Originally published July 10, 2025 in Toronto Life
Name: Zia’s Place
Contact: 1543 Dundas St. W., ziasplace.ca, @ziasplace
Neighbourhood: Little Portugal
Owners: Edward Anderson, Madeleine Hayles and Jess Maiorano
Chef: Jess Maiorano
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
It’s a match made in cool-foodie-kid heaven: Pasta Forever’s Jess Maiorano has joined forces with Madeleine Hayles and Edward Anderson from Parkdale’s Happy Coffee and Wine to open Zia’s Place, a new restaurant serving up relaxed southern Italian food and nostalgic vibes.
“Jess has a large following, obviously,” says Anderson of the many fans of Maiorano’s pasta shop. “But we’ve seen a lot of Happy’s regulars here too, which has been nice.”
Long-time friends and former co-workers, the trio started collaborating during the pandemic, when lockdowns shuttered the Parkdale café and wine bar and Maiorano’s job as a pasta cook at Woodlot vanished overnight.
That’s when Maiorano started her side hustle—selling homemade pasta kits out of her apartment—which eventually became Pasta Forever. The Happy Coffee and Wine crew also pivoted to deliveries, and what began as occasional pasta-and-wine combo packs morphed into post-lockdown pop-ups on the café’s patio and the rekindling of a dream that Hayles and Maiorano first had a decade ago. “I was like, I’m bored. I’m ready for a full service—throw me on the line!” says Maiorano.
They wanted to open a restaurant that recreated both the feeling and the food of southern Italy’s cucina povera cuisine, which Maiorano grew up eating at large, loud family gatherings. It’s the food of the more rural—and often poorer—provinces like Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Molise. “You just gotta cook with what you have in the pantry and what’s in season, what’s around you,” says Maiorano. “Nothing is too fancy.”
Zia’s team took over Stop Restaurant’s old Dundas West digs, did an eight-month reno and opened at the end of May. They’ve been rammed ever since, so reservations are recommended, but they keep the bar and front window seats open for walk-ins.
“Zia” is Italian for aunt, and Zia’s Place is a homage to all aunties, but in particular to Maiorano’s aunt Vicky, whose home she grew up eating in. “She came to the opening, and I asked her, ‘So, how did I do?’” says Maiorano. “She just nodded quietly. I was like, Yes, I fucking did it!”
The Food
Maiorano gives a hard pass to the more extravagant dairy- and meat-heavy noodle dishes of northern Italy. “The last thing Toronto needs is another carbonara or cacio e pepe,” she says. Instead, the menu is made up mostly of vegetables, snacks and a selection of pasta, which will change depending on what’s in season.
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The Drinks
Sommelier Madeleine Hayles, who had become pretty accustomed to working with large wine programs, set herself a new challenge at Zia’s Place: she wants to feature exclusively Italian wines, highlighting harder-to-find bottles from southern Italy as much as possible.
Nothing is too precious—the most expensive bottle on offer is $102—and everything is also available by the glass. “I think that’s a really nice representation of how these wines are enjoyed in Italy,” she says. “These are farmhouse and family wines that you have at the table every day, not something that’s just for special occasions.”
The cocktail list (which will change seasonally) rings in at a cute six, and there’s a twist: they’re all amaro based. “You don’t usually see big amaro programs in Toronto,” says co-owner Edward Anderson. “But it’s something I’ve seen while travelling and that I’ve always been jealous of. You go to any random little spot in Italy and they have a stacked back bar with so many bottles—and they’re from these small distilleries that make their own special, slightly mysterious amaro recipe that’s been in the family for a million years, and no one will tell you really exactly what’s in it.” Zia’s current amaro selection numbers 15 and counting.
The Space
Turning the 52-seat spot from an empty white box into a nostalgic trip back in time to a 1970s kitchen took eight months, a lot of family help and a very active Pinterest board that was all about recreating the cozy look of the Italian Canadian family homes where Maiorano spent her childhood.
Anderson’s mom sewed the frilly white curtains above the banquettes and was staple-gunning upholstery to the booths mere moments before opening. Maiorano’s stepdad did the plumbing, and Anderson, whom the team has nicknamed Construction Boy, did his own custom millwork using light-coloured woods that will be familiar to anyone who spent time in Corso Italia in the early ’80s.
The homey vibe is topped off with a vintage kitchen hutch (every customer asks if the team stole it from their own grandma’s house), a mirrored ceiling above the booths, vintage magazines tucked into a rack at the entrance, hanging glass milk lamps and a so-kitschy-it’s-cool chandelier.
