Fresh Pasta Counter With Serious Skill Opens Up in Mile End

Parc Avenue just welcomed a promising new place for fresh pasta, sandwiches and salads, as Fabrizia opened its doors this week.

It marks a return for chef Fabrizia Rollo, known for her Meditteranean restaurant Briz, which closed in 2016, as well as for her appearance on Radio-Canada culinary competition Les Chefs. She’s joined by Danny St-Pierre as co-owner (his restaurant La Petite Maison is just a few doors down on Parc).

It’s a very different operation to Briz — Fabrizia is mostly a daytime affair, a lunch counter that will serve sandwiches, salads, and fresh pasta dishes, as well as take-home options like preserves, house-made sauces and fresh pasta to cook at home.

Rollo tells Eater she’s keeping it simple — foccacia, a couple of sandwich and salad options (including roasted vegetable and roasted chicken salads), with stuffed eggplants and meal of the day a possibility in future; the menu will rotate frequently.

Fresh pasta is having a moment right now (see also: newcomers like Club Chasse et Pêche’s Il Miglio, or Matterello on St-Denis),

“Fresh pasta can take [sauces] to the next level, whether it’s just semolina and water, or potato and ricotta, there’s more to explore.”

Rollo picked up many of her skills during a three year stint in Italy, although it’s been a life-long fixture in her life. She calls it a “long-lasting love for pasta”.

Coffee and Italian soft drinks will also be on offer in the small space, which has just a handful of seats.

As for why Rollo switched from a full-service restaurant to a much smaller counter, she says it fits her aspirations.

“This was always my dream business, to do like food that my grandmother and my mom used to make at home but for other people.”

St-Pierre is a big advocate for that approach too, adding that he hopes Fabrizia can be a neighbourhood spot where customers become regulars.

“There’s a big emphasis on vegetables, a real true craftswoman doing her own thing in her own kitchen. This is something that has some groove to it, people can relate and they can afford to go…and we can actually get to know them. It’s not a ‘bucket list’ kind of restaurant.”

STATUS — Fabrizia is open at 5683 Parc from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday.

• Fabrizia [Facebook]
• Fall 2016 Closures [EMTL]
• Kitchen Galerie's Brïz Next to Jean-Talon Market [EMTL]