I’ve always liked Tutti Matti, but I have to say my last visit was better than ever.

Maybe it was the company, because joining me on a Monday evening was one of my all-time favourite people and definitely one of my formative food influences - the most culinarily discriminating A.  A and I arrived about ten minutes late for our dinner rez because we’d gotten rather wrapped up in cocktailing at the Hyatt. Still, we were greeted hospitably and soon found ourselves warming up at a comfortable table.

We needed some help with the wine list, which is predominantly Italian, a wine country whose Byzantine complexity has prevented me from yet gaining much familiarity or expertise with their offerings. Our server was great and asked all of the right leading questions to help us settle on a Tuscan white the particulars of which totally escape me — but it was lovely going down!

We started with the crostini misto — three generous portions, perfect for sharing. The first saw buffalo mozzarella melted on top of a heap of garlic-y spinach. Second, taleggio cheese was presented with walnuts and pear (difficult to eat, but delicious none the less). Finally, a very simple presentation of prosciutto with olive oil was a predictable favourite. Prices on the apps at Tutti Matti were slightly higher than I recalled, with most everything in the $15-20 range. Still, it’s obviously that TM is using high quality ingredients and servings were generous enough that even sharing, A and I each left bits on our respective plates.

Mains were quite superb. After some deliberation, we both opted for pasta. My papardelle with brisket saw thick, flat noodles enriched with flavourful and supple meat, garnished with cherry tomatoes and garlic. The dish was hearty, but prepared with a deftness that forbid it to overwhelm.

A’s tagliatelle con funghi was spiked with truffle paté and had a rich and earthy flavour.

Our server seemed genuinely committed to helping us navigate the menu to find exactly what suited our mood that evening, and her passion was technical and expert without being at all pretentious.

Desserts were fantastique — a happy thing given that A and I are both sugar hounds. Chocolate fans, we opted to wait 15-20 minutes for a molten chocolate cake. The cake was baked with bananas and presented with some house-made banana ice dream (ahem… “ice cream” — a Freudian slip in my initial draft interesting enough for preservation).

Still, the chocolate was surprisingly upstaged by a superlative lemon tart — dynamite shortbread crust, tangy lemon filling and just the right coulis to garnish.

Finally, I can’t help but make mention of TM’s peppermint tea. Peppermint — you know, the leaves, the real thing. We were counseled to let to it sit for a while to get the full flavour, and it was delightful.

Service was expert and passionate without being know-it-all or condescending. Moreover, we closed the place without feeling at all rushed. Toronto Life recently reviewed TM and gave it 1.5 stars. I think it deserves more.  I was left wondering why we don’t come here more often?

www.tuttimatti.com 

Posted on December 17th, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Toronto, Restaurant Reviews