Trattoria Gusto located at 1 Walton St in Port Hope

March 17, 2018:   Trattoria Gusto is an Italian restaurant situated in a 19th century hotel in Port Hope.  Our dinner reservations were made at 6:45 p.m. but since we were already in the area and ready to eat, we arrived at 6 p.m.  We entered from the main entrance of the restaurant and discovered that their reception desk is actually past the bar (the restaurant is connected right to the Waddell Hotel and thus has another entrance).  The hostess was able to bring us to our table inside the dining room.  It was gorgeous inside with dark walls and a bold chandelier hanging in the middle of the dining room.  The sun was starting to set and its sunlight shone in through the windows to provide an even more romantic light.

Storefront

The bar

So many wines

Smaller dining room

Awards

Reception table

Main dining room

Cute message

Sun streaming in. This window looked out to the Ganaraska River

After taking a look at their menu which consisted of appetizers, mains, pastas, pizzas, and lots of wine selections, we were ready to order.

Menu cover

Dinner menu – appetizers and salads

Dinner menu – mains and pasta

Dinner menu – pizza and add-ons

Wine menu

I loved that our appetizers arrived so quickly after ordering!  We also were served some bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to start.

Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Our starters!

The Fried Brussels Sprouts (browned Brussels sprouts tossed with lemon juice and parmesan) was a clean and simple dish.  It went well with a squeeze of lemon.  I especially liked all the parmesan that had fallen to the bottom of the dish.

Fried Brussels Sprouts. $6.50
-browned brussel sprouts tossed with lemon juice and parmesan

The Tomato Bruschetta was great!  It was a solid Italian dish that was very tasty.  I’m glad that our server was observant and added the missing parmesan cheese before I realized it.  The bruschetta was so substantial in size too.

Tomato Bruschetta. $10
-classic tomato bruschetta with onions, garlic, balsamic and fresh herbs on warm baguette topped with arugula and parmesan

For our mains, we ordered the Tonno Pasta and Rainbow Trout.  The Rainbow Trout was beautiful in its presentation with the two trout pieces stacked onto one another.  The spaghetti squash was delicious.  I was so impressed with how moist and tender the rainbow trout was.  It was cooked to perfection! 😀

Rainbow Trout. $24
-sustainable rainbow trout with spaghetti squash, rapini and diced tomatoes, arugula pesto

The Tonno Pasta was spaghetti with albacore tuna, tomato, and aglio e olio sauce.  I was surprised with how spicy the aglio e olio sauce turned out to be.  I liked the al dente level of the spaghetti.  It was perfect for my taste; not too hard and not too soft.

Tonno Pasta. $19
-spaghetti, albacore tuna, fresh arugula, diced tomatoes, pine nuts, spicy aglio e olio

Dessert menu

For dessert, we ordered the Apple Ricotta Cake and Raspberry Gelato.  The Apple Ricotta Cake was definitely so unique.  It was an almond cake with brown sugar apples and a quenelle shape of ricotta cheese on top.  It was pretty good especially if you like almonds in your cake.

Apple Ricotta Cake. $11
-ricotta and almond cake with brown sugar apples, salted bourbon caramel, maple whipped cream

The Raspberry Gelato was very smooth and tarty; exactly what raspberry gelato should be like.

Raspberry Gelato. $9

I really enjoyed our visit in the intimate and beautiful dining room at Trattoria Gusto.   I liked that our server was accommodating and made sure we were well taken care of throughout the night without intruding on us too much.  I would love to return to Trattoria Gusto and try their other dishes!

FTC Disclaimer:  Although the Municipality of Port Hope reached out and invited me to a complimentary visit to promote the businesses in Port Hope, the opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the Municipality or businesses.