Top 5 Calamari Dishes in Mississauga

By

Published July 15, 2015 at 7:15 pm

_main

No matter what restaurant you go to in Mississauga, you will almost always find calamari on the menu. Sometimes it comes fried and sometimes it comes grilled, but when done right, it’s the perfect appetizer that everyone can munch on before the main meal.

After spending years trying all the calamari I can, I’ve come up with the top five places that do the simple, delicious quintessential app just right.

5 – Piatto Bistro

Piatto is a long-standing Sauga gem that’s been loyally serving diners since 1989 is Piatto Bistro, a fine dining resto on the ground floor of an old-style house-turned-spa at the corner of Dundas and Mississauga Road. The food and service are extra special. The menu reflects Chef Abramo Tonelli’s classical Italian cuisine blending with a touch of French. Must-Try Dish: Grilled seafood includes shrimp, scallop and calamari. The seafood was cooked perfectly and had a smoky flavour from the grill with a house-made tomato olive vinaigrette.

4 – Goodfellas

This place makes you feel like you are walking into a rustic Italian home to have some authentic Italian grub. Goodfellas in Streetsville is Mississauga’s very first restaurant offering authentic Neapolitan wood oven pizza. The menu offers authentic Romano pizza and homemade pastas that are all freshly made in-house. The menu also includes appetizers, salads, fish and meat entrees and, of course, calamari. This place has a small patio that overlooks the new Streetsville Square, so if you are lucky you can catch a free show from your seat while trying some excellent fried squid.

3 – Union Social

Located in the northwest end of Mississauga by the huge Royal Bank building off the 401 is a place called Union Social Eatery. The restaurant has an airy, open concept feel with a bar lined with large flat screen TVs that sits center stage. Everything here is made in-house, including their signature sauces, in-house smoked wings and hand-cut Yukon Gold fries. You know the calamari is good when you don’t need any sauce with it. They now have two locations in Toronto, so you know they are doing something right along with dishing out good food!

2 – Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro

The Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro is a gem of a find in a small and quaint neighbourhood located west of Port Credit in a community called Clarkson Village. It’s the oldest community in Mississauga and is home to a number of unique businesses, fine dining restaurants and two of Mississauga’s historic museums. The Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro is a restaurant that’s now on my list of go-to places to dine in Mississauga. I had driven by it many times and had it on my list for months  – I just wish I had gone sooner. I was floored by the level of service, the flavours, the quality of the food and the affordable pricing. One of the dishes we had was the grilled calamari and it was one of the best around.

1 – Fred’s

One of the best kept secrets in Mississauga is Fred’s Bar & Grill. Locals and regulars already know this, but the lemon tomato grilled calamari is legendary. This place recently went through a reno and the new digs offer 26 TVs and two 80″ babies on the wall, so there is not a bad vantage point anywhere in the restaurant. You can find Fred’s hidden in a small plaza in central Mississauga. It serves up some of the best bar food and has great service. The old faithful don’t have to worry, as they have not changed the menu and still have some of the best wings and calamari in the city. This little place is great for chilling, hanging out, watching sports and getting to know and/or impress someone on a date.

 

 

 

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising