647 748 0222  |   $16-55 Sushi, $7-18 Bistro

By all indications, the people behind Guu can do no wrong in this city. The first location (Izakaya) is still ultra-frequented, the second location (Sakabar) appears successful, and their recent foray into ramen (Kinton) is a prime contender for the best and busiest noodle joint in the city. All this said, their most recent opening is easily the riskiest concept. Naturally, I was eager to try. Here are my thoughts.

Food

I’ll open by saying that the restaurant is still in soft opening, but has been serving for about a month now. The soft opening menu is split into two main parts: premium sashimi + sushi and ‘bistro’ fare. You could call one part the ‘ja’ and the other the ‘bistro’. We went for a couple items from either side.

The first two items delivered were our bistro items. The salmon pie with mushroom and oyster sauce and prawn bisque (above) was our first bite. The bisque/sauce combo was flavourful and the pastry had the flaky quality you look for, but the salmon interior fell flat. Not much flavour, the fish was definitely overcooked and came in awkwardly large chunks. 

The other dish was nanban battered chicken (above) with tartar sauce, some sort of broth at the bottom and a slaw over top. From a taste perspective, this dish was addictive, provided you like a good tartar sauce. The juicy chicken was smothered in it, and on any given bite you were guaranteed flavourful moisture. My issue is that the best part of fried chicken, the crispy exterior, was unfortunately soggy. Sitting fried chicken in broth and pouring tartar sauce over top is a combination I’d recommend revising.

About a minute after our bistro dishes came to the table, both sushi items arrived. The tiger shrimp or ebi, was delicious and the most unique thing I tasted during the meal. The shrimp came topped with a sauce that I can only describe as bechamel and reminded me (quite fondly) of a savoury breakfast.  

Our other sushi dish was a torched mackerel topped with a jam/chutney of sorts that I couldn’t identify. The fish was fresh, tender, and flavourful (as mackerel usually is) and each bite made me want another.

To finish, we went with the nashi, a warm pear pie with ice cream and some berries. The pie was well-executed, had the perfect level of sweetness, and was pleasant with the pairings on the plate. I’d also say this was probably the most successful bistro-style dish of the night, but also decidedly unambitious.

Service and Ambience

From an interior design perspective, this is a beautiful space. It seems every Guu offshoot has a keen eye for what makes a comfortable yet premium atmosphere and I think the fairly large space, with open-concept sushi bar, accomplishes this with ease.

Image credit: Jabistro Website

From a service perspective, we had a few bumps over the course of the night.

• Felt a bit rushed when ordering, despite a half-full dining room
• All dishes arriving at once didn’t make sense and again rushed us to eat before everything got cold
• Ended up with $10 overcharge on a dish (corrected promptly though)

The Reco?

I’m positive you’ll really like this place if you come for sushi and sashimi, but this idea of incorporating a bistro theme is loose at best and definitely the weaker part of the menu today. While ambitious as a concept, the menus feels disjointed and the overall experience a little confused. For these reasons, I can’t say I’ll be back.

Other Reviews? 
 blogTO     |      Post City

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 3, 2012

416 504 9463  |   $5-$16 “Tapas”

So to be completely honest, I didn’t know much about Wine Bar before deciding to go there. Upon further inspection, it was once a celebrated Jamie Kennedy restaurant and also home of Scott Vivian (now of Beast). Today, there’s very little buzz about the place, but it’s conveniently located near Union so I managed to convince 20 friends to come with me to sample the menu.

Photo Credit: blogTO

Food

Wine Bar bills itself as a ‘tapas’ style restaurant with some serious variety. The menu really is all over the place with no consistent culinary theme, which did worry me initially. I also wasn’t pleased to hear they had a Summerlicious menu, so I abstained from those choices. Others at the table liked the good value though, so we ordered a mix of everything. It’s also worth noting that the dishes change, so you likely won’t be eating what we did.

I started with some mixed greens, apple, cheddar, grapes, spiced cashews, and mustard vinaigrette. This was actually pretty tasty overall. The cashew, grape, apple combo was dead-on. I’ll say the cheddar wasn’t very apparent, which was surprising given it was called an ‘apple and cheddar salad’.

Next up was a mixed platter of crostini/bread, prosciutto, chorizo, grainy mustard, pickles and pickled cauliflower. Again, the flavours were pretty satisfying. None of the ingredients wowed in particular, but they all worked.

Some friends of mine got the crab cake topped with some smoked salmon. This was probably my best bite. I’d never had a cake topped with salmon and I’d definitely do it again. Really appreciated the crab/salmon duo.

Next up was butter chicken poutine. I know, what the hell is this doing on the menu and why did you order it? I didn’t, but when there are 20 of you, someone’s going to take the plunge. Kudos to them though - it tasted good! Texturally, it was pretty soggy throughout, but I wasn’t complaining.

I believe the above steak dish was one of the Summerlicious options, and I think it showed. The presentation wasn’t very appealing, the leek underneath was served whole and stringy, and I heard a lot of people around the table say the word ‘Ziggy’s’ when they had the potato salad. As for the protein, the steak was prepared well with a sweet glaze that was met with mixed reviews around the table.

This was a pork shoulder with couscous from what I can remember. I think there was also an apple component here of some kind, just can’t remember if it was a glaze or what. I’ll say the portion size definitely wasn’t ‘tapas’ (could be a positive or negative), but from what I remember, it wasn’t bad. Quite tender, but fatty and didn’t get much flavour from it.

The beef cheek with root vegetables was the apple of my eye on the menu, but I’ll say I was kind of disappointed. While fork tender and melt-in-your-mouth, I found the cheek kind of bland and tasteless. Possibly under-seasoned? The potatoes and carrots around didn’t do much to that effect either. 

We finished up with two desserts, the first was a strawberry creme brulee topped with berries and the other was an apple crumble. 

The strawberry was quite sublte in the creme. I had trouble finding it, but others said it was there so I took their word for it. To be honest, I don’t have any memory of the crumble. 

Wine

I know this is a wine bar so I feel obliged to make a quick amateur comment about it. The menu has a ton of choice by the bottle and decent amount by the glass with 3oz tasters available as well.

It is pricey though. I can’t remember if the wine menu in person matches the one online, but there’s only one glass under $10 which doesn’t make it very accessible for those looking for something simpler with their meal.

Service and Ambience

I like the design of the place. It’s dark and warm with a ton of seating around the bars on either side of the room. I was also really impressed that they managed to seat so many of us in the main dining area. The table they set up can seat 16 comfortably, but we managed to squeeze in a few more.

Photo Credit: DiningDateNight.com

From a service perspective, I have to really commend our server and the kitchen. We had 20 people all on separate bills, several of which arrived and ordered at different times. Everyone’s food came out shortly after ordering and there were barely any mistakes on the checks at the end of the night. Really impressive.

The Reco?

I was surprised by Wine Bar. The menu variety freaked me out a bit and I wasn’t a fan of the Summerlicious menu, but I did try some tasty things here. My hesitation with going to three stars is that none of the ‘mains’ were particularly strong and I didn’t have any ‘gotta order this again!’ moments. I might be back for a few bites if I’m in the area, but I wouldn’t put this among the better tapas in the city. 

Other reviews:
 kiki’s BFF    |   Nothing else recent

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited July 20, 2012

647 352 7476   |   $10 - $22 Mains

Where in the city can you find a beer menu like this? I counted 99 on the menu online and found several of my favourites including Schneider Weisse. I’m truly a sucker for wheat beer and it looked like some effort was being put in to avoid settling at mediocre ‘pub food’. For those reasons and more, I dropped by this spot just before Spadina on King West.

Photo Credit: David Ort, Post City

Beer

Before we talk food, let’s talk beer. This place is all about it.

I’m not a connoisseur by any means, but I’m fairly confident there are at least a handful on this list that you can’t find in any other restaurant in the GTA. It’s comprehensive to the point of being obscure, which is kind of fun to be honest. You could keep coming back just to try bottles at random.

I ordered the Denison’s Weisse (never heard of it). More or less like a Weihenstephaner, but apparently made in Toronto. Learn something new every day.

Food

The food menu itself is a little all over the place to be honest: Italian, Mexican, an entire mussels menu, oysters, schnitzel, and chili among other things. You can either look at it as (1) all your favourites or (2) what on earth is this place doing?

I decided to reserve judgement and jump right in.

We jumped right in with some bar hop pops (above), essentially tempura-crusted meatballs on a stick with a parmesan marinara sauce. The batter was pretty thin and lacked crunch, but I found the meatballs quite flavourful. That said, $9 for four the size of Ikea meatballs isn’t what I call good value.

Next up were two orders of mussels, one of the lager & jerk persuasion, the other a green curry and lemongrass version. Both had bold and aggressive flavours that partially overwhelmed the mussels, but were particularly awesome for dunking the limitless supply of bread. 

For my main, I went with the pork schnitzel with mac & cheese and greens (above). I was hoping for a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it fell short in a lot of areas. Mac and cheese was overdone and mild in actual flavour, greens were overdressed, and the schnitzel was a bit too thin so it dried out. A bite of all together was a bit better actually, but every element could have used improvement.

Even though I was full, I acted against my better judgement and ordered the beeramisu (above) because it sounded fun. My biggest complaint about tiramisu is usually that it’s not light enough, so one made with a porter wasn’t likely to impress. It was definitely heavy, but you could pick out the beer which is a positive.

Service and Ambience

One thing I really like is the location of this place: situated on King West just outside the entertainment district, but you don’t have to walk all the way to Portland to find something worth walking into. It’s also got a little patio that makes for great people watching.

I really liked our server. He was friendly, easy-going, and checked back on us frequently to ensure we had everything we needed (bread refills especially). I think part of the charm of this place is that it’s not ‘trendy’. If that’s something you don’t like about Bier Markt, I think you’ll like it here.

The Reco?

If this place didn’t have a killer beer menu, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it very much. The food was decent, but disappointing on more than one occasion. Even though that usually prevents me from recommending somewhere, I’d probably go back and try out more beer and give another dish a shot. Worst case, at least I get a great brew. I’m fine with that. Cheers.

Other reviews:
 Caroline’s Culinary Delights

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited July 12, 2012

647 346 2377   |   $35 Five-Course Tasting

I was immediately drawn to the concept at Lamesa for two reasons: it’s a five-course tasting that changes nightly for $35 (win!) and it’s rooted in Filipino cuisine, an under-represented food culture in the Toronto restaurant scene. That was all I needed to know, so I grabbed a group of eight friends and ventured over to the new spot on Queen West to check out what it had to offer.

Photo Credit: blogTO

Food

So let’s jump right into the tasting menu: it’s composed of an amuse-bouche, a pulutan (small plate, tapas-equivalent), an ulam (main), a pre-dessert and a dessert.  

Our amuse was a coconut and corn soup, topped with a chewy piece of bacon for some texture. This may have been one of the best bites of the night. I’m a sucker for great corn flavour and the coconut morphs it just enough to make it different. The bacon bit was also satisfying to munch on afterward.

I then selected the canton noodles with shrimp, beans, carrots, and cabbage for my pulutan. This dish was really clean overall, especially with a healthy squeeze of lemon over top. The shrimp flavour could be tasted throughout, and it was refreshingly devoid of anything overly fatty or oily.

The other pulutan ordered around the table was the ‘halo halo sisig’, a dish of ground pork, chicken and beef with garlic, chillies, tomatoes and onions topped with a fried egg. Some loved it, but some commented it was a bit too salty for them. I’ve been informed the onion and tomato are supposed to balance out the dish, but not sure that happened here. In my bite I also had trouble finding any of the garlic or chillies and felt the egg could have been left runnier for easy mixing (halo halo means to mix around).

The first main to come out was the steak with roasted red pepper, fingerling potatoes, olive tapenade and a pineapple and carrot puree. In concept and look, this dish looks like a standout. Despite the explosive colour, I found the flavour a bit bland. Perhaps the presentation over-promises, but the puree and jus on the plate didn’t deliver much and I couldn’t find the sweetness of the pineapple. That said, the steak was tender and couldn’t have been prepared much better.

The other main was the opposite to the steak dish in many ways. The pork cheek sinigang is a soup, presented here as a deconstruction of sorts, and looked a little bland. However, the tamarind found in the broth delivers a pronounced sour flavour that was probably more assertive than anything on the steak plate.

I see this dish as a bit of an acquired taste. The daikon puree is a bit bitter and when combined with the sour broth may not be your favourite combination. Thankfully, the pork cheek melts in your mouth and again shows these guys are good with their proteins.

The pre-dessert came as a crumbly little cookie that was playfully wrapped in brightly-coloured tissue paper. I’ve been told this is called a polvoron, a beloved cultural treat. It also came laced with a ‘surprise’ ingredient that changes the mouth-feel of the cookie. I won’t divulge what it is, but you’ll know a few seconds after you pop it in.

We had both of the two dessert choices: a maple-custard flan (above) and mini-empanada filled with a little bit of plantain (below). People really enjoyed the flan, with a texture similar to panna cotta and mild maple flavour. I ordered the empanada and was a bit disappointed. The pastry was OK and there was very little plantain to be tasted. Didn’t really get it.

Service and Ambience

I like the inside of the place, clearly designed to complement the more ‘contemporary’ style of the dishes. I was also a fan of the mellow hip-hop being played that keeps the atmosphere chill and casual. The one thing I didn’t get was the flat-screen TVs showing tropical landscapes. Added a bit of cheesiness to an otherwise beautiful room in my opinion.

Our service was excellent throughout the night. Our server ensured we always had a drink if we needed one, and all dishes were explained with careful attention paid to explaining the Filipino origin of the dish. Really appreciated that detail.

The Reco?

I’m really on the fence with the score for Lamesa. I think there were a number of dishes that were just OK and I wouldn’t say I had any ‘wow’ bites. That said, I think the $35 tasting concept is brilliant (even if two of the courses are one bite) and I really enjoyed the service.

I think I would recommend it to others on the basis of value and uniqueness, but not sure if I myself would go back for a second try.

Other reviews:
 dine.TO     |    Food Trippin’

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited June 22, 2012

P.S. Special thanks to Sam Chung for the Filipino subtleties. 

647 343 4698   |   $6-$9 Snacks, $9-$12 Plates

Fun new concept: Someone tells you there’s a new spot opening up serving Singaporean street food! Sounds really interesting right? We thought so. For a little Dish Duel reunion, Stella, Amy, Jess and I met up at Hawker Bar in hopes of getting through the vast majority of the menu. We succeeded…in record time too. Read on…

Photo Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

Food

So let’s put it this way, we figured we could take down most of the menu here between the four of us. That ended up not being too tough, but at the lightning pace the dishes were flying out of the kitchen, the whole thing’s a bit of a blur. We were constantly trying to get plates off the table to make room for new ones, so let’s just say this won’t be the most detailed review ever.

We started with the Son in Law Eggs (above), basically soft boiled eggs that are deep fried and glued to a leaf with chili jam. The yolks explode in your mouth - WARNING: if you don’t eat this in one bite it’s going to get all over you - the texture-mix is cool, and the chili jam is yummy.

Next up were pork skewers with peanut sauce. The pork was moist, the peanut sauce was a bit mild in flavour, but I like the larger nut pieces for texture.

These chicken wings were also pretty good, but I wanted them to be punchier. The chicken was moist, but I kept wanting them to be the wings from Foxley. If not saucy, be crispy or spicy. I didn’t find they were either.

I was disappointed by the chicken laksa (above). I’ve never been to Singapore, but I thought it was supposed to be spicy or pack a really nice flavour punch. To me, it was a bit muted and reminiscent of a lot of OK curries I’ve had before.

The chili crab had more of the chili flavour from the son in law eggs and the chicken wings. Even though it was a familiar taste, it was more intense and I’m a sucker for crab so I liked it.

The whole sea bream with lime, ginger and soy was OK. I liked the crispy outside, but I thought the fish might have been a bit over for my taste. The sauce on the plate was pretty tasty though.

This was probably my second favourite. The rendang curry was nice, but the ultra tender oxtail stole the dish. It literally melted. You could complain that it all sort of became mush, but that would be over-analyzing the whole thing.

This was another dish that I just didn’t get. By this point in the meal, there had been a lot of chili, ginger, and soy. This dish is essentially plain rice and plain (albeit juicy) chicken with three sauces: chili, ginger, and soy. It tasted like everything else we’d eaten so far. The puree of ginger needed a different delivery device too: the squeeze bottle doesn’t really work.

Then we moved onto dessert. This one was a shaved ice kacang (above) that had some sort of red bean paste on the top that was pretty much all you could taste. I had no idea what it should have been, but looking at the Wikipedia picture left me wanting more.

The meal did end on a good note though. These banana fritters had great, hot crispy shells, with ooey-gooey banana stuffed inside. Couldn’t place the ice cream flavour (red bean again?), but the cold-to-hot contrast did the job.

Service and Ambience

This place is little. I think I counted roughly 23 seats including those at the bar, so you’ll likely be waiting if you don’t go early. That said, it’s cozy and the big windows typical of these new Ossington spots are always welcome on sunny days. 

Photo Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

On the service, I’ll say two things: (1) our server was friendly, hospitable, and attentive, and (2) the speed at which the food came out was ridiculous. When a group of four orders ten dishes, there’s no way it’s all going on the table with tea cups, water glasses, and side plates. Add that to the fact that we’re all blatantly taking pictures of the food, and there’s just no way all ten of those dishes should come out that quickly.

I think we all enjoyed the food significantly less because we were very rushed, to the point of it being uncomfortable. We wanted to taste the food at its best, but it’s hard when dishes are sitting out in a culinary traffic jam.

The Reco?

The food’s not bad here at all. And some dishes (crab, eggs, rendang, fritters) were actually quite good. I’d have liked a little more variety in the flavours, since a group of four can eat most of the dishes in one sitting. All said, the dining experience just didn’t work for us and the enjoyment of it all suffered as a result. I can’t recommend it based on that.

Other reviews:
 National Post  |    blogTO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited May 11, 2012

416-971 4000    |    $4.75 - $12.75 full sandwich square

When I first heard there’d be a new gourmet sandwich shop opening up close to work that served Ravi Soups, I had to walk over that very same day. I love Ravi Soups and wanted a second location as close to me as possible, this was the next best thing. Check out my thoughts below.

Food

So the shop concept is that nearly everything is pre-made and pre-packaged, but super fresh and with gourmet ingredients. This includes sandwiches, salad, soups and sweets. The sandwich menu online is extensive, but not all are available every day so you roll the dice a bit if there’s something specific you want.

First off, two Ravi Soups are available daily in this middle serve-yourself island area (above). Variety-wise, it’s probably close to what your work cafeteria offers, but the difference is they’re damn good. You’ll also pay for it though, a medium isn’t that big, and at $6.95 it’s not particular great value.

The same can be said for the sandwiches unfortunately in my opinion. The cheapest full sandwich is $4.75 (a nutella and hazelnut sandwich), but all are made on square whole wheat pieces of bread and most are served cold in the fridge section. Most of the options with a protein start in the $8-$9 each range.

One friend sampled the lemony tuna above with tuna, lemon mayo, cucumber, watercress and pea sprouts and enjoyed it. She found it particularly lemony, so kudos on the naming convention.

Another friend had the best-selling Brick Lane Chicken (curry chicken, raisins, cashews, mango, spinach). She really enjoyed it and it smelled delicious to the rest of us.

I ordered The Roast, one of the two warm sandwich features of the day that had roast beef, horseradish and grain mustard aioli, onion confit, portobellos, brussel sprouts and gruyere. It was definitely tasty, but I was looking for more sharpness from the horseradish and mustard. Also, at $11.75 for just the sandwich, I was still hungry afterwards. I would highly recommend introducing some heftier bread options to make the sandwiches more substantial given the price range.

HOWEVER, because I mentioned how hungry I still was the co-owner Jordana brought over some chocolate and peanut butter sweets, which was much appreciated. Love it when people go that extra little bit out of the way!

Service and Ambience

Because of the DIY nature of the place, it runs on two folks in the front of house so on a busy lunch day I can see it getting pretty hectic if folks have questions or there’s a build up at the register. Fortunately, when we were there it was a bit after the rush so all ran smoothly.

My only feedback would be that the warm sandwich took something like 10 minutes to assemble and was the only order at the time. Again, during a busy lunch hour, that kind of turnaround time could cause some frustration for customers.

The Reco?

The most important part is that the food tastes good. The sandwiches are tasty, the options are unique in the area, and the staff are really friendly. These things alone make it worth a try.

What makes me hesitant to come back is the concept. To me, if I’m grabbing a quick soup and sandwich, value definitely comes into play. If you don’t have a big appetite but want something more interesting this is your spot. If you’re pretty hungry come lunch hour, maybe not.

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Mar 8, 2012

416-927 0222    |    $16-24 mains

I’m guessing you’ve never heard of Bruda unless you’re an avid reader of Toronto Life or following Dish Duel. This place just opened at the end of last year and is still relatively unknown in the Little Italy area. The ‘European’ menu looked interesting to me, invited them to participate in Dish Duel, and next thing you know we’re there tasting a bunch of stuff. Here’s the rundown:

Photo Credit: Post City

Food

The menu is deemed European, but from the average observer I’d just say its eclectic. The starters range from crispy spring rolls, to bisques, to back ribs; mains cover most proteins you could want other than beef (so don’t come looking for a steak frites). 

We started with the duck confit spring rolls (above) with crushed peanuts and sweet and sour sauce. Cool concept, nice crunchy exterior, but I found the duck kind of indistinguishable and a little dry inside. Duck confit screams moist to me and it wasn’t there. Good thing there was some sauce.

Next we had the bourbon braised back ribs (above). They came off the bone pretty easily, which was a good sign and the sauce worked well. Couldn’t quite place the taste, but not overly sweet and definitely not conventional. The issue again was dryness of the meat, which luckily had sauce.

Our first main, entitled New World Carbonara, was my favourite savoury of the night. The inclusion of a healthy number of chanterelles was the difference maker. Accompanied by serrano ham and a gooey duck egg, I quite enjoyed this. The papardelle may have been a bit thick for some people and the amount of egg white and shape wasn’t particularly appetizing. Generally though, good dish.

The final was the Dish Duel pork tenderloin dish. My ‘judge’s take’ for the competition went like so:

Moist pork wrapped in bacon is always a good way to start a dish. Stella and I referred to it as the ham you wish you had at thanksgiving. Also thought the flavour of the coffee and fig reduction was on point, just needed a tad more of it. Didn’t understand how the gratin and veg tied in though, so those weren’t quite as memorable.

For dessert we tried two dishes. The first was an assortment of their three ice creams. To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember two of them (I guess that means they were forgettable?). The third you should just get three scoops of: jamaican pumpkin with pine nut brittle! So good. Had more of a paste texture than ice cream, but who cares. Loved it.

Then came the smoked chocolate tart with sour cherries. Looks ordinary, isn’t though. I’ve never had smoked chocolate and I clearly had no idea what I was missing. The flavour was genuinely smokey, and when combined with sour cherries was surprisingly delicious. 

Service and Ambience

There aren’t necessarily a lot tables, but the room feels spacious with the high ceilings and spacious benches. Also, really liked the wooden tables, couldn’t tell you why though. Just want them. The walls were admittedly a little bare and could use a few more pieces of art in my opinion. 

Photo Credit: Toronto Life

It was a pretty slow night during the week so service was understandably speedy and attentive. Don’t really have too much more to say about it, but met the two owners Victor and Neil: both nice dudes. 

The Reco?

Little Italy has become incredibly competitive for new restaurants, so for that reason I can’t say I’d make a point to come back to Bruda if I were in the area for the next little while. Would give it a few more months and some menu cycles. The apps and mains had a few flaws, but I’d likely drop by for some dessert. Gotta have some of the pumpkin paste and smoked chocolate. I’ll end with that.

Other reviews:
  blogTO     

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Feb 12, 2012

416-597-8839    |    $21-23 primi, $24-30 secondi

Guess I’m on a bit of Italian streak recently, but seeing as there’s so many in this city can you really blame me. Was looking for somewhere in the entertainment district, that wasn’t sitting on King across from Lightbox, and wasn’t doing Winterlicious. Tutti’s just one block up on Adelaide near Spadina, so that fit the bill for me and a couple friends on a Friday night.

Photo Credit: blogTO

Food

I wouldn’t call the menu here classic Italian, as there are some less traditional additions to some of the menu, but the Tuscan theme is still apparent. There’s a healthy selection of apps, salads and mains, so there should be something for everyone on the menu. And if you want black truffles, you’ll find them all over the menu in various dishes.

We started with the porchetta on crostini with caramelized onions, tuna sauce, and arugula (above). Coming in three large crostini, this is great for sharing between three people. I liked the dish, the pork was the major flavour – as you’d hope – but the tuna sauce I found too subtle. I ordered it for the seafood-pork combo, but I couldn’t have picked it out without knowing it was there. In any case, a delicious starter all the same.

For the mains, we ordered two pastas and a stuffed rabbit leg dish. One was a pappardelle (above), the other maltagliata. The pappardelle with braised beef brisket, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil was great. Found the beef to be tender and generously portioned (think a really beefy ragu) and the noodles to be a nice al dente.

The maltagliata (above) included stewed veal shank with porcini, a gremolata, and bone marrow. Perfect pasta and great protein were again present here, although bone marrow was difficult to pick out and overall the dish may have been a bit salty (this is admittedly a very subjective point).

The stuffed rabbit leg disappointed me a bit. I was expecting the leg meat to be more tender, but found it to be a little dense and rubbery. It wasn’t chewy per se, but my butter knife had difficulty performing with the protein resting on the bed of well-prepared cannollini beans, cipollini onions and parsnips. The leg was also wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with a half sweet, half savoury mix that I couldn’t quite pick out. 

For dessert, I went simple and ordered the tiramisu.  I liked the crispy lady finger on top that added some texture, but generally I was disappointed here too. Flavour-wise I liked it, although I prefer my tiramisu with bolder coffee taste. I also thought it was quite heavy for a dish that I consider best when it achieves both lightness and moist. Couldn’t finish it after the larger portions (not complaining) from previous courses.

Service and Ambience

Inside, the place is actually quite a bit larger than it looks on first approach. The space is pretty cozy despite the size due to the rounded tavern-like ceiling. There’s a nice bar on the left when you walk in as well.

Photo Credit: Food Network Canada

From a service perspective, everything came out quickly on a reasonably busy night, so thumbs up there. Our main server was polite and attentive, but I don’t think I’d say friendly or inviting. 

The Reco?

Hard to say. I was only slightly underwhelmed by 2/3 of my dishes, so I can’t say it’s awesome, but I also don’t want to be too critical. The rest of the menu looks promising, the portion sizes justify the price, and my friends enjoyed their food for the most part. I’d probably stop in again if I were in the neighbourhood. 

Other reviews:
Toronto Life   

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Jan 27, 2012

416-504-1992   |   $12-30 entrees

Visited Bettola, its conjoined semi-twin earlier in the year and decided to give the Osteria try…just to say I’d been to both. Classic and simple is how I’d describe it.

Food

Here’s what I wrote for Bettola below. I’d write this paragraph again for Osteria almost verbatim:

“Menu reads like a run-through of Italian flavour combinations 101. There’s really nothing you haven’t seen before if you’re familiar with the cuisine. I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘twist on traditional’ kind of place.”

Outside of the frequently tweaked menu, the switch of pizza for proteins, and the location slightly north of the other, these places are quite similar.

We started with a selection of five seafood antipasti (above). From left to right: tuna tartare was better sans oily chip, octopus salad was fresh and not chewy, battered shrimp tender juicy, oyster was forgettable, and calamari + radicchio was a nice combo. Overall a pleasant little grouping, but $20 for the simple and very small portions didn’t quite seem right.

We then moved onto the mains with a potato gnocchi and bistecchina (grilled tenderloin, above). Both were well-executed. Potato gnocchi with tomato and basil were fluffy and flavours were clean. Bistecchina melted in your mouth, served classically with arugula, balsamic and cherry tomatoes. 

The two of us finished admittedly hungry, so onto dessert we went for the Dolcetto Fondente (dark chocolate hazelnut cake/pudding served in a cup topped with a zabaione sauce, above). This way my personal favourite of the meal. The cake was perfectly dark and gooey, and especially delightful with some hazelnuts tossed in for some crunch.

Service and Ambience

Service was uneventful and friendly. I’ll give credit where it’s due though and thank our server for recommending the dulce at the end. Much appreciated.

Like Bettola, I liked the look of a space that felt both rustic, simple, and modern at the same time. Open ceiling, geometric graphics on wall/placemats. I very much enjoy this style and think it works well for the Terroni franchise generally.

The Reco?

In the area, its probably a good idea to head here for a guaranteed pleasant Italian meal. I don’t think you’ll be wow’d necessarily and I questioned the portion sizes a couple times, but I did enjoy the food for the most part. I do feel dumb for not actually ordering the Ciceri e Tria (traditional Pugliese stew). It’s probably really good…let me know. Cheers.

Other reviews:
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Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 23, 2011

416-916-8155    |    $14 -$26 mains

Friend of mine who lives nearby has been telling about this place for months. Was a little far north for me, but with a car at our disposal, a friend and I headed over to taste dessert and more.

Photo Credit: DTbistro.com

Food

The menu shows that this place isn’t just about desserts. Some quality pasta dishes, mains with duck, ribs, bouillabaise, you name it. Very diverse menu with reasonable prices. 

I started with the mushroom tart + goat cheese and my friend with the wild mushroom soup. Enjoyed the flaky tart, mushroom and cheese combo is tried and true, solid dish. Same goes for the mushroom soup, nothing particularly complex, just good mushroom flavour.

For the mains we had the crisply soft shelled crab with greens and the lobster and chorizo pappardelle. Unfortunately the battered crab was noticeably missing the chunks of crab you’d expect and was pretty much just batter. Disappointing.

The pappardelle (above) faired better. The flavour combinations worked, and the addition of fennel, tomato, and mushroom made for variety. The rose sauce was mild, and I think could have benefited from stronger notes of seafood or fennel. I’d say the lobster was probably a little on the rubbery side as well, but not much. Good to know: the portion is enormous for $20. Doesn’t need to be that big, and the dish frankly gets cold by the time you’re nearing the end.

Then we checked out desserts! My friend wasn’t feeling so hot and I was stuffed from pasta, so we only went with one. There is no dessert menu, just a display case that could make even the most focused person indecisive (below).

Given the festive time of year, we decided to go with the mint Christmas tree (below). The mint butter cream icing was light and tasty, and the hard inner dark chocolate shell with dense cake inside was also tasty. The berries balanced it out nicely and the cream…well it’s just nice to have whipped cream.

The Christmas tree was quickly gobbled up.

Service and Ambience

Friendly service let us take our time throughout the meal and was very attentive. The restaurant wasn’t very busy early on a Thursday night, so we weren’t in a hurry. As we went through the meal they were always around for questions and definitely had opinions concerning dessert selection (an absolute must given the case full of choices).

Photo Credit: DTbistro.com

The decor of the place is a little too clean in my opinion, I think it’s the white tile floor against the light colours everywhere else. The paintings on the wall provide some depth and something interesting to look at though, would love to own one.

The Reco?

I liked this place and I think the menu has potential. The desserts looked wonderful, the owner is a champion dessert maker and I wouldn’t doubt the other items are delicious. I think the savoury side of the menu could still benefit from some polish, but given the affordability and variety, it’s hard to criticize too much.

Other reviews:
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 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 15, 2011