Dealicious: Vittorio's on Avenue

The offer: $20 for $50 Worth of Lobster, Seafood and Fine Italian Cuisine from Vittorio's on Avenue in Yorkville

What I value in a good restaurant experience: convenient location, good service, pleasant atmosphere, reasonable prices and deliciousness (in no particular order - although tastiness is pretty key).

Location: Avenue and Davenport

This was a bit of a hike north of Bloor, but in normal weather conditions this isn't out of the way at all. The restaurant has recently relocated to Yorkville and is just a short walk north of Hazelton Lanes.

Service: Great service; very attentive staff

After switching tables twice, I was sure they were going to ignore us. But who puts armchairs (like office furniture) at a high table? We had to switch! Anyway, the waiters were all great, and various people kept coming by to fill up our water (rare!), pour the wine and clear plates regularly.

Atmosphere: Warm ambiance 

Upon arrival at 7pm, the dining room was dark with lots of candles around. The tables were quite close together, but it didn't seem to affect the overall dining experience - although it was somewhat difficult to fit everything onto the table. By mid-meal, a musician had begun serenading various tables with spanish-flamenco (??) type music.  Isn't this an Italian restaurant? Oh well. It was quite pleasant, although another patron seemed to be giving the guy a hard time about his performance. She was a cranky old bird, because we sang along when he came by our table and sang Brown Eyed Girl and various Enrique Iglesius (??) songs...

Prices: On the high side

The prices are typical of Yorkville, however quite reasonable given the quality and presentation of the food. I would certainly return for the prix-fixe menu in the future, and maybe even a full meal on another day if I didn't have a voucher; the vouchers make the prices a bit more tolerable.

Deliciousness: Exceeded my expectations.

Sometimes seafood is a bad choice, however I took a chance because this place seems to talk about seafood a lot on their website and in their specials menu. The appetizer included three amazing scallops, and my main was a half lobster stuffed with wild mushroom risotto. Yay! All selections were fantastic and very pretty! I should also mention that the rosemary and sea salt (I think?) bread was so amazing that we ordered a second one. The tiramisu was good, but not as amazing as the one at Grazie! :)

Overall value: Excellent! The deal came up again on Dealicious and I purchased three more vouchers. I'm also interested in the non-voucher deals, such as Date Night Tuesday - This looks like a tasty menu, so I'm excited to try it!

Food: Tortilla Flats

Walking along Queen West, there was a delicious deep fried smell in the air... it was Tortilla Flats. Now, before you judge or read any (bad) online reviews, pause for a moment and read on. 

I don't generally guess my way through Toronto restaurants - I like to do some research before settling on a place. I'd never heard of Tortilla Flats before, and I don't remember ever having good tex-mex anywhere in Toronto.

Date visited: February 18th, 2011

There seemed to be a few groups inside, and they told us we could sit anywhere. A server quickly came by and asked us about drinks. He took a while to come back, but when he did, he apologized for the wait. Were we waiting? I didn't really even really think about it, but appreciated the apology anyway.

After a number of questions and requests for recommendations, I had a few thoughts...  I like reinforcement that I've made a good menu selection. I've ordered a lot of disgusting things from restaurants and been disappointed, and I wish someone had been honest enough to tell me I'd made a bad choice! For example, I really wanted the "Kitchen Sink Dip", because it seemed to have everything I could ever want in a tex-mex layered dip - refried beans, guacamole, salsa, chili, cheeses...the guy didn't really offer any feedback.

Tasty: Kitchen Sink Dip & Tortilla Chips

But when I asked for an entree suggestion because I was torn between Flautas and the Enchilada, he said the Flautas were horrible and to not order them! Okay...perfect. The enchilada was very fresh tasting and had acceptable chicken chunks. No objectionable chicken bits here... I could have done without the side of yellow rice though. I meant to omit that, but forgot. It wasn't bad, there was just too much food.

I also enjoyed a good margarita with crushed ice - not too sweet/sour and just the right amount of tequila. I wish it had been Margarita Thursday.

So, I must say the prices were reasonable, and the service was great. Again, I will say that most of the time I'm unimpressed with restaurant service in the city, and don't usually expect anything. When the experience is good, I'm pleasantly surprised and offer a good tip.

The food, tasty beverage and relaxed atmosphere all contributed to a lovely adventure in food...I would definitely return to this place, despite what you may read on Urban Spoon. It had a lot of bad reviews, but I'd give it another go. Until my next visit is a total bust, I stand by my recommendation!

Final thought: Eat there!

Food: Spacco Restaurant and Bar

We were actually hoping to get into Grazie, but as usual, there was a one hour wait. It usually doesn't take that long, and even it it does it's always worth the wait.

Nonetheless, it seemed like a good time to try out another place - preferably something Italian, or at least with some sort of pasta offering. My UrbanSpoon iPhone app told me that Spacco was in the area, and I remembered a daily Groupon offer that kept coming up this year. Note: There was no Groupon offer at the time, probably because it was Christmas week! 

Date visited: December 29th, 2011

The location is sort of hidden away behind Alleycatz on Yonge Street, so it's easy to miss. Despite the fact that it was 6-something in the evening, there didn't seem to be a line of any kind, and only one other set of people already dining. Red flag? The host that seated us was full of energy (but not too much energy!), and gave us a few seating options. We had some time to review the menu, and he quickly came by with wine recommendations. I wasn't planning to have a glass, but felt compelled to order one based on his suggestions. So far, so good!

After further review of the entrees, he came by again and provided further recommendations on the best pasta and risotto options. This helped narrow things down, and I was confident that I has chosen something I would like - Mushroom Pappardelle. No protein? So what? - it had truffle oil. Amazing. Sometimes pasta's suffer because the sauces are flavourless, or there isn't enough "stuff" in them. I was nervous about the olive oil, because that usually sucks. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle flavours of the various mushrooms, which were complemented with just the right amount of truffle oil... no lack of flavour here.  

I was also glad that our server came by soon after a large party came in to ensure that our orders made it to the kitchen first. This kind of service warrants a good tip, in a city where pleasant dining experiences are few and far between. I would certainly recommend Spacco to a friend.

Based on the excellent service and quality food, I would definitely return to this place. I can't believe I've never been there before - it's worth a try!

Final thought: Eat there!