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| - Was first brought here as a child, by my parents, a good 15 years ago. We've been going back, as a family, because of two reasons; the staff and the food.
I will say that in the past the food was fantastic and there wasn't a complaint to be heard. There was a rough patch of about 5 years ago where the food started to go downhill. It's never enjoyable to hand over hard earned dollars for a mediocre meal - especially one that should be good.
Further, during that period, it seemed that Restaurant Makeover didn't do any favours for the quiet trattoria. The renovation gave the resto more open space and a modern feel. But, it's now louder than it ever used to be - forcing the older patrons to find greener pastures.
Recently, the ownership and management of the restaurant has fallen to the second generation and so for, so good. They've managed to put a stop to the revolving door of chefs in and out and i can say that the food has a consistent voice again. In fact, some dishes are better than they used to be. Others still need a bit of work to recapture their former essence. The specials are far more adventurous than they used to be, which is nice. And, Arthur, the sommellier, is back which makes choosing wine so much easier. We have an arrangement, that he chooses the wine for me and If I don't like it, he'll buy it and at the end of the night, drink it at the staff dinner. He hasn't steered me wrong yet.
Our most recent dining experience was this past weekend. Two people of our group of six had never been there before and found the menu to be diverse. Staff were incredibly attentive and accommodating to any substitutions or allergies.
The guys all had land animals - Striploins and Lamb while the ladies had Pasta. If you like hearty spicy pasta - get the Penne Abruzzo. really nice Italian sausage and Bacon in a spicy tomato sauce. The pastas were delicious and the meat was very well cooked.
We felt no pressure to vacate the table and we could linger and digest and enjoy the evening. At the end of the meal, we were offered an apperatif, on the house, which is always nice to have before the bill comes (which was quite reasonable, I might add)
All in all, Nelson and Phil have done a great job of turning the resto around and making it younger and more energetic while buffeting the food back up to a consistent standard.
Would go back in a second.
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