1288
Dundas Street West., Toronto. 416 534 1200. Dinner for four with wine, tax and
tip, $230.
Having
read some great reviews and feedback from foodies that love to dine at this gem
within our city I had to try it out for myself. Luckily my birthday was this
past Friday which was the perfect excuse to go out for an expensive dinner! The
people behind Enoteca Sociale were
the same people that grew love Toronto has for truly Neapolitan pizza from its
sister restaurant, Pizzeria Libretto.
Chef Rocco Agostino’s philosophy behind the menu at Enoteca is inspired by
Roman style cuisine using local seasonal ingredients.
The
atmosphere at Enoteca Sociale is very
relaxing. The tables are all used for diners with reservations along one side
of the restaurant and on the other side is the communal seating for diners that
don’t. The servers are all dressed in black t-shirts with jeans which sets the
restaurant at a very casual but yet not overtly fancy.
The night started off with
ordering a bottle of wine. Our server, Gary who was extremely informative and
accommodating throughout the night recommended 2010 Pinot Bianco Classici from Alto Adige which is located in the
northern part of Italy. This wine has very fresh crisp flavours similar to that
of green apples with a crisp acidity and a clean finish. It went really well
with our meal.
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| Ontario beet salad with baby burrata, pistachio, mint, shaved radish & malt vinaigrette |
We
ordered 3 appetizers to start off with. The first was a roasted Ontario
beet salad with baby burrata, pistachio, mint, shaved radish & malt vinaigrette. When the beet salad
arrived at the table I knew I was going
to enjoy the rest of the evening. The bright purple of the sliced radish, the
pure white colour of the burrata, the nice vibrant lime green of the mint and
the darkness of the radishes was beautifully crafted. These ingredients were
not just thrown onto the plate the chef thought it out carefully placing the
shaved radish and delicately placing the burrata with all the raw ingredients
shining the spotlight onto the cheese. Burrata is a cheese
which is as our server informed us is a cheese that is formed with mozzarella
and cream. The taste and texture of the cheese was familiar of that found in
fresh buffalo mozzarella. The creaminess of the cheese, juiciness of the beets,
sharpness of the mint and crunch of the pistachios really worked out
beautifully. This dish was brilliantly executed and the flavours were very
light on the palate. The dressing was very light which helped shine the light
on the flavours and beauty of the main ingredients in the dish.
 |
| arancini |
The second appetizer ordered was the arancini.
When we asked Gary what the arancini was, we were informed arancini is another
name for rice balls. The rice balls were wonderfully soft and although had the
downfall of being too greasy, however it was not greasy at all. It was
garnished with lightly dressed arugula. One critique I had was that the rice ball was a tad difficult to cut
through however that crust really gave a nice crunch and provided a great
contract between the crunchiness of the rice ball and the softness of the
creamy risotto on the inside. These two appetizers were really delicious and definitely
whet our palates for the secondi, the mains. For our mains three out of the
four of us all ordered different mains just so we can try them all off each
other’s plates.
 |
| bucatini all'amatriciana |
My sister and dad both ordered
the bucatini
all'amatriciana. Growing up I have always loved the thickness of the
bucatini and the chewiness. Bucatini is different from spaghetti because of its
thickness but also because in the centre is a small tube which also helps
absorb some of the sauce. This is a great contrast between the smoothness of
the noodles and the smokiness of the sliced guanciale. This dish was simple but
yet extremely flavourful with the guanciale (smoked pancetta) and chilli kissed
tomato sauce.
My
mom chose the house made orecchiette,
anchovies, rapini, lemon, chili pepper & garlic.
It was extremely tasty and extremely well constructed. This would be similar to
a peasant dish in Rome. This dish resonates simply with the chef’s ideology
behind the menu. Using simple ingredients in a roman way. The pasta was cooked
perfectly. You could taste the freshness of the pasta. Although there were
anchovies in the dish it was not overtly salty but rather accommodated the
pasta well. This dish was dressed lightly with really good extra virgin olive
oil and lemon.
 |
| house made ravioli with ricotta, mascarpone, garlic scape pesto & breadcrumbs |
Lastly,
I ordered the house made ravioli with ricotta, mascarpone,
garlic scape pesto & breadcrumbs. I wanted to have something that
would go down well with a glass of pinot bianco and this dish was perfect. As
our server brought placed the ravioli in front of me I knew this dish was going
to be astounding. The ravioli was delicate and yet as soon as you bite into the
little pillows you taste the creaminess of the ricotta and mascarpone against
the strong flavours garlic is so well known for.
As
any foodie can tell from all the ingredients used in these dishes there are no
real ingredients that have bold flavours. All of these dishes were created with
the intent of the customers to have a glass of wine to accommodate the simple
yet decadent flavours of these humble dishes.
To
finish the evening we ordered a chocolate panna cotta, almond espresso toffee
& orange aperol sauce and we also ordered the chocolate tiramisu. Both of
these desserts were absolutely amazing, the chef definitely knows how to
combine the different textures and tastes of the ingredients he uses. The
orange were both such a nice surprise in both the panna cotta and the tiramisu.
The tiramisu was both dense but yet fluffy at the same time and as I mentioned
before had a little bit of orange zest which really boosted the flavours to a
completely different level. We will definitely be coming back to this restaurant
in the near future.
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