| rev:text
| - Unexpected is the key word.
A friend and I were looking for a gastronomic restaurant to celebrate an event. After looking at the usual Gusto, Buca, Morton etc. and not feeling super motivated by the usual Toronto decor (although I have been to some and the food is nonetheless good), a friend of mine, cook at Enoteca Sociale, mentioned The Atlantic, but not really able to tell what they were doing except for "very good" and "pricey". Being two French girls craving for good food, we decided to take the chance and dive in the unknown. Note we read other reviews and we knew the menu was changed regularly, but no idea what was on the plate for the night (Oct 30 2013). We called to reserve at the opening - 7pm; and when my friend asked for the menu, she was told it was a single 6-course surprise menu. That sounds exciting!
So there we went, and yep, doesn't look very fancy with this blue and white Atlantic sign; the glass allowed us to see that it was empty and quite dark in the inside. Well, in we went, as the cook and the waiter stepped in behind us. We were placed at the "nicest table in the house", right by the window. A little chilly? No worries, a small heater is available for your comfort!
As soon as we were seated, the waiter, Scott, told us a bit more. He first asked us if we had any food allergy or particular food disliking, to which we said no. We chose to go with the wine bottle (hell yeah) but note that at this point, we didn't really know the cost of all this (we assumed a $60 food+bottle per person, as per the website). Scott came with a choice of three bottles, two Italians and a French (Rhone) and we picked the recommended Italian- I forgot the name, but will ask for it. What a nectar!!! An explosion of red fruit cranberry-like at the first sip, and an earthy after taste that was really unexpected. Excellent recommendation, and I know my vino. And from there, it only got better.
As the restaurant slowly filled up (around 14 persons for the whole evening, half full but it was Wednesday night), Scott came with a suite of 6 plates, sometimes one each, sometimes to share.
It started with root vegetable and cumin veloute, like my grandma would do in France. A good bowl of homemade soup!
At an adapted pace, we then went with the following dishes:
- Apple and house-smoked white fish salad with some vinaigrette reduction (I'm not sure of the leafs name but it looked like cloverleaves salad) = I would have killed for the fish, it was perfect
- Cottage cheese gnocchi style ball rolled in alfalfa ashes, served with Brussels sprouts leafs "blanchie" = from the morning perspective, this was my least favorite dish, and so was it for my friend. Cottage cheese doesn't have much flavour and the alfalfa remind me of my rabbit's food.
- "Moules-frites style": A bowl of small mussels cooked traditionally with a fry pan of potatoes quarters topped with grated Parmesan in sauce= my fav. The mussels were excellent, so were the patates!
- Two small trout filets on a bed of mashed veloute sweet potatoes and cooked beets= My fav #2. I usually HATE beets. Here, I could have licked the plate.
At this point, we had been at the restaurant for over two hours and none of us realized it. But one sure thing, we were getting very full. The waiter was full of attention and regularly came to check on us.
- Crème Brule= Traditionally made, perfectly executed.
We talked a lot with Scott who then introduced us to the cook Nolan, whom we congratulated warmly for such 1 Michelin star like meal (and I have been to one star).
Here is some info from the inside:
- Scott and Nolan are by-themselves all nights to serve and please all the guests. Note that sometimes Jason comes help with cleaning the dishes.
- Scott used to work at Enoteca but decided to join Nolan when this one came back from the States, after being selected among hundreds to follow very high-end cooking education.
- It's been 4 months since the Atlantic follows the surprise menu model and does not intend to stop. They only do one service per night so no rush, but could do a 2-course menu for a reasonable price on demand. Keep it in mind. Another idea for later is to adapt a menu to a client request. All in all, they are very big on personifying their food to your liking. GREAT approach. Unexpected!!
- If you haven't read reviews in the local newspapers, is because the staff would rather wait until the renovations of the restaurant are engaged and completed. (Yes, it will look better soon!) But they surely gain attention already, I suggest you try it before it becomes overly popular!
Finally, the bar across from them is a friend. Go there for a good whiskey to digest your diner!
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