While seeking out a dinner location with a group of friends last spring, a voice in the crowd suggested Eduardo Duluth, a small Italian restaurant tucked into the brick on the south-east corner of Duluth and St-Denis. Nods of approval were noted all around, a few bottles of wine were purchased at the SAQ across the street (convenient!) and we sat down to an unexpectedly delicious pasta meal at this quaint BYOW eatery.

Since then, Eduardo’s has served as my eternal go-to in multiple situations: spontaneous going-away dinner for a roommate, late dinner with a visiting musician from out-of-town, an office holiday party, and finally, a not-so-platonic friend-date with a guy, after a car show. Ahem.

Eduardo’s Italian cuisine is inexpensive and tasty, with a moderate number of vegetarian options. In general, the menu consists of well-priced appetizers, and classic meat and pasta dishes of every variety. Baskets brought to each table contain pyramids of warm, flakey bread. Notable appetizers include the bruschetta – piled atop Caesar salad – and the fried calamari. What’s more, service is quite good; water glasses are refilled efficiently and wine bottles are uncorked and iced in a rapid manner.

Most importantly, the ambiance and décor is adorable, rustic and overtly Italian, like the small bistros one would probably come across in a Florentine vineyard. Low ceilings, dark wood detailing, and several high-set stained glass windows also happen to give me the sense that I’m seated on the upper floors in a European/Middle-Earth inn – alas! With good friends, musical friends, work friends or awkward men in tow – Eduardo’s is a lovely choice for all spontaneous Plateau dinner plans.

Eduardo Duluth – 404 Duluth East. 514-843-3330

~ Tyler Yank