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| - I had a strange hankering for either Japanese or Italian food for our anniversary dinner tonight, but neither cuisines were appealing to me by themselves, then along came Carino in my search.
Carino is one of those places that I always drive by but have never gone into. I remember long ago when there used to be an adult video store located in the same area (so I always assumed the strip was shady). Nevertheless, it has been many years since that time, and I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant.
As I had been looking all day, and it was crunch time (715pm to be exact) I was easily able to make a reservation on opentable for the restaurant. Street parking is available in the area (be weary of areas where permits are required).
The restaurant is so cute and small. It offered a perfect environment for our occasion.
Service was slow at best, but the server was very polite and was great with recommendations. As a one man team running the front of house, I applaud him! He was the bar tender as well, so I asked him to make me a sweet cocktail. He brought to me a strange concoction that had cherry blossoms, yuzu and sake. Quite tasty. I loved swirling the flowers around in the glass during my whole meal.
I am in love with their calamari fritter! The batter was light, and had a great spice blend to it. Each piece remained tender and crispy the whole time we were enjoying it. In love with the spicy aioli as well, it was good enough to want to lick the bowl clean. The portion size was great for the price we paid ($12).
We were worried that the entrée portions were going to be small, but the portion sizes were perfect and the dishes were beautifully plated.
I got the Mentaiko Cream Pasta ($23) with spicy pollock roe, baby scallops, calamari, prawns, shiso leaves, edamame and toasted seaweed. The seafood was tender and there was just the slightest kick of spicy to sauce. Not sure where the shiso leaves and edamame came into play, but it was delicious never the less.
The bf got the teriyaki wagyu beef burger ($18) with Kinpira, mixed mushroom & wasabi mayo with rice bun, fries, Cheese ($1.5) and Crispy Pork Belly ($6). The beef was cooked to medium rare, moist and fall apart tender. The rice bun was unique, and was a great change from a regular bun. Hard to eat with your hands; delicious to the end when mixed with the wasabi mayo. The pork belly wasn't all that crispy, but it was a good complement to the burger; could have done without it though.
The fries were delicious on their own, unsure of what type of spices were on them though. They were crispy and hot when they arrived. Glad to know they were made fresh.
The washroom here is in front of the entrance, and very tiny and dark. Not good for anyone wanting to touch up their makeup. Make sure not to wear any makeup that will melt during your date.
Will be coming back here to try out their brunch menu. I kept hearing good things about it during the meal from other tables. Love their concept here and looking forward to my next visit. P.S. The server was very enthusiastic in telling tables about their second location as well! May go check them out there as well.
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