We went here for a birthday dinner, and were...
We went here for a birthday dinner, and were shocked at a place that has such great atmosphere and service could have such mediocre food. We arrived for a 7:30 dinner and were greeted nicely and directed to an elevator to the basement floor where we were seated in a private room with about 10 tables. It was not busy and tables were spaced far enough apart and the décor was fabulous. There as an ornate bar at the end, and the lighting was just right. Our server David was excellent. The owners are greek and you can tell. For starters they bring bread plus a huge tray of olives, with chunks of feta, and jalapeño peppers. We asked for three oysters for me as my wife does not like oyster, and David brought us six – very classy. The restaurant has by far the best wine cellar in Toronto that I am aware of, at least as far as French bordeaux’s were concerned, and they had four sommeliers. Our sommelier was great and recommended a bottle that was $600 less expensive. Everything was going great until the food arrived. The village salads (their greek salad) had no lettuce which is the traditional greek version of a greek salad, but the onion chunks were huge and not sweet onions so it was too tough to handle. My wife ordered the filet, and I order the Kobe beef. First off, they do tell you to order at least one level more well done than any other place, as they don’t cook the meat much, so if you like medium, order medium well, and if you like medium rare, you ask for medium. That’s critical. I love steak and fine Bordeaux and I cannot remember a time in the last five years when I have not finished all my steak and then anything my wife left. Last night, I had to leave about 1/3 my kobe beef, and I should have left a lot more. It was extremely fatty and salty to the point that my stomach was turning. I tried washing it down with water (they have Voss water which is my favorite) and wine, but it was just that rich and salty. My wife’s filet was very average, not much taste at all, and not served overly warm. I tried hers as well, and agree. Not uneatable, but nothing better than I can do on my bbq with a supermarket meat. So in summation, the service was fabulous, ambience excellent, but the food was a big disappointment. We may go back in a year if we see the reviews on Restaurantica improving, but service and ambience aside, the food has to be there, and it was not last night.