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| - After talking about it for months, my boyfriend and I finally made our way to Barberians for an unforgettable dinner to celebrate some personal achievements (and enjoy a fancy date night).
I made reservations two weeks in advance. I'm not sure if this was necessary, but I'm a 'better-safe-than-sorry' kind of girl. I called their reservation line and left my name and number, but I didn't get a response confirming our dinner until I followed up via e-mail later in the week. Nothing too difficult, but it would have been nice to have someone make contact with me. The experience we had, however, quickly made up the annoying reservation system.
Thanks to our reservation we were seating immediately (after dropping our coats off at the complimentary coat check) in a dining room near the kitchen. The space was intimate, and the tables were close together, but not claustrophobically so. The ambience is moody and romantic, but not so dark that the menu is tough to read. There is a significant amount of noise that drifts over from other tables, but it wasn't so intrusive that it interrupted our meal or our conversation.
Our server was Andrew and he did a fine job of taking care of us throughout the evening. We ordered a bottle of Ontario chardonnay from the EXTENSIVE wine list (I've had textbooks that were smaller), and it came out quickly and was chilled perfectly.
For dinner, we ordered the chateaubriand for two, cooked medium-rare. With our meat we were offered a choice of fries, baked potato, or rice as a side. This was a pleasant surprise as I've been to steakhouses where the sides are NOT included in the price of the meat.
While waiting, we nibbled on veggies and devoured the complimentary basket of bread, still warm and soft and dripping with garlic butter.
Our dinner came quickly, and chateaubriand was carved for us directly at the table, a nice touch.
I always order medium-rare whenever ordered steak and it took tasting this gorgeous piece of meat for me to realize I may have never eaten a "perfect" medium-rare steak before this. It was beautifully charred on the outside, with a perfect circle of delicious, warm, pink meat on the inside. Absolutely sublime. The sides were good, and the cherry tomatoes that came with the meal were truly surprising. Not a huge tomato fan, I gave one a shot only to realize that it didn't taste like a tomato at all (in a good way). It was as though the tomato was injected with garlic and spices, and grilled to perfection. It tasted like a burst of bruschetta, all contained within a tiny vegetable. Amazing.
For dessert, my boyfriend ordered the apple beignets and I ordered the creme caramel (which Andrew had to sadly inform me was sold out that evening). Instead of insisting I order something else, he suggested we split the apple dessert, and I am so grateful that he did. The dessert arrived, plated individually with two portions that were so sizeable I found it hard to believe that this was intended to be one dessert. The apples themselves were amazing, coated in sugar, cinnamon and walnuts, and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Eating here was undoubtedly a splurge. After two bottles of wine, dinner, and dessert, our bill came close to $300 for the two of us. That being said, the experience, the flavours, and the service made it entirely worthwhile, and Barberians will certainly be on my "visit-again" list for future occasions worth celebrating.
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