Monday 23 October 2017

Enoteca

The view from my bar stool left
something to be desired.
People often ask me if it feels awkward going out alone. For the first time I can honestly say 'sometimes;' entering this restaurant is so weird and the opposite of subtle. You sort of fall through a foyer of curtains right into the centre of the room where you have to stand like an idiot, waiting to be seated. Enoteca is a super small place, so my seating options were limited since I didn't think to make a reso for one on a Wednesday night. I don't find this place to have the same friendly vibe as some of my other favourites and my server seemed to think that I didn't understand what tapas was... but not in a inclusive kind of 'let me help you with this method of dining' kind of customer service that I've sometimes got. Overall, my whole date was off to a deeply uncomfortable start and didn't immediately improve; there was no where for me to put my purse since the bar stools had no backs and I couldn't see any wall hooks. After struggling with the 20,000 league distance between my seat and the floor where my bag was stowed all evening, I did discover the coat-hooks... around the corner and, uh, conveniently located just outside the washrooms. The whole set up of this restaurant is pretty weird; I suspect that the space was used for something dramatically different before it became a tapas place.

Anyway, general discomfort aside, I rather liked the wine menu. Not so much for the specific contents, but I really dug that there were 3oz glass options; I asked the server to follow her heart and just make up some pairings for whatever dish was coming out, which isn't a thing I could probably do with a larger glass size. I mean, I could, but I'd be highly unlikely to remember what I thought of the food or drink when I was finished with the evening. It was a nice way to sample a variety and stay sober-ish, which might be a particularly good thing if you're the kind of person who might drive out to this one. I was only given the wine menu, but I did see beer and spirits up on the wall, so I assume those are options as well.

I followed my tradition of trying the beef tartare. I wasn't a huge fan of how bits of it were 'deconstructed' since it made it hard to kind of put flavours together in a way I might have if the yogurt wasn't a hundred miles from the rest of the dish BUT there was foie gras included with the dish, as opposed to an add-on, which made my day. I think foie gras is one of the most f***ing decadent things that you can eat with tartare, and I liked that the chefs here were inclined to agree with me.

The cauliflower dish I had was so rich and amazing that I understood for a second how it might be possible to consider vegetarianism as a viable lifestyle choice. I didn't love the sablefish, however, as much as the price-tag suggested that I might. In general, I did find that the cost here got in the way of giving this restaurant a really thorough review; there was a huge variety of things I'd love to have tried, but eating more than I did would have been financially impossible. I get that pretty much all the restaurants I review on here are pretty pricey, but this one I really noticed even before I received the final cheque.

Price: $$$
Rating: *½

3 comments:

  1. sorry, I don't understand your review..you gave to the restaurant 1 and 1/2 star over 5?
    the place was pricey but was worth the money?

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    Replies
    1. My ratings for price and quality are out of three :)

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  2. Not sure about your view of this restaurant as I like the design and set up and it was a restaurant before as this is where the Falafel Place used to be...

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