Rabbit Reporting

The worst restaurant meal I have had in Toronto was at Summerlicious. Our party was made to feel cheap, bothersome and ignorant despite racking up a considerable bill. Food was burnt, dishes were stacking on a sideboard, and the absolute bottom was when our server uncorked a bottle of wine and plunked it in the middle of the table in such rude manner that four of us stared at each other for about a minute and a half before we registered that we had to pour it ourselves. I vowed never to return to another “’licious” event. But some of Toronto’s best restos were getting some more than decent reviews on the food boards so I decided to give it another go.

We booked last-minute at Tutti Matti on a Wednesday evening. They were open and accommodating, so we arrived for dinner at about 7:30. We were seated immediately at a banqueted table with a nice view of the open kitchen (good for spying on food options before ordering).

I’ve been to TM before, and I think that this is one of the best dining secrets in the Entertainment District. This pretty bistro has good-for-dates lighting, a cozy vibe, and very authentic Tuscan food. But more to the point, their Winterlicious offerings are quite respectable.

Starters were very strong — the wild mushroom zuppa was wonderfully flavourful, thick and hearty, with really rustic appeal (this is no simper-y cream of mushroom soup).

We also tried the beef carpaccio, plated with arugula and large shards of parmigiano, and dressed with oil and lemon.

Both of these servings were very generous. Everything was going down quite nicely with some by-the-glass Umbrian red. And some rather ordinary baguette was serviceable enough for mopping up.

Second, we opted for the suckling pig with apricots and chestnuts.

The meat was very tender and some roasted potatoes were a nice accompaniment. The tuna alla puttanesca was a disappoint — a little too thin, a little too gray and a little too oily (overdressed). But I liked the imaginative sides (barley and some fennel).

We wished that we’d opted instead for one of the pastas —the fettucine with mushrooms looked particularly good. The mains were small, and I could see a big eater being dissatisfied, but mains at Tutti Matti have been on the smallish side, in my experience, and I actually prefer this to be overloaded with food (as long as small doesn’t verge in insulting or ridiculous, which this didn’t).

Dessert was a chocolate cake, rich and dark, although without much of the promised caramelized banana (they were in there, just not-much) — Mr. Rabbit wasn’t even aware there was banana in the cake until I alerted him to a bit of evidence.

The fruit cobbler was apple, with nicely spiced fruit and a pleasant oat-y crust. Both of these desserts were Winterlicious sized (read: small) but they were flavourful, nice foils to one another, and attractively plated. Also, they weren’t ice cream or sorbet, which many Winterlicious restaurants are rather unimaginatively resorting to as dessert options.

The restaurant was not entirely full, but it was busy. Service was sometimes slow, and by times seemed a little tense, but everything remained quite ostensibly friendly and we did not feel at all rushed.

Four glasses of wine and an espresso avec dessert (which Mr. Rabbit, a coffee geek, reported was very good) brought our cheque to $112 (Winterlicious dinner is $25 at TM).

One footnote — TM has added the gratuity to the cheque for winterlicious, which I think is a little underhanded, especially since nobody actually mentioned this. Had it been me (because I’m not a careful accountant and it was getting late-ish), I would probably have tipped on top of the bill. Good thing Mr.Rab was footing the bill last night (he’s a cheque checker).

All in all, a very reasonable performance — I feel fine recommending.

Posted on February 1st, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Toronto, Restaurant Reviews