Toronto – As I arrived at the final destination for my cross country road trip Summer 2011. Now this calls for a celebration. Scarpetta @ King West is an eclectic contemporary venue that is touched by the Celebrity Chef Scott Conant. My experience with Toronto was somewhat negative, this town is filled with overpriced restaurant that offers cuisine with “less'” soul. Will my beloved Scott Conant changed this image for me?
The Trio Bread dips.
The restaurant offers variety bread basket. Definitely a plus with the fine dining experience, accompanied with the bread is the Trip Bread dips. Fancy infused Olive oil, tomato sauce eggplant, and mascarpone butter. Everything is delicious. The light dipping really opens up the taste buds and stimulate the appetite.
Creamy Polenta /w Fricassee of truffle mushrooms
This dish is to die for. The pure polenta is drizzle with the fricassee of truffle mushrooms (in simple term some kind of gravy). The creaminess of the polenta takes in the sauce completely. The truffle infused fricassee in combination of the mushroom is definitely a killer.
Grilled Mediterranean Octopus
The Grilled Mediterranean Octopus also has a very nice touch to it. Lightly salted in combination of the citrus sauce. It gives the Octopus a nice edge, show casing the sweetness of the octopus meat. Everything is in harmony and balanced. Yum!
Orecchiette /w favas & mint … exceptional refreshing with fresh favas
Slow Roasted Halibut /w asaparagus, wild mushrooms & charred ramp vinaigrette
Mediterranean Branzino /w farro seafood ragu
The two fish dishes are truly exceptional. This restaurant really know how to make their fish to perfection. Nice and tender with no excessive coating whatsoever. The fish’s freshness level is Exceptional. I didn’t even know there is such freshness ingredient in Toronto. The meat is nice and tender and the sauce is yet another perfection marriage.
The seafood ragu is quite interested. Packed with the ocean flavor yet it is quite light in taste. It is very refreshing for anyone that likes their meal light.
42 days dry aged strip loin
The grand finale, the steak! The portion is quite impressing, the steak is perfectly aged. The flavor is completely brings out. However, they grill the steak in a gradient pattern. (increasing rareness) It is quite fancy BUT the grilling side is completely dry and old. Making the steak so hard chew. One side of the steak is over cook and the hardness of the meat actually counterfeit flavor of the meat. What I had to do is split apart the rare meat and enjoyed it alone and pour the remainder of Fricassee of truffle mushrooms over the well-done meat to increase moistness. It works out great but it is quite disappointing.
In conclusion, Scarpetta offers soulful cuisine to the Toronto area. The appetizer and fish definitely sweeps me away. I really enjoyed the open lounge as you walk in the restaurant. Even if the restaurant is overloaded, I think the customer could feel quite comfortable hanging out at this area. (see picture 1)
Worth the drive? Yes! Go for the fish, and his famous spaghetti
Food: 24/30
Decoration: 25/30
Service: 25/30
Price: $50+
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