Pat Nicastro 
Co-Owner, Pizarro’s Restaurant  

Celebrating 35 years of operation in 2026, Pizarro’s is a restaurant that inspires loyalty, and it’s not hard to see why. 

“We cherish what we make,” Pat says, speaking of the restaurant’s specialty in traditional cooking, good ingredients, and pasta made fresh in-house. The chef and co-owner has been cooking Italian food for more than fifty years, a large portion of that time at Pizzaro’s. The restaurant was established in 1989 as a pizzeria by co-owner and friend Frank Bresolin; Pat joined in 1991 to help expand it to a full restaurant, adding a full array of traditional Italian dishes to the menu. In 2026 they are celebrating the Pizarro’s 35th anniversary.    

His favourite part of the job? “I just love to cook,” Nicastro says. “I love going out front and talking with my customers. We actually have four generations of customers at the restaurant… We have people who have been coming here since day one who are still supporting us.”   

He has similar thoughts on what makes Vanier great: “It’s a little hidden gem—it’s a small community where everyone knows everyone. People have been living here for years and they haven’t moved out. There’s a reason for that: There’s nowhere else like it.“ 

The same could be said of Pizarros’s Restaurant; come see for yourself at 366 Marguerite Avenue.