen Street East in Leslieville, making everything from scratch: pasta dough without eggs, ricotta from soaked cashews, cream sauces built from vegetable reductions and nut bases. The technique is rigorous, and the result is Italian food that stands on its own merits rather than simply impersonating the original.
The pasta dishes are the core of the dinner menu. The rigatoni arrabbiata (house tomato sauce, calabrian chili, cashew parm) is the entry point: aggressive, properly spiced, with a pasta texture that proves the eggless dough is structurally capable. The cacio e pepe (cashew-based, not dairy) is technically the most challenging dish on the menu and the one that most impresses non-vegans — the creaminess comes entirely from the emulsified cashew base and pasta water, which requires precise temperature and timing to execute.
The Sunday brunch has become a Leslieville institution in itself: French toast made with thick-cut sourdough and aquafaba batter, shakshuka with house-made cashew feta, and the tiramisu — espresso-soaked ladyfingers (vegan), cashew mascarpone, cocoa — that circulates on Toronto food social media every time someone orders it for the first time.
The wine list is natural and mostly vegan; the staff know which bottles are which without being asked.
Nodo is a plant-based Italian restaurant on Queen Street East in Leslieville, known for from-scratch pasta (eggless dough), cashew-based ricotta and cream sauces, and a celebrated Sunday brunch. It's considered one of the best vegan restaurants in Toronto and regularly attracts non-vegan diners. Open Tuesday–Friday for dinner, Saturday–Sunday for brunch and dinner.
Yes — Nodo is a fully plant-based restaurant. Nothing on the menu contains meat, dairy, or eggs. The pasta is made with eggless dough, cream sauces are built from cashew bases, ricotta is made from soaked cashews, and the tiramisu uses aquafaba and cashew mascarpone. Many dishes are also gluten-free on request. The wine list is predominantly natural and vegan.
For dinner: the rigatoni arrabbiata (house tomato, calabrian chili, cashew parm) and the cacio e pepe (cashew-based cream sauce) are the standout pasta dishes. For brunch: the French toast, the shakshuka with cashew feta, and the tiramisu are essential. The tiramisu has become the restaurant's most photographed dish — it's an accurate benchmark of the kitchen's technical skill.
Nodo is at 1006 Queen Street East in Leslieville, the east-end neighbourhood between Broadview and Jones Avenue. Transit: the 501 Queen streetcar to Carlaw Avenue. The restaurant is open Tuesday–Friday 5–10pm and Saturday–Sunday 10am–3pm (brunch) and 5–10pm (dinner). Reservations recommended on weekends.
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