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| - When I think about the Jane and Wilson area of Toronto a lot of things come to mind, what doesn't come to mind is a nice Dominican beach with tasty authentic Dominican food. But alas my friend swears that there is northern Dominican fare to be had in this small, super sketchy strip mall off Wilson ave.
We walked into Aquarela at dinner time on a Saturday evening and the music was THUMPING, I immediately became more sceptical that there was food to be had in this dark nightclub environment. We were greeted by the owner who knew right away we were there for the food, we were seated quickly and menus were given. The beer selection is weak, while the posters on the wall advertise exotic Caribbean lagers the menu offers some domestic big brands and Corona, UGH I'll take a Corona (It pains me to utter those words).
Mt two friends and I decided to share a couple of mains and an app. For an app we ordered the tostones ($3.50), deep fried plantains which were very thick cut, a little crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. I enjoyed these very much.
For mains we got mofongo ($11.50) and chiva la monte cristi (11.50). The chiva was basically a goat stew in an oregano sauce. The goat was pretty tender and was not too gamey, the sauce was nicely spiced but the stew was not saucy enough for my liking. I was expecting a saucy dish to go with the side of rice and beans but the stew did not have much sauce. The mofongo on the other hand was supposed to be the signature dish of the restaurant (according to my friend and the owner). Mofongo is a mashed plantain dish mixed with garlic and chicharron (pig crackling) served in a larger mortar like contraption called a pilon, I definitely enjoyed the presentation of this dish. You get to choose a side meat to go with the mofongo, we opted for the shrimp. The mofongo had a nice garlic flavour with a slight smokiness from the chicharron. The side of shrimp were mini frozen shrimp from the supermarket, very disappointing. Again not enough sauce with the shrimp to help soak the plantain. Overall this was an interesting dish, definitely a rare find in Toronto.
I did enjoy my visit to Aquarela, the food is definitely unique. The restaurant itself is dark with a few small tables. I did not appreciate the loud thumping music as it made it difficult to converse with dinner mates. Will I come back? If I am in the area maybe but I would not drive out of my way to go here.
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