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| - Went there for our anniversary -- we live in the neighbourhood and I've been wanting to try it out since we saw them renovating the space.
There seem to have been a lot of changes to the menu since the various reviews that I read online. Some of the items that previous reviewers had raved about (e.g. fried smelts, shaved Brussels sprouts) were no longer on the menu, and some current items that looked as though they would have caught a reviewer's eye were not mentioned anywhere I read. I don't know whether they charge anymore for their bread, and we didn't have any of the problems with the service or the menu arrangement that a prominent Globe and Mail reviewer seemed to have back when they first opened.
We ordered both the East- and West-coast oysters that were available that night, and they were wonderful, completely different from one another, with complementary tastes and textures. The server described them very well when we asked about them. The mignonette was classic, but the tomato-and-caper sauce isn't my favourite, and the horseradish lacked punch.
We shared a whole grilled Lake Huron trout (1+ lbs), with cubed celery root dressing and a really flavourful sauce (chilis and something else -- I forget), that was perfectly done, silky and flaky on the tongue. The server happily filleted it for us at the table (it wasn't a very busy night, so he had the time to do so rather than just tell us how to go about it ourselves). With beautifully grilled asparagus and golden-crisp thyme frites as sides, we were pleasantly full by the end.
There *are* some items on the menu that I would consider prohibitively expensive, and several that are more gimmicky than most people are likely to want (a whole goat stuffed with fish for $400, prepared with 4 days' notice?? No thanks!), but the essentials on the menu were varied and interesting-looking, and, since it appears that they are open to changing their menu (seasonally?), likely to avoid getting boring. I'd go back, but probably only for another special occasion.
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