Ristorante Boccaccio, Toronto

Trained at Italy's Villa Santa Maria culinary school, Chef Gino Marchetti sharpened his world-class culinary skills in restaurants throughout Europe and North America. Since settling down at Ristorante Boccaccio more than 20 years ago, he has constantly updated his menu to highlight each season's freshest ingredients. His dinner entrees often start with meats such as seared Atlantic salmon and grilled veal chops, to which he adds gourmet garnishes and Italian seasoning sauces.

Marchetti also channels his Italian heritage into the restaurant's popular theme nights, which each spotlight a particular Italian region and its cuisine. An eloquent serving staff is managed behind the scenes by Joseph Cosentino, whose commitment to customer satisfaction led him to some of the area's top-rating dining spots. At Ristorante Boccaccio, he leads of a team of servers who pour exclusively Italian wines in the dining area, where red carpets complement wall-sized paintings of the Italian countryside and its naturally occurring lakes of marinara sauce. Click here to receive a bi-monthly newsletter.