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| Photo courtesy of Toula Ristorante and Bar |
What better way to dine, than
sky dine?
Recently I had the opportunity to savour the succulent Italian dishes at
Toula Ristorante & Bar located on the 38th Floor of The Westin Harbour Castle.
This is one stunning restaurant!
Offering 360 degree, panoramic views with large windows overlooking the Toronto Skyline or beautiful Lake Ontario, tea light candles on every table and subtle sounds overhead while indulging in delicious Italian delicacies, Toula Ristorante boasts mellow and intimate vibes and a great place to dine for all.
Whether it's a party of two lovebirds, a family or group of friends, you definitely want to try the Toula experience.
To get to the restaurant, you'd have to take the elevator from the main lobby of The Westin Harbour Castle.
They have one specific elevator that you're going to want to take both to and from the restaurant (if you're not afraid of heights). It's the scenic elevator with a large window so that you can see Toronto as you travel up and down.
We arrived just after 6:30PM so it wasn't too dark outdoors yet. Still does not take away from the ravishing view you get from your seat. We had amazing seats facing downtown Toronto.
The reception immediately upon arriving was quick and complaisant. The lady that greeted and seated us was very cordial.
The encounter one gets upon entering a restaurant with reservations should always be like this. Usually tends to be a make or break for me how a staff treats you during your dining experience.
Every staff member was greatly professional and polite.
Just when you enter, you have the bar to your left, a cozy lounge area right in front of you, a gorgeous piano and a wine bar slightly to your right and the seating/tables wrap around the entire restaurant right by the large windows. It's open concept but warm and comforting.
While we ordered, we were served water, complimentary prosecco (
a favourite of mine) and delicious small buns with butter.
Their menu is vast and the dishes were priced in the slightly higher price bracket; however, you are not only paying for the food, you are also paying for the views and overall dining experience.
I still found the prices to be reasonable after receiving our dishes as they were not miserly servings.
And of course, the ingredients to create each dish are all superior quality products.
For appetizers, we ordered Scallops "Lido" and Venetian Tapas Trio “Ciccheti”.
Delizioso!
They were both very good; I especially loved the Scallops Lido. One of my new favourites!
The Scallops "Lido" ($22) is made with East Coast Giant Scallops Seared with Thyme and Chardonnay Essence and topped with Warm Eggplant and Fresh Herb Mousse.
The scallops were indeed quite large, had to cut them in half to eat and the aged balsamic on the side paired so well with everything.
A new CAC favourite!
The Venetian Tapas Trio “Ciccheti” ($18) offered a tasty trio of tapas of thinly-sliced Salmon Sashimi with Capers, Prosciutto with grated fresh Parmigiano and an Insalata Caprese (Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil).
This was very yummy! Paired so well with the prosecco, but would also pair well with a nice white wine.
For the main course, we tried the Seafood Risotto "Via Collalto" and the Triple A Beef Tenderloin Filet Parmigiana Style.
I appreciated how honest and informative our server was when ordering. He knew the dishes very well and explained what each was and what we would expect. That really helped us in choosing what we would go with.
As we waited for our main courses to arrive, we savoured the wonderful view below us.
My order was the Seafood Risotto ($29) which consisted of Mussels, Scallops, Clams, Baby Shrimps in a Toula Secret Risotto Recipe.
It was a very generous serving size. The bowl it was in was deep, so there was a lot put in there.
The seafood was cooked very well with the exception of a few mussels. Some of them were extremely tiny to the point where there was none to eat. I would have loved to have those done better as I love mussels. The shrimps were massive!
The risotto was perfectly al dente and that special sauce... amazing!
The Triple A 8oz Beef Tenderloin Filet ($45) was topped with Parmigiana Cheese, Black Ground Pepper in an Amarone Reduction and served with Sautéed Rapini and Roasted Potatoes.
We ordered it medium-well and it was done perfectly. The beef tenderloin filet was delicious with the fresh Parmigiana, Amarone Reduction and Rapini. The roasted potatoes however we did find to be a tad bland. Would have loved to have a bit more flavour on them and also perhaps a bit more fillers on the side, especially given the price.
For dessert, we ordered the Baked Peach Torte with Hazelnut Gelato.
I really enjoyed this dessert.
The Baked Peach Torte, a rich multi-layered cake, was buttery and scrumptious. Warm and drizzled with a chocolate and caramel drizzle, sprinkled with powdered sugar it was complemented very well with the fresh fruits and especially the hazelnut gelato. Hazelnut gelato is one of my favourite flavours of gelato; I love gelato. This one in particular was absolutely divine!
I highly recommend you try this dessert when you're here at Toula.
We really enjoyed our dishes; they were satisfying and I can tell that the utmost care was taken during preparation.
We were never left to wait for long in between dishes, and asked at the perfect times if we needed anything.
After 8PM when the evening skies dimmed and the lights of the city took over, the atmosphere changes completely in the restaurant. I actually much prefer the later evening dining because of the more romantic atmosphere. Very picturesque!
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| Stunning! |
Isn't it just stunning? Such a lovely difference at night as opposed to the daytime.
It's also a great location to consider for small to mid-sized events. Very chic and your guests would really appreciate the view they get while wining and dining.
We had a marvelous dining experience at Toula and appreciate the accommodations.
I
strongly urge you to reserve a table here for dinner (preferably later
in the evening), if you haven't already. It's a restaurant, that
despite the more extravagant pricing, I would most likely come back to
again and again.
Fabulous atmosphere, exceptional and courteous staff, exquisite dishes and one of the best Dining Views in the City!
To learn more about Toula Ristorante and Bar, visit them at
www.toularestaurant.com.
