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| - I've been to this restaurant too many times to count now because we live nearby and it never disappoints.
The staff are warm and attentive, the ambience is relaxed and it never gets too loud on a busy Friday or Saturday night or during the Sunday brunch crowd - you can always have nice and pleasant conversation without loud thumping music or having to scream above other patrons. I had dinner last night (a Wednesday night) and though it was busy (they had a huge group sitting), it was still as relaxing, peaceful and enjoyable as all of my other visits.
The decor is modern chic with a relaxed flair - completely beautiful. It might appear pretentious to some, but the amazing, friendly staff have always consistently made me feel warm and welcome (I never once experienced attitude by anyone).
I was also there last Friday and was served by the same server, Katie, who was just as attentive, friendly and warm.
Because I'm a regular, I've tried a lot of different things (but not everything because to keep things fresh and moving, they do change their menu every once in a while).
My go to appetizer is always the zucchini chips - fresh, light, not over fried or dripping in grease, perfect crispness and a great aioli sauce to accompany them. My second favourite is the polenta fries (not great when they're cold, so eat while they're still warm!). My husband loves their spicy tacos and though I hate spicy food, I did try a bit and they were good.
I will always highly recommend their short rib main - the beef is so tender that you don't need a knife. This meat will melt in your mouth and you end up needing to pull pieces away with just your fork. It's the most tender meat dish I've ever had; also came with root vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy - perfect accompaniments (one friend substituted the mash with fries at a different dinner and it was nice, too). To avoid myself from having it a third time in a row, my friend ordered it (gave me a small piece to share) and this time, I had the spaghettoni with seafood. The pesto was great and it was nice and light. Small scallops, but good size shrimps and definitely a good serving size.
For dessert, I recommended the carrot cake to my friend and she loved it (I had some, too) and I ordered the phyllo-wrapped cheesecake with blueberry compote (to die for). Both the carrot cake and cheesecake were incredibly moist, fresh, sweet but not too sweet and a good serving size. I have a sweet tooth and though I love sweets, I hate when it's overdone and they do sweets here perfectly.
Though we had finished our desserts and had just been chatting for a while, Katie attentively refilled our waters and coffee without asking and her great service made the experience that much better.
In the past, some of the other dishes I've had were the pizza (flat crust - nice and light), steak and frites (nice and traditional), salmon (also nice and light) and their burger (juicy, fresh and filling).
We're coming here again...and again...and again...
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