CLOSED: Jamie's Italian (Edinburgh)

Posted on Monday, November 11, 2013 by
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Address: 54 George Street
Type of Meal: Dinner  


I first knew Jamie Oliver as the Naked Chef, a cute looking blond British chef recognized for his down to earth shows and later his stance against processed foods in the American school system. So, although I’ve never had a desire to eat at one of his restaurants, when the opportunity presented itself I thought “his Italian food must be good, let’s do this!”  Unfortunately, I was dead wrong and eating at Jamie’s Italian was a disappointing experience.

Perhaps it all started with our dismal experience with being seated – yes something so simple left a bad taste in our mouth.  We walked in on a weeknight, after a couple of minutes of reviewing the computer system the hostess brought us to a table in a fairly empty dining room.  After settling in, another hostess approaches the table to tell us that we were seated in the wrong spot and had to be moved. So, we were ushered into the downstairs area with a more casual vibe.  Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but the situation was just handled so abruptly and awkwardly without an apology.

As we had a heavy multi-course lunch that day, everyone wanted smaller dishes.  My husband started first and requested the vegetable plank appetizer in which our waiter answered “is that all?” in a somewhat dissatisfied manner.  Certainly, I agree restaurants should sometimes try to up-sale customers to add extra items to their meal, but to be off putting about it is another story.

Usually, I could have overlooked these faux pas if it weren’t for the substandard dishes Jamie Oliver chooses to serve.  Honestly, my experiences with chains like Olive Garden and Alice Fazoolis was far better than what I had that night.   

To begin, the vegetable plank (£6.85) was pretty mediocre and something I could whip up at home.  The slices of grilled zucchini and eggplant topped with pickled peppers in the middle bowl were cold and uninspired tasting despite being “marinated”. A small piece of buffalo mozzarella was also bland despite being described as having “chilli, mint, pecorino and an amazing chilli jam”. 

Strangely, nothing came with the vegetables so he decided to order the Italian bread selection (£3.75) as an accompaniment.  Although the basket looked impressive, the bread was cold and unexceptional. Especially the focaccia which is normally known to be soft airy bread saturated with olive oil – how could it be so mealy and dry? Sadly, this is when I reminisced about how good the Olive Garden bread sticks could be.
Luckily, the vongole tagliolini (£11.25) I ordered was better.  The house-made pasta was nice and al dante and the olive oil sauce providing a decent flavour (mix of garlic, white wine and hint of chilli).  But, the clams were just so small and poorly cooked - to put size into perspective the red things you see are grape tomato halves.  They were overcooked and shrivelled into the shell so the meat ended up being the size of a caper and difficult to taste.  To make matters worse there were remnants of sand at the bottom of my dish likely as the clams were soaked long enough. 

In the end, if I were just having a dish of linguine with garlic olive oil it would have been palatable, but the fact that it’s marketed as clam pasta was disappointing.  The clam linguine I generally order at Alice Fazoolis, a Toronto chain, is loads better than the mediocre fare served at Jamie’s Italian.

But, my husband and I should have counted ourselves lucky as my mother-in-law complained her dish of free-range chicken (£13.25; not pictured) was so dry and overcooked that it half of it could not even be cut into.  Normally, she’s a person who’s quite forgiving in her expectation with dishes, so a basic grilled chicken should not be what stumps a kitchen.

I’m very disappointed to review Jamie’s Italian this poorly as I can’t begin to comprehend how the delightful Naked Chef shown on TV can serve something so mediocre.  Sadly, this experience has ruined my perception of Jamie Oliver as a chef and his brand in general.  As for his philosophy about chefs feeding the masses at reasonable prices, I will happily pay a few extra pounds to not eat such substandard quality food again.   

 Overall mark - 3 out of 10


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!

Anstruther's Fish Bar (Anstruther)

Posted on Sunday, November 10, 2013 by
Location: Anstruther, Scotland
Address: 42-44 Shore Street
Website: http://www.anstrutherfishbar.co.uk/
Type of Meal: Lunch
Anstruther's Fish Bar is located right on the pier so fresh fish is what you’ll expect and get.  In fact, on top of their takeaway counter sits a sign that proudly announces which fishing company caught the haddock for the day.  The restaurant is simple with a take-out area as soon as you enter (£5.90 for the haddock), a dining area with about a dozen tables in the middle and an ice cream parlour at the other end.

But, don’t let the casual interior fool you, Anstruther is serious about fish and chips and won many accolades including being recognized the Best Fish and Chip Shop in Scotland and the UK’s Fish Shop of the Year.  Discreet Scotland Tours brought us here right after our visit in the St. Andrews district and noted its popularity with visitors and students of St. Andrews University – including the infamous Prince William.

Having walked around all morning, we decided to eat in and luckily scored a table.  Everyone had to try their speciality, deep fried haddock (£8.25), although Anstruther offers other seafood such as sole, hake, cod, prawns and crab.  For those who don’t like seafood (gasp), deep fried chicken, pizza, burgers, curry chicken, macaroni & cheese and savoury rolls are also available.  

The haddock when dining in costs a bit more but does come with bread & butter (regular sliced bread), a selection of sauces (ketchup, tartare, malt vinegar or brown sauce (aka HP sauce)) and a hot drink. I went with the tartare sauce which sadly was a packaged Heinz variety that’s meritocracy actually ruined the fish – in the end I just ate it plain with some malt vinegar on the chips.
The batter is light, crispy and not greasy at all allowing the freshness of the fish to shine through.  Meanwhile, the haddock is just cooked through so that the fish retains its moistness.  Portion sizes are fairly large with the paper platter containing one and a half fillets and a significant amount of chips. The chips are ordinary yet still tasty and just needs some salt (found on the table) to give it some flavour.

Not having grown up on fish and chips, I must say this is one of the best versions I’ve tasted. Admittedly, I have had a similar calibre fish and chip in Toronto at Rock Lobster where they make a wonderful house-made tartare sauce. My father-in-law, who eats it more and has tried other UK locations, ranks this as one of his top picks as well.  In the end, I wouldn’t make a special journey to Anstruther’s Fish Bar; but, if you happen to be in the St. Andrews area you should definitely stop by.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!

The Beverley Hotel (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, November 09, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 335 Queen Street West
Website: http://thebeverleyhotel.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner
The Beverley Hotel is located on a busy stretch of Queen West with the restaurant centrally located on the ground floor. While visiting in the evening, I almost missed the simple glass doors embossed with their name if it weren’t for the point-of-sale signage located out front.  The dining room is a narrow but long set-up with one side dedicated to a large bar and tables and banquettes along the other side and the back. Its décor is reminiscent of a steak house with the dark wood accents and leather clad seats; the dim lighting makes it a good place for a date or drinks.

The French Kiss 75 ($13?) was a fair sized cocktail made from pink prosecco, gin (?) and grapefruit.  A bubbly concoction with a citrusy twist and just a hint of sweetness, it’s refreshing and a nice sipping drink.  I also enjoy the whimsical lemon rind twist adorning the glass.

Not hungry that night, I opted for the mussels + brussels appetizer ($10) which was a surprisingly large portion.  Cooked in a beer based garlicky broth the mussels were done well but would be even better if there was more cooking liquid to dip them into.  I thoroughly enjoyed the variation on frites using brussel sprouts instead; they were slightly charred and crispy adding sweetness and smokiness to the dish. I would have liked an empty bowl to discard shells as it was difficult to eat until one of my friends could offer me their finished plate to use.

Beverly Hotel’s steak tartare ($14) is the first I’ve seen that sits upon a disc of cold herbed mashed potatoes.  Made from hanger steak, the tartare has a bit more bite to it and generally a decent flavour.  Thankfully, they give enough pieces of pumpernickel toasts (what’s with restaurants now a days giving a huge portion of tartare and then 3 small pieces of crostini?). To top everything off there’s a quail egg, pickled green beans (sadly I didn’t try but heard pickled vegetables is one of Chef Wood’s specialties) and micro greens.



 My husband’s Beverly burger ($16) was cooked to a medium doneness so that patty was still soft and juicy.  Sitting on top of a soft sesame bun with a heavy dose of fried Guernsey cheese there was certainly a barrage of flavour.  As if the hollandaise sauce, in lieu of mayonnaise, was not enough, my husband also added a fried egg (additional $1) making it a saucy and messy burger.  I tend to like firmer charbroiled burgers so this one was a bit mushy for my taste; but, my husband liked it and rates it top 10 on his list (although still behind the Harbord Room’s rendition). 


Unfortunately, my favourite part of the dish, the fries, was lukewarm and stale – what a disappointment.  There was hardly even a full portion of them when they arrived so perhaps the kitchen ran out and didn’t feel like making another batch.

The Beverly Hotel is a nice classy destination on the Queen Street West strip.  The cocktails are delicious and appetizers a considerable portion at reasonable prices. Overall, I sense the restaurant will do well as a drinks and shared plates place, which may just work in the trendy neighbourhood.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!



The Tea Room at Harrods (London)

Posted on Sunday, November 03, 2013 by
Location: London, England
Address: 87-135 Brompton Rd (inside Harrods, 2nd floor)
Website: http://www.harrods.com/content/the-store/restaurants/the-tea-room/
Type of Meal: Tea  

If you’ve ever been to Harrods, it’s a multi-level mad house with shoppers and merchandise everywhere.  Their Food Hall, on the main floor, certainly draws crowds who are looking for something to eat. My preference is for the Tea Room tucked away from the hustle and bustle on the second floor. It’s not the Ritz where you’d dress up and go for high tea that last for hours.  Rather, it’s a great alternative for those who just want tea and a quick bite – exactly what my husband and I needed after a morning of site seeing.

We both ordered the Chelsea (£12.50), which is simply tea with scones, clotted cream and jams. Harrods offers an extensive list of tea but the 1849 Blend, a black tea, caught both our interest given it was made to commemorate Harrod’s 150th anniversary and promises an intense aroma with rich flavour.  At first, the 1849 Blend really didn’t taste that different from regular teas, but once we skipped the milk and sugar, the intensity came through and the slight bitterness went well with the sugary jam.
Two large scones, plain and with raisins, arrive with a generous dish of thick clotted cream. This really is the quintessential thing to try when you go to London and it’s great at Harrods.  The scones were freshly made arriving hot, soft, slightly doughy but still airy in the middle. For me, the best part is the clotted cream which makes everything so much better. The thick, buttery spread is heavenly and goes well with the strawberry or raspberry jam or on its own.

If you’re visiting London for the first time, likely you’ll end up in Knightsbridge at Harrods.  My suggestion, take an hour (perhaps at the Tea Room) to just sit back, relax and enjoy some tea with company – and I guess scones and clotted cream doesn’t hurt as well.


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog


Libertine (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, October 27, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1307 Dundas Street West
Website: http://www.thelibertinespeak.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
If you’re going to visit Libertine, make sure you know what to look the restaurant has no signage.  Instead, you’ll see a neon rectangle “tarot cards palm reading” sign over the doorway and likely see a group of older men smoking outside at the billiard’s place beside it.  It’s situated in the basement of the building and along the way down you’ll see a small room behind a beaded curtain where the fortune teller resides (when we visited on a Friday they weren’t there, but readings range from $25-$45).

The lounge/dining room is open and spacious, making you forget about the narrow door and stairway you just descended.  There are plenty of horseshoe shaped booths, long barstool tables for large groups and a fair sized bar.  The mythological fortune teller theme continues with the art adorning the walls and wheel of fortune at the back. 

The menu changes depending on ingredient availability, but generally offers a fair number of vegetarian and vegan options.  Libertine is another “small plates” format restaurant where dishes are meant to be shared around the table.  During our visit we tried a total of five dishes;   in general, they were decent but some a bit confusing with the addition of elements that didn’t go at all.  Normally, I like dishes with varying flavours and textures, but there has to be some cohesion or at the very least have complementary ingredients for the concoction to be successful.  

The pierogies ($14) was an example of such a dish. Included in the dish were pan fried pierogies with a piece of pork belly.  But, then sprinkled over everything were flakes of sweet freeze dried (?) milk that stuck to your teeth (an ingredient our table would have happily had eliminated from the dish). Aside from the milk flakes, the dish consisted of three mediocre pierogies and a small piece of chewy pork belly.  The pierogies’ potato and cheese filling (cheddar and gruyere in Libertine’s case) was tasty but could be a bit saltier as it really didn’t hold up to the dough.  I’ve had much better ones at Pravda.  The pork belly was also lackluster with none of the richness you’d expect. When seeing it on the menu, this was the one I was most excited about but ended up disappointed with.
Another mishmash dish was the poached prawn ($14).  The prawns were well cooked and when combined with the sprinkles of chorizo added a great salty essence to everything. The edamame pods were also good and brought a nice fresh crunchy aspect to everything.  But, then there were cubes of potatoes and guacamole piped into shrimp chips; although good on their own, didn’t seem to go with the poached prawns.
But, there were some good dishes such as fried tofu ($11).  Delicate pieces of silken egg tofu were freshly deep fried and combined with a flavourful dashi broth and aromatic shallots.  Some small pieces of broiled (?) cauliflower were also included to contrast the soft tofu.  Sprinkles of nori strips and edible flowers topped the dish giving it a beautiful presentation.  This is an excellent example of a dish that does have a lot of flavours and ingredients but they worked.
Another one was the fried chicken ($16), but it’s pretty hard to mess up crunchy chicken.  The pieces were tender and still had a crispy savoury crust. Small pieces of bibb lettuce and pickled carrots accompanied the chicken to give it a bo ssam feel (although it’s weird that there are six pieces of chicken but only four pieces of lettuce).  But then again, the dish appeared to be torn between being Korean or Southern as it also had coleslaw and ketchup included with it that didn’t really go well with the bo ssam theme.

Lastly, the pasta fritta ($7), reminding me of a cross between a pita puff and garlic knots was split between our table.  I found it to be fairly flavourful with the coating of black garlic and parmesan making it a good snack to accompany beers.  But, another guest detested it and found its oiliness off putting compared to the other menu items.

Libertine only offers one dessert nightly, which for us was a panna cotta ($8).  I didn’t actually have any but appeared to be enjoyed by the other guests.

Instead, I opted for the Miss Shirley cocktail ($11.50; even though the menu states all cocktails are $13).  It took a long time for it to arrive and when it did looked as if someone had already drank from it (the enclosed picture is actually how it full the cocktail was at arrival). Who knows, perhaps that’s why they didn’t charge full price for it. Nonetheless, the cocktail had an interesting herby taste that I enjoy from the basil added to the gin and strawberry puree.  Although it looks sweet and girly, the dash of white balsamic Libertine adds to it actually cuts the sweetness.
A libertine is described on Wikipedia as “one devoid of most moral restraints … especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour sanctified by the larger society”.  During our visit, the patrons didn’t seem to be libertines at all; rather, most were quiet with only one person dared to spin the wheel of fortune, capturing everyone’s attention for a brief moment.

We left the restaurant at about 10:30 on a Friday and even at that point it was still relatively empty and the lounge vibe didn’t start yet.  In the end, Libertine appears to be trying to become another supper club but in my opinion hasn’t mastered either yet.   

 Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!


Restaurant Martin Wishart (Edinburgh)

Posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013 by
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Address: 54 The Shore
Website: http://www.restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk/
Type of Meal: Lunch
When a Michelin starred restaurant offers a 3-course lunch menu for £28.50 it’s a deal that's hard to pass up. So, we made the short cab ride out to Leith, Northwest of Edinburgh's city centre, to visit the restaurant.

Being a French restaurant, you certainly got that classic upscale French feeling when you walked into Martin Wishart with the crisp white linen, sparkly crystal and shiny silverware. Luckily, the staff were friendly and didn't appear to be snooty, albeit not nearly as friendly as the other Edinburgh restaurants we encountered. 

Not long after ordering a small dice sized horseradish beet macaron was presented meant to be eaten in one bite to wake up the palette. It was an interesting combination with the sweet macaron shell and the creamy horseradish spiked filling; a good savoury take on the French dessert. 
Following was a more substantial amuse bouche trio consisting of a haggis croquette, foie gras shavings and a parmesan cheese puff.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fried haggis ball with its smooth flavourful meat filling and crunchy exterior.  Not being a fan of foie gras, for ethical reasons, I was glad it was only a small portion. Nonetheless, it was smooth and flavourful and almost refreshing in how they prepared it – it appeared to be mixed it with something, frozen and then shaved and topped with a complementary crispy element. The cheese puff was tasty - as cheese and choux pastry generally would be, with an astonishing amount of cheese for such a small ball.
My starter, ravioli of wild mushroom, was my favourite dish of the meal.  It could have easily been a main with another ravioli and the addition of some protein. Even though the pasta dough was thin, there was still a nice chewy texture and stuffed full with diced mushrooms - the mixture being so dense that you could have sworn there was some meat in there binding it all together. The foam was delicate and allowed the woodsy mushroom flavour to shine through.  Even the sautéed cabbage sitting under the ravioli, a smart way to stop them from sliding around the dish, was delicious. 
As can be seen from the picture below, the roast cod was seared beautifully giving it a golden brown crust, which goes so well with the delicate soft fish.  The dish was a bit salty, not sure if it was from the foam, the fish or the wilted spinach on the bottom. The fish itself was good but not very memorable.  The only unexpected highlight was the thin medallions of potato boulangere dotted around the dish - deliciously flavourful with a slight herby essence, which is somewhat sad given they were an inconsequential part of the meal.
On the other hand, the navarin of Dornoch lamb my husband ordered was such an intensely flavourful dish.  This French lamb stew was a good nod to Scottish cuisine and almost like beef bourguignon.  The lamb was tender, flaked apart easily and had a rich deep sauce covering everything. This is certainly a hearty dish you want if you're hungry, Martin Wishart provides a substantial portion topped with typical stew ingredients (carrots, onions and mushrooms). Celeriac purée, served in a separate dish, accompanied the dish and added a silky, buttery and creamy touch to everything. 
French cuisine is known for their desserts and my apple tart bourdaloude did not disappoint its warm flaky crust, beautifully fanned layer of apples and dollop of chantilly cream. Thankfully, the apples were cooked well - tender throughout but still had a slight bite to it.  For me, the dessert was too sweet; I just wish the apple itself was a bit tarter so it could have cut through the sugary syrup. 
I loved that Martin Wishart has a cheese cart, which they roll over when you order the cheese plate (supplement of £10).  There are about a dozen of options available and the server asks your preference before building a cheese plate catered to your palate.  My husband, liking stronger tasting cheddars and not blue cheeses, was given a variety of French cheeses with one lone Scottish cheddar. Not pictured are some crackers and bread that is placed on your side plate when this is ordered.

Enclosed below is a picture of the chocolate macaron with black current filling ordered by another guest. I can't comment on how it tastes since I never tried it, but thought I'd share since it was so beautifully presented.

Sadly, there were a couple of slight hiccups that I found surprising for a Michelin rated restaurant.
  • Perhaps this is common in Scotland, but when we requested tea and coffee with our dessert, we were instantly charged the coffee + petit fours option with the meal (£5.95).  To make things worse, we weren't even brought any of the petit fours, despite being charged to it making each hot beverage quite costly.  I will say that I enjoyed that they heated up their teapots and milk, but still for £6 a cup it was a bit steep.  
  • The second issue was that they just couldn't remember my water choice! My guests prefer sparkling (£5.50 per bottle) while I just like plain ice water.  Both times they refilled my glass, either I or someone from my table had to stop them and state no sparkling water for me as I prefer ice.  After hearing this, they didn't offer to replace my water so I had to drink the carbonated version that I detest.  I know it’s something small, but something that easily could have been avoided – just write down the guest’s preferences somewhere!
All in all, for the price of the meal, Martin Wishart is a great value option.  For the most part the dishes were delicious and atmosphere posh, elegant and relaxing.


 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!

Bramble Bar (Edinburgh)

Posted on Sunday, October 13, 2013 by
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Address: 16A Queen St
Website: http://www.bramblebar.co.uk/
Type of Meal: Drinks  

If you find yourself in front of a dry cleaning place while looking for Bramble then you’re at the right place!  With no prominent signs and the non-descript location, it can definitely be over looked.  So, first find the dry cleaners, head down the stairs and the door on the left is where you want to enter. 


Just looking for Bramble brings a whole speakeasy vibe to the place, which continues when you enter.  The small basement space is dark and intimate, with lighting given from candles scattered around tables and the bar.  With a cozy bar area and a few small seating nooks you want to show up early or risk being packed by the entrance.

It’s really hard to decide what to order with Bramble’s extensive menu of cocktails.  Even if you wanted a simple gin and tonic, they have 40 types of gin and a plethora of mixers to choose from!  I tried one of the “recommended” G&T’s called Three Corners & Fevertree Tonic (£6).  Although it looks simple, watching him make it made me realize the amount of work that goes into the drink and now understand why Bramble was voted as one of the best bars in Edinburgh and the World. 

The bartender obtained a large sphere of ice and painstakingly whittled it down until it was the perfect size for my glass.  Next, he added to it was a freshly sliced piece of orange peel and a crushed seed (not sure what it was), before a small bottle of Fevertree Tonic was opened up and finished off the drink. The first sip is extremely strong, but once the ice block melted down and the orange and seed mixed in everything mellowed out.

My husband asked for custom one and was asked a few questions before they narrowed it down to one that was good for him.  Certainly the options and combinations are endless!
We also tried some of their mixed cocktails.  The Bramble (£6.50) is a safe bet consisting of Bombay Dry Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar syrup & creme de mures (a blackberry liqueur.  It was fruity and simple, tasting somewhat like a grown-up Killer Kool-Aid.  
I personally preferred my Most Unusual Drink (£7) more, especially since it was served in a teacup martini glass – how great is that?  Also gin based (this time using Sourdough Hendrick), its flavours are derived from cucumber manzanilla (type of sherry?), freshly squeezed lime juice and rose water.  The flavours were very crisp and clean, absolutely delicious!
Bramble is a good place to head to with a few friends who appreciate tasty fresh drinks.  This is not the place to go if you want to dance or are expecting to meet people.  When we went, early on a Friday, it seemed like a mix of the after work crowd, friends catching up and date crowds.  Everyone pretty much stuck to themselves, chatting away.  The surroundings were crowded by still pleasant with each drink giving us something to enjoy and talk about. With so many to choose from, it’s definitely somewhere you can keep going back to.

Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

CLOSED: THR & Co. (Toronto)

Posted on Thursday, October 10, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 97 Harbord Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

THR & Co. (short form for The Harbord Room & Company) is situated two doors down from the first restaurant with a slightly larger dining room and menu.  The food offerings are similar (pastas and proteins); but, in the place of the iconic burger are pizza pies (three on the menu and usually a daily special as well). All pastas include an option of a half or full size, which makes it great for trying multiple ones or having as an appetizer (coincidentally what I did).


My starter of black spaghetti ($13; half portion shown or full portion available for $19) gets it colour from the squid or cuttlefish ink added into the dough.  Aside from its dark colour, the ink also adds a seafood like essence to the pasta making it quite flavourful even without a sauce.  THR & Co. serves the pasta aglio e olio style (essentially with a garlic and oil based sauce) allowing the seafood flavours to shine through.  As a warning, there is a lot of oil in the dish; I found it to be to too much and ended up scooping up the pasta into my side plate in order to wipe some of the oil off.



Pieces of charred squid and bottarga (a Mediterranean cured fish roe) add a deep briny seafood taste to the spaghetti and made me reminiscent of a heavenly plate of spaghetti I had sitting ocean side at Positano’s port.  It’s hard to describe but is a complex flavour that floods the mouth and is likely an acquired taste.  The addition of poblano and pequin peppers add a spicy kick to the pasta that’s unexpected but delightful.

My husband opted for the beef heart tartare ($12) which sounds off putting but is actually very delicious.  Not as chewy as normal beef tartare, the heart is much lighter and allows the dish to become almost pâté like while still retaining some distinctive pieces.  The beef was very well flavoured with salty green olive relish, a light espelette (type of pepper) mayonnaise, a dusting of cured duck yolk and drizzles of Banyuls vinegar (a French wine vinegar).  With all the different flavours you can’t even taste the beef heart!  Served with a light fried chip (which may be the crispy tendon that’s noted on the menu?) rather than bread the texture is a great smooth and crispy contrast.  The crispy chip is light and airy; the consistency a mix between pork rind and a shrimp chip (without their flavours).

Continuing with the carbs, I had the dandelion and ricotta pizza pie ($14) as my main. It arrives with a fried egg in the middle, which the server breaks with a spoon and smooths over the hot pizza to allow the egg yolk to cook. Salty pieces of pancetta, thinly slice potatoes and white cheddar shavings top the pizza – all nice simple flavours.  I particularly like the rosemary leaves sprinkled on top along with smoked salt giving the pizza a wonderful earthy essence.  The dandelion is broken down into the oil based sauce spread onto the dough and along with the ricotta are neutral tasting letting the other ingredients shine through.  The crust is thin, crispy and has a great corn meal crusted bottom that you can actually hold in your hand without it drooping.  Each pizza is served with a pair of scissors making it a breeze to cut and share.

The rib eye’s ($28) chimichurri sauce was delicious and helped cut through the fattier cut of steak.  Alas, both steaks ordered at our table arrived extremely overdone.  The over doneness is likely done to the steak being cut too thinly (less than an inch thick).  Normally, if a cheaper cut of beef like a flat iron or skirt steak is used, the thinner cut may be warranted.  However, the rib eye is such a well-marbled cut that a thicker cut can be withstood.  Nonetheless, the steak was still tender and well flavoured from the sauce and pat of marrow butter.

My husband ordered a side of summer succotash ($6) to accompany the otherwise unadorned steak.  It was a great side for the warm weather made up of kernels of sweet corn, zucchini, pearl onion and grape tomatoes.  Unlike the other dishes that are very strongly flavoured, the side was minimalistic with the natural flavours of the vegetables.  It also had a small square of grilled corn bread that I never had a chance to try as my husband gobbled it all down.

Each day THR & Co. offers a selection of home-made ice creams and sorbets ($5/scoop).  During our visit, we sampled beautifully adorned coconut, strawberry, buttermilk and dulce del leche scoops.  They were all delicious with each person at the table liking a different flavour.  My favourite was coconut, which had a nice light taste.  My husband’s favourite was the creamy buttermilk drizzled with honey. The strawberry sorbet was topped with savoury bits giving it a nice sweet and salty combination. 

Served with the dessert was a shooter of home-made lemoncello ($7) which has a splendid citrus smell that is so refreshing after a heavy dinner.  With just a hint of lemon and sweetness, this is a very easy drinking.

I also tried the Tall Confession ($12) made from gin, mint syrup, cucumber soda and fresh lime juice, topped with blueberries and a wedge of cucumber.  Despite it being a brilliant pink colour, it’s not like a girly cosmo – the Tall Confession is light and refreshing, a great summer cocktail.

Overall, THR & Co. appears to be a place that offers something for all.  During our visit, there was an eclectic crowd of patrons of vary ages and cultures.  Perhaps what draws people in is the friendliness of the staff and their laid back attitude – we saw them joking and helping each other and got the sense that they genuinely liked working there.  Even though there’s a finer dining flair to the place (as noticed by the cutlery change with each course), things are still down-to-earth and comfortable.  The postcard below arrived with our bill, cute but must have a hidden message – can someone please tell me what this means?!
 
Overall mark - 8 out of 10




Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!



Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)