Ovest Cucina E Vineria
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Modern
Italian cuisine and fine wines are bountiful at the King West,
cantina-inspired, Ovest restaurant. This
cozy 120-seat space offers high ceilings, an illuminated bar, wine display, industrial
flair, dimmed-hanging lighting and an extensive food and drink menu to take
your palette on a tantalizing journey. The
menu is categorized into antipasto, salumi e formaggi, pizza, pasta, main
dishes, sides and desserts.
Executive
Chef, Danylo Mielnik, creates authentic Italian dishes with innovative twists
using local and seasonal ingredients. He
has added some excellent additions to the already vast menu and I recently
attended a media preview dinner to try some of it out.
Tartar di Manzo - raw beef, caper, olive, shallot, arugula, egg, parmigiano
Fragola e Basilico - strawberry, baby spinach, basil, local ricotta di bufala, pistachio
Caprese di Tonno - raw albacore tuna, local mozzarella di bufala, basil pesto, crispy caper
Cavatelli - hand cranked semolina pasta, n'duja, rapini, garlic, pecorino
Gnocchi al Pomodoro - hand rolled potato gnocchi, Barese cherry tomato sauce with local ricotta di bufala
Giardino - San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, basil, spinach, roasted red pepper, ricotta salata
Merluzzo - B.C. black cod, sweet pea puree, confit cherry tomato, squid ink
Porchettina - 24-hour sous vide Niagara pork shoulder, porchetta spices, beet and fennel purée
Crème brûlée,Tiramisu, Sicilian cannoli filling, Nutella mousse and Amarena cherries with puff pastry twists
The highlights
for me were the caprese di tonno, cavatelli, gnocchi, and tiramisu. The caprese was an interesting take
on the regular caprese salad. The fresh
tuna with basil pesto really made this dish refreshing and light. It was easy
to eat and a perfect start before the main dishes.
The cavatelli and gnocchi were both really
well-done pasta dishes. The fresh pasta
and sauces were evident in texture and flavour and every ingredient came together
fabulously. I really loved the spice in
the cavatellii thanks to the n'duja.
The dessert we had was quite extravagant! The pastry chefs went all
out and decided to create the dessert items right on the table. The live dessert making was impressively entertaining
and beautifully orchestrated. It was
almost too pretty to eat but I really mowed down on the fresh and creamy tiramisu.
My least favourite dish was the black cod. Maybe I’m spoiled because I have had many amazing buttery black cod dishes before but unfortunately this one seemed a bit overcooked and lacked flavour.
All of our dishes were paired with some fantastic vintage wines which really made the whole dining experience come together perfectly.
I had a
wonderful time at Ovest and am really glad I discovered this Italian gem. Ovest makes the perfect dining experience for
those looking for a cozy ambiance with absolutely fresh and flavourful Italian
cuisine and an array of exclusive wines.
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