For our third anniversary, the Rabbitz enjoyed vacation in the city.  We booked into the Park Hyatt and enjoyed a little shopping, afternoon cocktail-ing, and dinner at Mistura.

The Park Hyatt is probably my favourite Toronto hotel. I like the way the lobby doors spring open with Tokyo efficiency, the Stillwater Spa is perfectly plush, and the Roof Lounge makes us want to drink like Scott and Zelda. Located on the top storey of the hotel’s South tower, the Roof has a fantastic view of the city, with a south-facing terrace which was the best spot in the city for watching ROM construction. In the winter they often have a fire burning, and there are always snackies. I confess: I’m a sucker for a little tray of olives and almonds. But most importantly the mixology is absolutely respectable.

In an attempt to medicate before being dragged to Holt Renfrew for the afternoon, Mr. Rabbit drank Gin Collins while I sipped Negronis. The drinks were unimpeachable  as always and the snacking was pleasant. In addition to the regular almonds and spicy olives, we enjoyed some dried pineapple — a nice summer touch.

After our shopping excursion, Mr. went for a run to pre-empt the dinner binge and I scouted the neighbourhood for potential restaurant options. We’d foolishly neglected to make a dinner reservation, and given that this was a Saturday I had some concern that the options would be limited. Fortunately, we were able to find an opening at Mistura.

Mistura is an upscale Italian resto at Bloor and Davenport. The dining room has a casual-money-d formality with wide tables spaced sufficiently for intimate conversation. Our affable server presented some bread and helped us pick a bottle of vino while we studied our menus. Toward the end of the evening, we had a discussion of Italian red with this person and he was a charming font of knowledge, even writing down his secret value-priced LCBO fave for us before we left (we also drank an Italian red with our meal… it’s been too long for me to remember the particulars. I do remember that while it wasn’t crazy, I wouldn’t call it value-priced).

Since we’d been snacking before dinner, we opted to share a starter and chose the wild boar agnolotti with dried cherries and brown butter. This dish is a total winner, and I would have been happy to eat nothing else all night. Three plump pillows of pasta had significant gravitas but did not overwhelm even while marrying with succulent cherries and a delicious butter sauce.

 Mains also easily met expectations.  Mr. Rab opted for the Rabbit (hmmm) which presented a generous and well prepared cut of haunch in a light broth with summer veg. We were pleasantly surprised by the delicacy of this dish.

My pork entrée definitely had more heft. A very substantial serving of pork rested atop some veg and a lovely corn cake. This was a hearty, rustic dish and I think a larger appetite would have been equally satisfied.

For dessert, we opted to share the raspberry tiramisu.  Again, Mistura really got it right. Their summer-y rendition of the Italian classic had a lemon-y base and managed a light-ness while still demanding proper recognition as dessert(!).  A slight demerit for presentation here since they plated with a schmear of raspberry sauce. I hate the schmear because I find it reminiscent of… well, you get it (at least it wasn’t brown).

Alors, here’s my final comment on Mistura…. This place did not let me down. Even writing this review literally months beyond the meal, I still recall the perfection and pleasure of their best dishes. And yet there’s something about Mistura that I have trouble getting behind. I think it’s solid, and it undoubtedly deserves its stellar reputation, and yet every time I’m here I feel like I’m at a “fancy” “Toronto” restaurant for affluent 905-ers.

PS – Mistura has an upstairs sister-resto called Sopra which is a sexy, upscale jazz club —and quite unlike anything else I think Toronto has on offer. I really like this space and suspect I would have preferred dinner in that room.

Posted on August 8th, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Toronto, Restaurant Reviews