Who’s behind it?
Owner Tony Migliarese (also behind Pizza Face), general manager Kayla Blomquist, chef Sandro Chinea.
What’s on the menu?
Family-style Italian fare, with antipasti, pasta and large-format meat dishes.
Why we love this place
D.O.P. owner Tony Migliarese’s late father used to run an Italian restaurant that his son remembers as being the epitome of warm service, comforting food and community-building. In his tiny restaurant space, Migliarese set out to carry on his dad’s hospitality legacy — albeit with some modern tweaks — and has succeeded brilliantly, creating an intimate and vibrant spot that feels like both destination dining and a neighbourhood joint, serving family recipes with a contemporary touch.
The best way to eat at D.O.P. is to order some ultra-fluffy grilled bread and as many antipasti items as possible: spicy nduja spread, whipped ricotta topped with “really good” olive oil, and Migliarese’s mother’s crunchy pickled green tomatoes. Follow that with at least one pasta and an enormous veal chop, shared among the table with a bottle of Italian wine. You’ll be rubbing elbows (literally) with the table next to you, but the tight quarters are part of the charm. D.O.P. plans to move into the Grain Exchange building when its current building is torn down for redevelopment, but even with the opportunity to expand, the new digs promise to have a similar capacity and atmosphere. “We’re still working with an old space and keeping it quirky,” Migliarese says. “I know what we are and I don’t want to be anything else.”
1005A 1 St S.W., 587-349-2656, dopyyc.com, @dopyyc