Home of Toronto’s molecular wunderkind, Claudio Aprile, and where I ate my dinner last Saturday. The space is an edgy blend of old and new with distressed walls, antique looking light fixtures yet a modern bar with comfy, sleek stools and huge windows fore and aft to open the space. Having last eaten at Senses years ago with Chef Aprile at the helm, one meal being very good and he other being mediocre, I curious to see if Toronto’s newest buzz place would deliver. The menu features small to medium sized plates for you to compose your own tasting or they feature a tasting menu for you to indulge in. We showed up as walk-ins and took seating at the bar. The wine list is small but competent. Nice touches being a selection of Sake and a nice selection of wine available by quarto. The list was value priced as well - for a Canadian list that is.
(the pics are lousy, I apologize)
Tuna Sashimi + Tartare + ginger caviar + radish + yuzu + crispy garlic + shiso + cauliflower + frozen soy sauce powder
Sashimi as good as I’ve had anywhere over delicate tartare. The secondary elements allowing you to make small and different morsels of food. The soy sauce powder was a very playful element.
Hibiscus and salt cured foie gras + apricot terrine + freeze dried apricots + warm brioche + spiced yoghurt + hibiscus puree
The foie was a little understated – lacking in actual foie flavor and richness. The texture was akin to a foie mousse with a high butter content. The purees were fantastic though – what concentration of flavor!
Crispy Wokked Squid + caramelized peanut + asian pear + green peppercorn + Chinese sausage + grapefruit + mango
I could have eaten a pound of this. Perfectly balance heat + sweet + salt. The squid was cooked perfectly – tender, yet lightly toothsome. The mango in the dish was a house made ketchup that lent a prefect amount of sweetness. Personal fave
Pumpkin gnudi + romesca + fresh pasta + reggiano + wilted greens
Another incredible dish – Gnudi as light a feather with some wilted rapini under a sheet of fresh pasta, a very bright romesca sauce and shaved grano padano curls. A little dried olive as garnish and a tuile of reggiano parm. Personal fave
Beef Tenderloin + slow and soft poached egg + chorizo + fondant potato + smoked salt + steak sauce jelly + Yukon gold puree + mustard paper
The beef was a little dry and the egg was slightly overcooked. If they did the egg sous vide, the yolk wasn’t as translucent as others I’ve had – maybe too high temp. The beef was marinated in soy and sake – the flavor was good but not spectacular. The potatoes are both outstanding and kudos with the mustard paper and steak sauce jelly.
Peking duck in two forms + asian pancake + preserved plums + tatsoi + spicy black bean
The duck breast was very tender and succulent; the crispy skin was delicious as well. The plums were very good but the pancake was more like a regular pancake with sesame seeds. Didn’t go well with the other ingredients.
Desserts
Yuzu parfait + green tea and coconut tapioca + sesame cake + sweet red bean
The light as air mousse surrounds the tapioca – very tasty. When this dish was presented, I was told that once I cut into the parfait the tapioca would ooze out and I would use the sesame cake to dip. It was firm and didn’t flow out but I love the flavor and texture nonetheless
Chocolate Bar + smoked cream + frozen chocolate powder + banana brulee + ice cream
The chocolate was rich and intense flavor as was the chocolate powder. The banana and smoked cream were more of an afterthought and didn’t detract but didn’t really enhance. The banana was raw and bruleed on the end.
Lemon Tart + lemon verbena sorbet + citrus chamomile foam
Good but not great. The lemon curd was nice and tart but I didn’t really care for the foam. The chamomile and citrus were clashing for some reason
A nice little finish was a frozen tablet on the Chef’s take iced coffee (it's the invisible thing in the washed out picture)
Frozen in liquid nitrogen, a milk coated tablet of coffee that melted in your mouth. It came out over a halloweeny vessel filled with liquid nitrogen as well. The server was a riot "Please don't eat what's in the bowl beneath, you'll die"
In conclusion, it was a great meal. Compared to the meal at Canoe the previous night – I received much more for less – more food, more wine, more service, and more culinary talent. A must revisit and will definitely do the kitchen table next time.
