The Big Ragu
4/5
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A true Italian Trattoria located on Lansdowne Ave. just below St. Claire Ave. in Toronto. The idea behind the Big Ragu was to provide the neighbourhood with a relaxed venue for eating simple Italian food, cooked extremely well, accompanied by excellent wine, at a great price. At The Big Ragu, we are not particularly into trends and gimmicks. Home-made pasta, slow cooked braises, warm and cold salads, and classical desserts are our specialities. more... See more text

Restaurant type

  • Fine Dining,

Cuisine type

  • Italian,
  • International,

Dishes

  • Pizza,
  • Vegetarian Cuisine,
  • Vegan,
  • Pasta,

Features

  • Restaurant With Party Services,
  • Restaurant With Private Rooms,
  • Prix Fixe Menu,
  • Take-out,

Atmosphere

  • Casual,

Products and Services

  • Full Dinner Menu,
  • Event,

Languages Spoken

  • English,
Location
1338 Lansdowne Ave, Toronto, ON M6H 3Z8
Useful Information

Opening Hours *Holiday hours

Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
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Rates:

  • $26 To $60,

Methods of Payment:

Meet the owner

The first thing you notice when you walk into the Corso Italia dining hotspot, the Big Ragu, is the delicious aroma wafting from the cozy restaurant’s open kitchen. The scents of Italian cuisine — fresh tomato sauce, roasted lamb, grilled calamari — fill the air of the gently lit dining room. The restaurant’s 13 tables are each covered in adorably kitsch red-and-white checkered tablecloths, and they fill up quickly at dinnertime.

The Big Ragu’s modest size is a good thing: it means you’ll likely get some personal attention from the owner, Jan Pradhan, who likes to greet his customers with a small plate of complimentary eggplant parmigiana or goat cheese and roasted red pepper crostini. And if he doesn’t greet you at the door, it’s not hard to guess where Jan is. “My customers know that they’ll find me cooking in the back,” he says with a hearty laugh.

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Menu & Prices

2 EGG BREAKFAST MENU - The Big Ragu

Fresh eggs prepared your way

$6.95

Fresh eggs with peameal bacon or farmer’s sausage

$7.95

OMELETTES

Bacon & cheddar omelette

$6.95

Grilled vegetable omelette

$7.95

Spinach & feta omelette

$7.95

Brie, mushroom, & spinach omelette

$6.95

BENEDICTS

Eggs Benedict

Poached eggs served on a toasted English muffin, layered with peameal bacon,
& topped with hollandaise sauce.

$8.95

Eggs Florentine

Poached eggs served on a toasted English muffin, layered with cooked spinach,
& topped with hollandaise sauce.

$8.95

Eggs Benjamin

Poached eggs served on a toasted English muffin, layered with smoked salmon,
& topped with hollandaise sauce.

$8.95

APPETIZERS MENU - The Big Ragu

Simple Salad

Romaine, radicchio,tomato,cucumber,house dressing

$10.00

The P&P

A mixed green salad of Pear, spiced almonds, cranberries, & Grana Padano. Topped off with a lemon dressing.

$12.00

Crostini di Casa

Toasted bread with prosciutto, pear, gorgonzola, & toasted walnuts. Then drizzled with honey.

$10.00

Calamari

Grilled calamari served over a bed of greens topped with homemade salsa verde.

$12.00

Magic Mushrooms

Portobello & button mushrooms baked with goat cheese over a bed of arugula with a wine reduction.

$13.00

Antipasto for 2

Rustic deli meats, assorted cheeses, & marinated vegetables.

$18.00

Caeser Salad

$10.00

Oven Roasted Beet & Arugula Salad

Topped with Goat Cheese

$14.00

PASTA

(Home made pasta. Available gluten free!)

Bucatini

Smoked Bacon,Caramalized Onions, Tomato Sauce

$16.00

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Long pasta, meatballs in a special plum tomato sauce. Almost as good as Mama makes!

$16.00

Penne

Penne with goat cheese, black olives, roasted peppers, diced tomato & onions.

$16.00

Gnocchi

Sauted spinach & cheese dumplings in a plum tomato sauce.

$17.00

Agnolotti

Sweet potato filled pasta in a butter & sage sauce.

$17.00

Pappardelle

Portobello Button Mushrooms with asiago cheese

$17.00

Linguini

with shrimp and mussels in white wine tomato pesto sauce

$18.00

Crab Ravioli

Fresh made crab stuffed ravioli in a rosé pesto sauce.

$16.00

The Big Ragu

papardelle, lamb, tomato sauce

$18.00

Fettuccine

with chicken, mushroom, baby spinach in cream sauce

$16.00

Spinach Gnocchi

with gorgonzola & spinach in walnut cream sauce

$17.00

Kids Pasta portiones also available, ask your server

ENTRÉE

Meat and Fish entrée changes daily

Please ask your server for details

Veal Osso Buco

served with roasted potatoes and rapini

$29.00

Grilled Salmon

topped with lemon cream sauce

$24.00

Shrimps & Scallops

pan-fried in a lemon garlic sauce, served with a side of fettuccine alfredo sauce

$26.00

Veal Marsala

Topped with mushroom and Marsala Sauce

$22.00

Veal Chop

with lemon mushroom sauce

$26.00

Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb

$33.00

Arctic Char Fish

in lemon caper sauce

$26.00

Seafood Risotto

with shrimp and mussles in a tomato sauce

$22.00

Oven Roasted Duck Breast

topped with cranberry sauce

$28.00

Dolce MENU - The Big Ragu

Tiramisu

Italian lady finger cookies dipped in espresso with mascarpone cream cheese.

Chocolate Rasberry Tartufo

Chocolate Lava Cake

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Ratings & Reviews - The Big Ragu

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Restaurantica12
By

I dragged my family to this restaurant all the...

I dragged my family to this restaurant all the way from Newmarket. I saw a pic and a review and thought it was somewhere i wanted to try out. Although it wasn't horrible, it was dissapointing. First they present you with a basket of bread that had to have been at least two days old, even with the olive oil they had poured over it. That's my pet peeve with restaurants, if you don't have fresh bread, don't serve it at all! They charge $10 for an eggplant parmigianno appetizer that was so small it was basically two bites. Tiny, tiny appetizer portions. Not what you expect from a rustic italian restaurant. The pizza crust was dry and not what we expected and the gnocci smorazza was good but was drowning in sauce. Very small restaurant, rather dated. I was really pulling for this restaurant. But i just can't give it a very good review.

Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Are you the owner? Reply or Contact YP
Restaurantica12
By

That's my place in Toronto! Don't expect freaky...

That's my place in Toronto! Don't expect freaky cuisine! Trust in the knowledge of the cook and in the freshness of the food.

Atmosphere: 5/5
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Are you the owner? Reply or Contact YP

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Editor’s Pick
Winterlicious 2017: $28 dinners

Winterlicious 2017: $28 dinners

The Big Ragu serves authentic Italian cuisine in a quaint, friendly and cozy atmosphere. Pastas, salads and entrees are fresh, homemade and generously portioned, paired with a wide selection of wines and cocktails. For Winterlicious, the menu includes oven-roasted butternut squash, rack of lamb and chocolate raspberry tartufo.

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