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| - A couple of friends chose this place for our summerlicious girls-date dinner, against my doubts as I wasn't particularly interested in anything off their menu. However, majority rules; so we walk in to a rather casual setting with an open front window. There were a few other tables taken - in the middle of the vibrant community, some families looked so confused/out-of-place that they were clearly only here because of summerlicious.
Our server was a bored-looking man whom I only caught smiling once throughout our entire evening; he didn't seem interested in his job nor all that knowledgeable about the menu. When we asked what he recommended, he basically listed everything. Eventually we did discover that he had a quiet humorous side, and I suppose he accomplished his job fairly well (other than attempting to pick up my friend while the other two of us went to the restroom).
We all ordered different things for our appetizers and entrees - PEI mussels, tomato soup, spinach salad; pasta, chicken, and risotto - while they got creme brulee for dessert and I went on a limb and ordered the pistachio meringue (with the server commenting that it was tiny, definitely weird, but interesting). I wanted to substitute the desserts for something off their regular prix-fixe menu which was the same price anyway, but the server said it was no-go.
As soon as my mussels appetizer came, my low opinion of the restaurant started to turn right around - it was a heaping plate of opened mussels smothered in creamy truffle sauce. Although the meaty parts were rather tiny compared to the shells, the sauce was so delicious I had to stop myself spooning it all up like soup. The other two didn't have much to say about their appetizers - pretty average, it seemed.
My chicken entree was a fist-sized piece of chicken breast with sweet chestnut stuffing - it took some getting used to, but good enough that I could finish everything on the plate. The orange maple sauce was a special taste to note, although I am biased towards sweet things. My friends' fettucine and risottos also came in large plates with generous portions. By the time we finished the second course, dessert was barely manageable (especially with the amount of starch and carbs my friends already had, I'm guessing). My experience with creme brulees at just about every other restaurant in Toronto has been this dainty little white cup with crispy burnt caramel over a yummy pudding; it wasn't much different at Sambucas - except about 4 times the surface area. My pistachio dessert was something else altogether (the server popped it down with a "Here you go, the meringue-y thing")... It was literally a paperback-sized chunk of foam-looking meringue that tasted like solid cotton candy, infused with bits of whole de-shelled pistachios, capped off with a wad of whipped cream, and the entire thing drizzled in caramel sauce. Of course, none of us were able to entirely finish our desserts.
It was certainly a different experience here; chances are I wouldn't be back, but I left with a higher respect for their food than I had coming in. Good food, good prices - it's worth a try.
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