By Amelia Mola
In early 2015, Jacqueline Nicosia and Roberto Marotta unlocked the doors to a small restaurant on King Street East, driven by family, a shared dream, and a deep passion for Sicilian culinary excellence. Back then, the neighbourhood was quiet, with few restaurants lining the block—but Jacqueline and Roberto felt something special here. A pull. A sense of promise. And they listened to it. They named the restaurant Ardo, after their young son Leonardo, and set out to create a space where guests would be treated like family, and every plate would tell the story of the land they came from.
Over the course of an afternoon with Jacqueline and Roberto, I came to learn that the story of Ardo is steeped in serendipity. From how the restaurant came to be, to how the two first met years ago, it seems the hand of fate has quietly guided them—toward each other, and toward the life they’ve built.
Jacqueline grew up in Toronto after her family immigrated from Milazzo, Sicily. In 2008, while visiting relatives there, she met Roberto—her future husband, business partner, and father of her children.
“I was visiting Milazzo to help fix up my dad’s old place and see some family. I was young and single, and thought, why not stay a little longer? Roberto and I met right outside the church where my Nonna and Nonno were married so many years before.”
Roberto, with a chemistry major and a lifelong passion for food, had grown up going to the market with his father and grandfather, and watched his mother and grandmother transform simple, seasonal ingredients into beautiful dishes. After finishing university, he realized that life in a refinery wasn’t for him and pivoted to the restaurant industry in Sicily.
For two years, Jacqueline travelled back and forth between Toronto and Milazzo while Roberto ran a resto-bar popular with a collective of artists and thinkers. Eventually, the pair began dreaming of a new concept—something rooted more deeply in food—and considered relocating to Toronto to bring Sicilian cuisine to a city where it was still relatively underrepresented.
“I wanted to open a very specific restaurant that showcased our traditions, our heritage, and the foods we grew up eating—the things ingrained in the back of my mind,” Roberto explained.
But finding the right space was anything but easy.
“We almost found a spot in the east end, but it fell through,” Jacqueline recalled. “I knew this space was going to be available, and every night after leaving work, I’d drive by to see if there was any sign about a sale. This neighbourhood reminded us of an old European street—with its beautiful brick buildings—it just felt right.”
They put in an offer, but another buyer was selected. It was devastating. “That Christmas wasn’t the greatest,” Jacqueline admitted. “Everything we had been dreaming about seemed to disappear overnight.”
Then, just after the holidays, their real estate agent called: the other deal had fallen through. “It was serendipitous,” they smiled.
They moved quickly, launching into construction on what would become their first restaurant—a true labour of love.
“Opening this place took a lot of sacrifice, love, and passion. We were practically part of the construction crew,” Jacqueline said, laughing. “Ardo would be there with us, picking up little pieces of wood, thinking he was helping.”
As Roberto told me, one of the greatest challenges in recreating the flavours of Sicily in Toronto was access to high-quality ingredients. So, they began importing directly from Sicily—pistachios, flour, olive oil, and chocolate.
“If you want to make a dish that really showcases what Sicily is all about, the ingredients need to be front and centre,” Roberto said.
A few years after opening Ardo, Jacqueline and Roberto welcomed their daughter Vivienne. Naturally, when they decided to start their own importing company, they named it Vivi Imports—a tribute to the girl who completed their young family.
While culinary excellence defines Ardo, it’s clear that love for their children is at the heart of everything Jacqueline and Roberto do. Their passion for food is matched only by their devotion to family.
They also make it a point to feature high-quality Canadian ingredients whenever possible.
“We work closely with small producers and local farmers,” Jacqueline said. “When the season is right here in Ontario and the produce is fresh, we love to showcase it.”
As we sat at the front of the restaurant chatting, a parade of Ardo’s culinary favourites was laid before me.
First came their arancino—a Sicilian staple. Stuffed with rich beef ragù, sweet peas, saffron-infused rice as golden as the Sicilian sun, and caciocavallo cheese, every bite transported me to the streets of Sicily, where these are lovingly crafted by families generation after generation.
While I savoured the dish, Jacqueline told me more about their son’s developing palate.
“Ardo doesn’t want to be a chef, but he just loves food. If I bring home some arancini and something tastes off, he’ll notice right away. I’ll call Roberto and say, ‘Can you head down to Ardo? Leonardo says the arancini aren’t right.’ And he’s always bang on.”
“They’re both at the age now—Leonardo and Vivi—where they’re really excited about food.”
Next came the octopus. I’ve always had a soft spot for this sea creature, and the dish brought back vivid memories of my first trip to Italy at 15—watching my uncle pull fresh octopus from the Adriatic Sea, my first true sea-to-table experience.
This octopus was different, inspired by a different coast but equally divine.
“We cook about 40 to 50 pounds of octopus a week,” Roberto told me. “We use the old-school method—slow-cooked at low heat for about an hour and forty-five minutes, then finished on the grill for a bit of char.”
Served with preserved artichokes, fresh herbs, and sliced red pepper, the result was tender, buttery, and full of depth. Each olive oil-kissed bite transported me to the shores of the Tyrrhenian.
Naturally, I had to try their famous gnocchi. Handmade in-house each day, Ardo’s gnocchi are served with porcini mushrooms, a hint of truffle, and generously coated in a 35% cream sauce. While not traditionally Sicilian, the dish felt like an embrace—warm and luxurious, yet each flavour perfectly balanced.
“You’re never going to see a million things piled onto one plate,” Jacqueline told me. “If your main dish is scallops, you’re going to taste scallops. Everything else is there to elevate, not distract.”
As my afternoon at Ardo came to a close, I sat in the soft sun filtering through the window, reflecting on Jacqueline and Roberto’s story. Their family is clearly the heartbeat of the restaurant—and it shows in every detail, from the food to the way they welcome you.
“I’m proud of the way we treat our guests,” Roberto said. “Whether it’s your first visit or your fifth, we try to make you feel like family. We’ve had couples get engaged here, then come back every year for their anniversary. That means everything to us. When people return, they become part of our story, and we become part of theirs—just like in a small town in Italy. That’s what we work for.”
As I stepped back onto King Street East, the afternoon sun still warm on my skin, I knew that Ardo is more than just a restaurant—it’s a living, breathing extension of Jacqueline and Roberto’s journey. A story rooted in Sicily, shaped by love, and brought to life in Toronto through grit, grace, and an unwavering devotion to family. From the carefully sourced ingredients to the warmth with which guests are welcomed, Ardo is a reminder of what it means to slow down, gather, and savour something real. – VV
