Fresh hand-cut ravioli resting on a floured board at Nola Eatery & Bar, Leslieville, Toronto — Ravioli cut by hand in our Leslieville kitchen, a few hours before service.

The Best Ravioli in Leslieville, Toronto, Rolled and Filled the Same Day

Ask ten people on Queen East where to find the best ravioli near me and you will get ten answers, so here is ours. We make fresh ravioli in Toronto every morning at 1161 Queen St E, in small batches, and whatever lands on your plate at dinner was dough on a board that same day.

How we make fresh ravioli in Toronto every morning

The dough goes together first thing: soft flour, semolina for bite, egg yolks, a little olive oil, salt. It rests for an hour so the gluten relaxes, then it gets rolled down thin enough that you can see the shape of your hand through it. Any thicker and the pasta starts competing with what is inside it, which is the most common way a good filling gets wasted.

Filling and cutting is the slow part. We pipe, fold, press the air out by hand and cut each piece, which is why we only make what we think we will sell that night. Some evenings the ravioli is gone by nine. If you are coming late in the week, it is worth booking a table at Nola in advance so we can hold a portion for you.

The fillings change, the standard does not

Our year-round plate is ricotta with lemon zest and a lot of black pepper, finished in brown butter with sage and a spoon of the pasta water to bring it together. In the colder months we run a braised short rib ravioli with a jus reduced from the braise, and in autumn a mushroom and mascarpone version that we sauce with almost nothing because it does not need it.

Ricotta and lemon ravioli in brown butter and sage, served at Nola Eatery & Bar in Leslieville, Toronto — Ricotta and lemon ravioli, brown butter, sage. On the menu all year.

Sauces stay deliberately quiet. When the pasta is made a few hours before service it carries its own flavour, and drowning it in cream is how a lot of kitchens hide day-old sheets. The same thinking runs through the rest of our handmade pasta in Toronto, including the potato gnocchi we roll in Leslieville, which comes off the same bench with the same short shelf life.

Why a search for the best ravioli near me tends to end in Leslieville

Most ravioli sold in this city arrives frozen in a case. It is fine, and it is not what we do. The difference shows up in texture more than taste: fresh pasta gives a little when you cut it, holds its shape on the fork, and does not turn rubbery once the plate cools. People notice it about three bites in, usually without knowing why.

We are a small room on Queen East, about forty seats, low light, a bar you can eat at on your own without feeling strange about it. Two people can share a plate of ravioli, a glass of something red and a tartare and be out in ninety minutes, or stay until close. Either is fine by us.

Ravioli runs Tuesday through Sunday, and the filling depends on the week, so ask your server what came out of the kitchen that morning. Reserve a table at Nola Eatery & Bar and we will save you a plate before it sells out.