When making reservations in the Old Port at an Italian restaurant, I was a bit pessimistic of the price-quality ratio we would be getting. I’ve been to too many beautiful and pricy restaurants in the area that were all fluff. Fortunately, we were quite pleased with our experience. Even though the price was in fact relatively high, the food was all-in-all beautiful! We came in 20 minutes before the set time, so our table wasn’t quite ready. We decided to wait it out at the bar. The ambience was really one of a modern osteria one would find in Italy: elegant without being too pretentious. At the bar we ordered a mojito and a glass of suave. Both were delightful. We noticed right away that service was slow…. but in a good way. Nothing was rushed. This is very much in the Mediterranean mindset. When time came to get to our table, we were already in relaxation mode. The menu is very much authentic not only in the dishes themselves, but in the way the courses are set up (antipasti, primi, secondi, etc.). This was a very good sign! We ordered the following:
Antipasti:
- Bread with Italian extra-virgin olive oil
- Caponata sicliliana
- Veal-parmiggiano meatballs in tomato sauce
Primi:
- Homemade ricotta gnocchi in tomato sauce
Secondi:
- Roast chicken with salsa verde
Contorni
- Spinach in butter
- Roasted rosemary potatoes
- Rapini with garlic and olive oil
Dolci & caffè
- Semi-fredo with homemade almond-amaretto biscotto
- Espressi
The bread was proper Italian bread, and the olive oil was clearly southern, bitter yet sweet Italian olive oil. YUM!
The caponata, which came on a toasted piece of Italian bread, although not quite authentic, was absolutely delicious. Even if it was more of a cold eggplant salad then a caponata, the texture and taste were right on.
The meatballs were very cheesy, but when you are using Parmiggiano Reggiano, you can afford to over-do it! The tomato sauce was also to die for!
The homemade gnocchi also really blew us away. The fresh ricotta pasta clouds of heaven simply melted in our mouths, and again, the tomato sauce was amazing and clearly fresh.
The roasted chicken was so juicy that it couldn’t have been real. It was actually half a chicken and we were warned upon ordering that it would take about 20-30 minutes to make. We gladly accepted the time frame, as we knew it would be fresh, thus worth waiting for. Also, we wanted a dining experience and not a quick bite. The skin was crispy and lightly coated in what we believe was a tomato-olive-hot pepper paste, but it was very subtle. Whatever it was, all I have to say is WOW. On top of the chicken, was a beautiful salsa verde of capers and parsley, which completed the dish perfectly.
The roasted potatoes were exactly like those you would find in any restaurant in Italy: full of rosemary flavor, with a golden crust. What can I say, I love a good potato!
Just as we were convinced this osteria was without flaw, the spinach and rapini came. We were very disappointed to bite into crunchy, undercooked, very very bitter greens. Italians love their veggies, but they are always cooked through. Enough time in the pot makes greens buttery, luscious, and less bitter. We could not finish the ones we were given. Next time, I will definitely ask for “well-cooked” greens. This extra step is worth it as the seasoning was perfect and a few more minutes of extra cooking time would have made them worthy accompaniments. The North American palate might demand crunchy vegetables, but that is not the way my Sicilian nonni or Parisian maman ever made them!
There is no set dessert menu, which is a real shame because the semi fredo was probably, without exaggeration, the best dessert I’ve ever tasted! It should be a permanent fixture! I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but this dessert was so light and airy, and creamy, and not at all overly sweet, that I could have eaten 4 or 5! The best way I can describe it is a combo of lemony mascarpone gelato and whipped cream. It came with a homemade cantuccino-like cookie (but much softer) flavored with almonds and amaretto. Seriously amazing!
The espressi were good in quality but took a while to come. We were told that there was a cappucini line-up at the machine. Both crunchy veggies and cappucini after 10 AM simply wouldn’t have flown in Italy. I guess these little faux-pas were a good thing… otherwise we might of actually thought we were in Italia…
SCORE: 4.5/5
