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| - Located in the Annex, in the middle of Mirvish Village, The Central is a bar, a restaurant, and a live music venue. The dimly lit house-turned-restaurant with the splendidly seamy vibe immediately and completely tugged at my heart strings. I loved the rickety setting and little details like the "Draught: Use Your Eyes" sign behind the bar.
But, as with any new love, first impressions can often deceive you; The Central played with my emotions. The menu - and be warned the online menu is not what you will find when you arrive there - has so much potential and I very much wanted the food to live up to my expectations. My party of three shared grilled calamari with side of salad greens in a light citrus dressing, followed by entrees of grilled mushroom salad with shrimp, a grilled vegetable sandwich with sweet potato fries, and a cheesesteak sandwich with Tom Yum soup, all of which (with three beers) came in at just over $60.
The menu items are not very risky, but still need to be done carefully to be successful. As much as I wanted everything to come out perfectly, it simply did not. First of all, the calamari was a very large serving - so far, so good. But, in grilling it whole, the tips became overcooked and the centre remained undercooked, and there was a hint of burnt charcoal flavour. The grilled vegetables were also overcooked, producing an all-over brown hue, making them completely lose their individuality. The cheesesteak had the right flavour, but again, the beef was slightly overcooked and chewy. Finally, after looking forward to trying one of the desserts in hopes for menu-redemption, like the candied strawberries or the ever-infamous deep fried Mars bars, we were told that all they had available was ice cream. Not so impressive.
While the main dishes and lack of desserts were disappointing, I do have to commend them on a couple of things. All of the side dishes were on-point; the dressing on both the calamari dish, and the mushroom salad were light, flavourful and had a good citrus tang; the sweet potato fries were crispy, and came with a side of a creamy cinnamon dip that was a great alternative to regular ketchup; and the Tom Yum soup was hot, spicy, and a great choice for a chilly December night.
I have decided that The Central could very well become a favourite spot of mine for drinks, and maybe appetizers, but is just not an ideal choice for a full dinner. The venue itself is one that you should check out, and I expect it is only better when the patio is open in the summer. If you don't want to sit in the main bar to listen to the band they have a cozy lounge space upstairs that can be rented for private parties. Also, they clearly take pride in the beverage menu, especially the beer choices. When we had some trouble deciding on a pint, we were offered a sample of a new label on tap called Netherworld, a Flying Monkey brew, which is similar to the popular Mill St. Tankhouse Ale.
I give them an A+ for atmosphere, but only a gold star-for-effort on the menu.
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