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| - I've been wanting to try River Café for a looooooong time. Located right in the middle of Prince's Island Park, it's the perfect spot to drop by after a nice, leisurely walk around the park. When I saw their menu on Big Taste, I was even more intrigued and knew I had to try them out.
I met up with my friend A, who booked us a reservation for 2pm, and the rest is history. There's lots of parking nearby but just make sure you give yourself a couple extra minutes as you'll have to park and walk to River Café. We might have been a bit late but we called to let them know and they were very accommodating. For a Sunday, the place was bustling with people. The décor has a very rustic, cabin feel to it but still maintains a modern, contemporary feel to it. Just gorgeous. Perfect spot to bring a date.
While the brunch/lunch menu sounded tempting, we couldn't resist the Big Taste three course lunch tasting menu, which was an absolute STEAL at $15.00! You could even get wine pairings for an additional $14.00 (pretty dang reasonable) but we opted out this time.
- Driview Farms lamb - Beck Farms carrot emulsion, coriander, Lyalta watercress, Three Farmers camelina oil and pumpkin seed. The fact that they gave us something unique as an appetizer over your typical soup/salad dish was a win in my book. The lamb was absolutely delicious! A nice mix of wild, earthy root vegetables and this crumbly texture (from the pumpkin seed?) was a delight. Plating and presentation was also absolutely breathtaking.
- Wood grilled albacore tuna and soft poached egg - Venturi Schulze verjus, brown butter roasted parsnips, smoked Poplar Bluff potato purée and preserved pear. The potato puree, think elegant mashed potatoes, was the best I've ever had so far in my life. The tuna was perfectly cooked with just enough sear to it. I'm not a big egg fan but this one was a delight - perfectly poached and soft to a tee.
- Highwood Crossing oatmeal and maple syrup cookies - so cute. Two cookies to end our meal that came in a to go brown bag. We couldn't wait and ate them right then and there. Nice crunch and not too sweet.
River Café is bomb. Everything was top notch, from the service to the food. There's a reason they were voted #67 on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants for 2016. Definitely a must for any occasion!
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