For my birthday, my husband and I celebrated by having dinner at Scarpetta’s only non-US location. Scarpetta, which means “little shoe” or that crusty piece of bread used to soak up sauce at the end of the meal is located at the trendy Thompson Hotel. Founded by celebrity chef Scott Conant, there are also locations in Manhattan, Miami Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.
A trio of spreads/dips for the bread basket
The vibe of the restaurant does have the trendy chic vibe that the city’s fashionistas love, complete with dark coloured walls, dim lighting and high ceilings. The patrons too tend to be part of the more fashionable crowd. You definitely won’t find screaming five year olds there. The food itself is Italian-influenced, with dishes that include polenta, short ribs with risotto and an entire pasta section. There were at least three seafood choices with the mains. A tasting menu of four or five courses is also available (which can be ordered off the regular menu. The courses would be slightly smaller portions of the regular menu). One interesting thing to point out is the bread basket which included one that was stuffed with salami. It was quite a twist to what one might think is a standard elementary school lunch item and in a good way. The breads were warm and were accompanied with a trio of spreads.
Polenta
Farmer’s Market Salad
We chose the four course tasting menu for our dinner. My first course was the farmer’s market salad. The vegetables were fresh and the hazelnuts added crunch to the course. My husband had the polenta and truffled mushrooms, which arrived on a tray with two containers. The server opened the lid of one of them and spooned the mushrooms to the polenta. It definitely had much fancier service!
Spaghetti
For the second course, we both ordered the spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil. Perhaps it’s because this is such a standard dish, but we both found it to be a tad bit weak. The sauce could have been a bit sharper in taste and the pasta a bit more al dente – it was just a little bit overcooked. The portion size was excellent – likely smaller than the standard and therefore perfect for a tasting menu.
Steelhead Trout
Black Angus Strip Loin
The third course was much better prepared. I ordered the steelhead trout, which came with little neck clams, spinach, caramelized fennel and pesto. The flavour was amazing (especially the fennel) and the dish as a whole was fairly light (the lightest on the menu, according to our server). I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the clams had been deshelled. My husband ordered the Black Angus strip loin. Accompanied with roasted potatoes and heirloom vegetables, the beef was, according to him, fairly juicy. Definitely something to consider if you want a main that is a bit more substantial.
Amendei Chocolate Cake
Strawberry Sfoglia
For dessert, I had what the menu listed as strawberry sfoglia – balsamic macerated strawberries accompanied with citrus frozen yogurt. I was expecting a bowl of berries with yogurt on top, but to my pleasant surprise (once again), the dessert was, instead, presented as mille feuille. Because the strawberries and yogurt were both on the tart side, the pastry definitely gave it a contrasting taste. My husband had the amendei chocolate cake (came with burnt-citrus gelato and espresso sauce). Similar to a molten lava chocolate cake, the dessert, though tasty, was a bit more “standard.”
Service-wise, everything was very good very good at describing and recommending dishes as well as answering any questions we had. One little nitpick was that there was quite a wait between the first and second courses. Now that we’ve tried the Toronto restaurant, our next step is to experience and write about the other locations, with the next stop either being New York or Las Vegas. One down, four to go!
