Cava

1560 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 979-9918
Google Map
http://cavarestaurant.ca/

Date: July 21, 2006
Cost: $250 for 4 (tax, tip and 1 drink)
What's on the menu: Tapas menu with flavours from Spain, Italy, France and Mexico, nightly specials
Drinks: Good selection of wines by the glass, cocktails (Mojito, Margarita, Sangria...)
Atmosphere: Casual, rustic feel


"I think Brian is lost!"
"No I'm not... I'm sure it's here......"

Our evening at Cava begins with our search for the restaurant. Car parked and ready to eat, we slowly walked up Yonge St in search of Chris McDonald's new dining venture, Cava. After a few minutes of doubt, we finally find the restaurant tucked away inside the small shopping complex, Delisle Court.

As we walk into the restaurant, we're suprised to find empty tables. Our dining companions, CFO's mom and sister, wonder if we've picked the right place. "It's early..." CFO points out. Undaunted by the lack of people, we take in the ambiance of the restaurant - conrete floors, wood tables, colourless walls... rustic is the theme. The dining room manager greets us and thoughtfully offers us our choice of tables. We pick a window spot just by the bar.

Sitting down, we notice the compactly put place settings. A folded napkin and house-made breadstick all wrapped with a brown sheet. Our waiter for the evening comes by to let us know our neatly folded brown sheet is also our menu.... clever we thought. The menu is tapas inspired with over 30 items that night ranging from popcorn to beef tripe basquaise with seared foie gras ($3.50-$24). We're told the general rule is 3-4 dishes per person. The task of picking 12-16 dishes was no easy feat and our waiter offers to pick a few items for us, but tonight we felt up to the task.
What did we order this night? Too many dishes to go into detail about, but there were a few dishes we loved and a few that we didn't. We were told there would be no particular order to how the dishes would be served, but generally lighter fare was served first followed by the meat courses. Cava did a fine job of keeping the flow of courses consistent, never having to wait long for the next dish or two.

The Full List:

Chipotle-caramel popcorn (served nicely in paper cones)

Grilled flatbread with minty eggplant

Papas fritas

Pinchos of avocado, guindilla & salmon machaca

Salad landaise

Charcuteria

Tuna ceviche tropical style

Grilled octopus with bread salad

Broiled, cider-glazed sablefish with black rice & escarole

Shrimp with favas, toasted garlic & pearl onions

Venison carnitas tamal with an ancho chile-wild plum sauce

Piquillo peppers filled with braised lamb, taro foam

Wild mushroom socca

Porky beans with crispy braised pork belly

Crema catalana foam with leche frita, raspberry compote & an oatmeal tuile

Dessert tapas (churros, vanilla rice pudding & slice of cake)

Chef McDonald slicing Jamón serrano (unfortunately did not order). We saw 4-5 legs of Jamón serrano hanging from the bar.


The good:
Papas Fritas - Crisp fries and served with deep fried sage and rosemary
Salmon Machaca - Salmon nicely marinated and shredded, not too dry
Salad Landaise - Tender gizzards with foie gras adding a nice creamy texture
Tuna Ceviche - Traditional ceviche with tuna served with deep fried taro chips
Charcuteria - House-made chorizo was the hit of this dish. Served with bread and foie gras mousse
Pork Belly - Crispy skin, melt in your mouth pork belly fat
Sablefish - Sweet, moist fish... overwhelming favourite of the night

Not so good:
Piquillo peppers - lacks flavour, but taro foam was nice
Venison - Venison is dry... least favourite at the table
Grilled octopus - Octopus was too salty, but bread salad nicely done
Dessert Tapas - Cake was disappointing


Our eating adventure began with empty tables, but by the end of our meal the restaurant had become a full house. Bustling with activity, runners and waiters/waitresses are seen promptly serving tables - our own table is never left unnoticed. With our stomachs full, we're left to wonder why we never had a meal at Avalon (Chef McDonalds previous undertaking for 11 years and one of Toronto's best fine dining restaurants), sadly we'll never get the chance.

Formalities are finalized (read paid the bill) and we slowly get up to leave. The walk to the car is quietly enjoyable as we take in the surroundings of the pleasant neighbourhood... but we'll be back - it was too good not to.

Approval Rating: