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| - Well that was an unexpected one...my wife and I were on the lookout for something close to home and as the beaches area is plastered with a few gems, a couple of let-downs and lots of mediocrity in between, we decided to go to the east limit of beaches/victoria park on QueenSt.
The appearance was actually quite cute. It's not as wide as it is long, has a cute 10 people patio which is probably busy during summer months and going inside a down-key and appropriate interior deco. Not that I'm a big fan of Americana in general but a few Elvis & Co. oil paintings against Venetian wallpaper really don't bother me. It feels like something bistroish somewhere in Hell's Kitchen with a bit of tack, a bit of whack and lots of people.
It actually was busy here on a Tuesday evening. I like that, so many couldn't be wrong - or could they??
We sat in the back corner and got service immediately, which was a pleasant surprise. Menu is very very pasta heavy, but that is not a bad thing here as it turns out. Instant bread and reduced balsamic which had an unusual earthy molasses-like taste mixed with light olive oil. Interesting. Bread was a type of blandish corn-bread which pretended to be home baked but probably wasn't. Not my fav but still a nice start. For heaven's sake guys, lose those tacky little plastic butter tublets and get someone to cut some chilled churned butter bits on ice water. After all, Vivetha, you are sophisticated and proud, aren't you?
I ordered the Indian King: Penne with wild mushrooms, roasted peppers, carrots, baby spinach & fresh tomatoes in a Madras curry coconut cream sauce with added chicken. At $15 a upper-average bistro price.
It came, saw and won. I mean, the flavors worked extremely well together and I got a taste of dry white in a blend of cream, veggie stock and creme fraiche with fresh garlic and herbs. Hmmmm. Delightful albeit a tad on the filling side. I'm impressed.
Wifey ate Seafood Delight, Linguini with roasted garlic, jumbo sea scallops, shrimp, smoked salmon, spinach & fresh tomatoes. Her smile revealed she liked it also. The pasta in both dishes was cooked just right, to an al-dente stage and the dish was seasoned perfectly. Nice wine list available also. Ok Ramsay, but what was wrong still?
Let me tell you what was "wrong" if you can even say it at honest four star rating. What this Bistro needs to earn five stars from me is loosen up the pasta-mania with some fast fried steaks, scallopini or just something a bit more inventive and up-beat. Serve Salads table-side, or put some fancy fish on the menu. God knows what. Ask the servers to be a tad less forward on the sales-pitch. Get rid of anything plasticky like the plastic menus and plastic little gimmicks, including the "customer satisfaction cards" you're better than that.
And if you really, really want to push it for five stars, definitely consider serving FRESH PASTA instead of premium durum, which isn't bad, just not the real deal.
Overall a great experience and I will return for sure. Please don't become a second ILL-Fornello though. It would destroy what you are trying so desperately to build - client trust and happy punters.
****1/4
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