647 351 1200  |   $12-$17 Pizza & Pasta

Haven’t heard of Strada241? Neither had I ten minutes before I decided to go check it out. The Rubino brothers, of Rain and Ame, opened this spot up in the center of Chinatown last week, and I happened to spot it on Toronto Life. It was close to work and I was in the mood for pizza, so naturally I walked over with a couple coworkers to sample the menu.

Photo Credit: blogTO

Food

Simple tends to be very revealing and the menu here is very straightforward: antipasti, salads, a good pizza selection, a few pastas and some salumi/cheese options. You can’t hide behind a lot of these dishes, either you get them right or you have a super mediocre restaurant on your hands.

First up, selected the zucchini fritti served with fresh parsley salsa verde. Presentation here was awesome, with each slice spiked on it’s own nail coming out of the board. It tasted great too: the light crispy breading with perfectly done cuts of zucchini and that bright, savoury sauce worked well.

Both my friends ordered paninis and really enjoyed them, but oddly, they seem to have been removed from the most recent menu posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page. In case they make a return appearance, the pollo cacciatore sandwich (above) is delicious, hearty, and highly recommended.

The other panini we ordered, a mozzarella, tomato, lettuce, and pesto sandwich is clean yet satisfying as well. Just look at that bread. There’s a bakery on site that also serves a number of goods out front, which you might have guessed anyways on the basis of the bread alone.

The final main had to be pizza. I went with the Zia Rita, topped with a beautiful tomato sauce (so delicious when done this well), great spicy salami nduja, roasted onion, rapini, parmigiano, and mint. The crust was pretty tasty as well, and had a good mix of chewy and crispy.

We also ordered a side of cold rapini with a lemon vincotto dressing and some frisee. I’d never had cold rapini, but that lemon kept it real bright and I found myself coming back for more. That said, thought it could have used something else to contrast the level of bitterness just a bit more.

After a great meal, it only made sense to go with dessert. My choice was the ‘Limone’, a cold lemon custard of sorts topped with an almond crumble, ribbons of fennel and a touch of fennel frond on top. The pairing of fennel and perfectly balanced sweet/tart lemon was terrific. Throw in the textural contrast of the biscotti-like almond crumble, and this was one hell of a dessert. Highly recommend it.

Service and Ambience

Insulated from the hustle and bustle of Chinatown, you’re more or less transported when you walk in. High ceilings, tons of brick and wood, and a very open concept make this a great space. The front area with coffee and sweets kind of reminds me of Dark Horse just down the street actually.

Our server was also good given the newness of the restaurant and the changing menu. Our waters were always full, she happily offered her recommendations, and was really cheery throughout.

The Reco?

I was so impressed by this place and will definitely be back. There’s a bunch of dishes I’d re-order and I also can’t wait to try the baked goods up front and the ongoing changes to the menu. It’s not the most ambitious food in the world, but it’s hard to find it all executed this well.

Other Reviews? 
 blogTO   |    dine.TO

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Oct 9, 2012

416-363 2742    |    $16-22 pasta, $27-38 pesci, $35-47 carni

Chances are, unless you’ve been to the ACC in the last little while, you’ve never heard of Aria. And even if you were in the area, you probably didn’t know much about this shining jewel across the street from the Real Sports Bar. Yes, it’s almost intimidatingly good-looking from the outside, but after two visits, I’d encourage you to walk in. 

Food

The menu just recently changed, so not everything here is still available. Not to worry though, I’m sure the rest of the Italian fine dining menu will be quite well done. The menu’s offers a variety meat, fish and pasta as well as small sections for crudi (raw bar) and fritti (crispy fried goodness). 

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

When we searched through the crudi, had to go with the tuna, charred pineapple, basil, mint, olive oil and fennel pollen (above). This is a great raw dish that’s far from bland. Basil and mint keep this fresh, pineapple adds juicy sweetness, tuna texture is wonderful, and an undercurrent of fennel and the charred fruit add that extra taste layer. Really enjoyed this.

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

The other crudo we dined on was the carne cruda (basically beef tartare) with raw egg yolk, black truffle and porcini fries (above). Despite the attractive presentation this dish missed for me. More than a little too salty and I’d believe you if you told me they’d removed the truffle entirely. The porcini fries just tasted like salty fries.

In addition to these starters, I’ve also had the new fennel salad and shaved octopus carpaccio, both of which I’d recommend as light starters (no pics, sorry =S).

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

For the mains, you cannot miss with the snapper dish (above). Aria’s nominated it for Dish Duel for good reason. You can find my take on it here.

I’ve also had their new paccheri pasta with scorpion fish stew. FYI: paccheri looks like short, smooth, hollow cannelloni tubes. They were perfect al dente, the portion was filling, and the stew hearty and comforting. Not the most ‘fine dining’ dish you’ll ever have, but nice nonetheless. 

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

As for dessert, tried the pine nut and truffle honey tart with basil citrus curd, raspberry and lemon (above). Can’t say I was impressed or disappointed, it was pleasantly sweet and the mix of lemon and raspberry was nice. Missed the basil, earthy quality of the truffle honey, and pine nut flavour could have been more forward.

Service and Ambience

It goes without saying that this place looks incredible inside. It’s stunning from the floating globes, to the amazing spiraling woodwork (or at least, it looks like wood), to the wine tower and glowing back splash covered in wine bottles. It’s looks like a restaurant straight out of Ocean’s Thirteen (compliment). 

For such a “fancy” restaurant, I found the service unexpectedly warm. Our servers were charming and attentive, likely a holdover from the atmosphere at Noce on Queen West (same owners).

The Reco?

You can’t beat the atmosphere and awe of the place, and you can’t deny there are some outstanding dishes (snapper and tuna crudo). When you tally up all the dishes, you’ll come away happy with the performance, even with a dish or two that doesn’t wow you. I’ll be coming back for more.

Other reviews:
Toronto.com    |     National Post    |     Post City

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Feb 6, 2012

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:
 National Post      |     Toronto Star    |     Toronto Life

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 15, 2011