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| - Great restaurant with some outstanding dishes and other very good dishes. It's pretty trendy inside without being scene-y. It's at the end of the stretch of Queen East that's lined with restaurants and bars...so it avoids being overcrowded.
As you can imagine from the name, the place is stripped down but stylish. Rustic, industrial, dressed in neutrals and candlelight. The front dining room is quite small with a few windowside tables. The bar connects the restaurant to the rear dining room, and is quite long and very romantic-appearing. In the summer, the front dining room is quite preferable because the breeze and light are inspiring, but in the winter I can imagine the darker and more cozy dining area in the back (away from the door!) being more appealing. I'd go here just to sit at the bar. The collection of spirits and wine were impressively showcased in a beautiful wooden display shelf.
We went with the chef's tasting menu for $38 pp, which is kind of fun on one hand, but maybe not on the other hand if there are certain things on the menu you definitely want. Everything is priced reasonably. The tasting started out with the croquettes and kale + smoked salmon salad. Both were phenomenal. The croquettes could have used a tad more flavor, but the salad was remarkable. The amount of flavor that was infused into each bite of kale blew me away; slightly tart and also salty. Perfectly complemented the salmon. The charred green beans were next, and they probably were the highlight of the meal for me. The beans were done to perfection, with some sea salt and a small amount of smoky char on the surface. They lay on top of a romesco sauce that puzzled me with its deliciousness. Typically made from red tomatoes, Romesco has never been on my radar as a fave, but this puree was different: roasted green tomatoes, olive oil, almonds and bread crumbs were combined into a a thick sauce that was just bursting with flavor. I couldn't get over it! Definitely order this! Our next dish was the pork and ricotta meatballs. They were good. I wasn't ready to wet my pants over them like the green beans, though. The biggest letdown was the main dish - the cornish hen with serrano peppers, chorizo and corn. The chorizo and corn mix was AWESOME. The cornish hens, meh. Kind of bland themselves. I wish they'd offered us two entrees for the Chef's tasting instead of one. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding.
In all, this restaurant excels on many levels. I was excited by how unique some of the flavors were. The atmosphere hit my "date night" ideal on the head: casual, stylish, relaxed and full of air + light. The service was the best I've had in a long time. With a little tweaking, this place could be really awesome. Looking to go back!
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