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| - From a quick peek inside earlier this afternoon, my partner and I were delighted to discover that tonight was the opening of the location on 132 Yonge Street. It was not our intent to return; as we are in Toronto only for a few nights. However, upon later discussion of how impressed we were with the design and vibe of the space, we decided to give it a try for dinner. While it was well understood that this was this location's opening night, the service, food, and overall experience simply underwhelmed; motivating my desire to offer this review. The specifics:
Service: Our waiter, Ricky, was efficient and not very engaging, especially with this being the opening night. In particular, descriptions of menu items by Ricky were lacking and little was done to make for a dining EXPERIENCE that would warrant a return. We also noted an abundance of staff and management on hand with little of their attention and time allocated to diners; especially, those of us, seemingly, not known.
Food: An appropriately executed and presented sea bass dish, Branzino, and adequate pizza, N'Dujana, made for a decent meal; however, so not worthy of the price. An antipasto, the "U Pesce Frit", as presented, were not well thought out or executed. Problems with preparation and presentation were evident. The kitchen seemed especially challenged with seasoning (the antipasto - under seasoned; with the sea bass - slightly over seasoned and salty) and "harmonizing" a plate (i.e. dish components not coming together in a cohesive manner - e.g. the potatoes with the sea bass were beyond a disappointment).
Overall Experience: Again, we were so underwhelmed. This is your opening night and opportunity to, simply, WOW. No aspects of the evening created a WOW moment.
Throughout our meal, I was so frank and candid with our server about hits and misses and little was done to either correct or compensate for misses. In essence, with expectations of a great experience, we walked away with an overall sense of complacency. I am sure that this was not the intent of the night.
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