Showing posts with label seafood spaghetti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seafood spaghetti. Show all posts

Za Cafe Pizzeria and Bar (Toronto)


Behind all the scaffolding on Bay, you’ll find Za Cafe Pizzeria and Bar. It’s a bit of a dark horse, the former Gaberdine’s white walls washed with black, although the worn bar seating remains. The place doesn’t scream warm trattoria or even minimalistic pizza joint, it’s more of an emo Italian restaurant that happens to play energetic dance beats. A great place for after work drinks but would be a shame if you left before having a bite.

Because although Za doesn’t feel like a trattoria, their food is nonetheless comforting Italian fare. The beef carpaccio ($17) lays out large slices of raw beef tenderloin that’s liberally seasoned with salt, lemon juice, and very little oil. While it doesn’t have the drizzles of aioli that typically graces a Canadian carpaccio, there’s tons of flavours from pickled bell peppers, brined caper berries, and thick shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s a rustic carpaccio and would be even better if the salt was toned down a bit.

The burrata pizza ($21) special had a similar vein, the white pizza foundation just lightly brushed with oil, so the paper-thin crust remained wonderfully crispy and light. While the base was sauceless, the pie was still so flavourful from the herb and garlic base, tons of arugula, bright cherry tomatoes, and a ball of cool creamy burrata that went so nicely with the crispy hot dough. How do we get this special to be on the permanent menu?

I’m glad we tried their house made pasta as the curly strands of casarecce were perfectly done, chewy but still soft – almost like a pasta and gnocchi hybrid. The pasta’s crevices helped to scoop up the shrimp cognac’s ($24) creamy cognac rosé sauce, which was rich but refreshing. We were surprised by the generous portion of six tablespoon sized shrimp that topped the dish, more than enough to go around while sharing.

The pesto green ($17) was also large with plenty of the basil sauce so that it seeps into the tubular garganelli. The small dollops of ricotta were a nice touch, but there needed to be more of it. 

While the seafood spaghetti’s ($28) presentation wasn’t the greatest, the dish contained a decent selection of seafood: shrimp, salmon, calamari, mussels, and clams. Like the other pastas, Za didn’t skimp on the ingredients as there was plenty of it. Often, pasta that’s fresh is best, but on the odd occasion I prefer the dried variety. For spaghetti this is the case, as I found the fresh version too doughy and soft.

Interestingly, Za uses a spicy tomato white wine sauce with the seafood spaghetti. The heat was evident but doesn’t necessarily add to the dish. In retrospect, I would have preferred a traditional non-spicy sauce instead.

The Basque cheesecake ($12) is ideal for sharing as it’s sizeable. While it was well caramelized, that slightly toasted taste wasn’t pronounced… it pretty much tasted like any other cheesecake. Perhaps it’s because the mixture was too dense, not the light creamy consistency you’d expect from a Basque.  

Za’s tiramisu ($9) was a let down. It consisted of a lot of whipped cream and cocoa powder and very little lady fingers and mascarpone. At least it was a flavourful dessert, albeit basic and without a zip of zabaglione, which is disappointing compared to their other rustic fares. 

If you can look past all the construction and darkness, Za Café Pizzeria and Bar is an ideal place for an inexpensive meal or a pre-theatre dinner prior to heading to the Ed Mirvish or Elgin theatres, a short walk from the area. Just bring a friend as deciding between pizza or pasta will be terribly unpleasant. The answer is to just have both. 

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 372 Bay Street


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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Amalfi Coast Ristorante (Thornhill)

Whenever I’m asked about the best pasta consumed, I’m transported back to a pier in Positano. Tired from hours of walking along the hilly landscape, we settled into a random restaurant and decided to split a seafood spaghetti and drinks. My expectations were tempered, given we were on the pier where cruise ships drop off guests, thinking it’d be a tourist trap. One swirl of the pasta in the light flavourful sauce and I was in heaven. The meal was before my blogging days so the exquisite pasta was never documented, a distant memory that I’d love to experience again.

Hence, when I heard about Amalfi Coast Restaurant, I could taste the al dante pasta and garlicky tomato wine sauce right away. Of course, there were some differences: the restaurant is in Canada, the dining room more opulent, and I didn’t need to walk for hours before dining.

Then again, the chittarra pasta allo scoglio ($25.50) wasn’t even close to the quality of the Positano restaurant. While the spaghetti noodles were homemade, it’s also means the pasta is too soft and doughy. Perhaps, it sat too long at the pass, but the dish could be hotter and there was little left of the olive oil and wine sauce. The pasta needed more salt and didn’t contain any clams (as noted on the menu), but at least what was included was cooked decently.


If you’re ordering pasta, stick with the scialatielli allo stile amalfitana ($22). The creamy tomato vodka sauce is thicker so doesn’t soak into the thick homemade egg noodles and the flavours go well with the plump tiger shrimp.  


Their burrata di bufala ($15) was creamy and buttery, but served too cold and didn’t incorporate enough olive oil or salt. Nonetheless, for the price, you received a surprisingly large portion of the burrata, which also arrives with ample slices of cured bresaola and a simple arugula and torn radicchio salad.


Amalfi’s margherita pizza ($14.50) incorporated enough toppings – sweet tomatoes and a relatively thick layer of cheese – which also has the downfall of rendering the centre of the pizza soggy. Luckily, the crust had a nice smoky essence and a nice chewiness.


Personally, I preferred the bruschetta ($3), each crispy piece of olive oil covered crostini topped with garlicky tomatoes, oregano and cheese.


What stops me from awarding Amalfi a 7 (out of 10), is their service. While everyone was friendly, they just weren’t attentive, despite checking in so often. Some suggestions, to the restaurant:

  • Avoid having staff remark to dinner guests, “You’re all finally here”, especially when they’re only late by 10 minutes and another employee has already said something similar. It’s awkward for everyone at the table.
  • Limit the people approaching a table with questions to two individuals. We had at least three people asking similar things throughout the meal that it was annoying being interrupted so often.
  • If someone is training, make sure someone is around to teach them. While the trainee was bubbly and nice, she was so nervous and hesitant that it made the experience awkward. Especially, stopping our conversation every time she refilled the water by asking each person whether they wanted more – just re-fill it.
  • If there’s a private event, bring in more staff or don’t take reservations. Our waiter wouldn’t let us order appetizers first (while deciding on the mains), stating that they were too busy and he wanted to put everything in at the same time. It’s a bit rude, especially since the dining room was only 70% filled.
  • Most importantly, have someone keep track of whether tables are getting what they ordered. After finishing all the appetizers, our drinks still didn’t arrive. I finally had to follow-up with someone, even with two people coming by and asking about the food. Why did no one notice we were without wine and beer?
Unfortunately for my taste buds, the Amalfi Coast Restaurant is no match to a random restaurant by the Positano pier. 

Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Thornhill, Canada
 Address: 8020 Bathurst Street

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Amalfi Coast Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato