Address: 2 Broadway Avenue
Website: http://www.sipwinebar.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner
Newly opened
on a quiet street close to Yonge and Eglinton, Sip Wine Bar already has quite
the following as seen by the packed restaurant during a Saturday visit. Their
décor is simplistic with wooden tables, exposed cream bricks and tons of light
bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Aside from the dining room on the main floor,
the restaurant offers a private dining area downstairs (with its own bar) that
would be perfect for parties.
With tons of
delicious sounding items on the menu, my friends and I decided to order a selection
of dishes and share family style. First up was the fittura mista ($15.95) or
deep fried shrimp and calamari. Arriving piping hot we couldn’t get enough of
these lightly dusted nuggets of salty seafood. Of course, things that are deep
fried are inherently delicious, but these shrimp and calamari were tender and
didn’t feel too greasy or heavy.
On the other
hand, the polpette di Luisa ($8.95) or meatballs with tomato sauce was a bit
lackluster – possibly because I ate this second. Served lukewarm it didn’t have
the same freshly made feel of the fittura mista; to me it seemed like they were
spooned out of heating dish with spring mix tossed on the side. The meatballs
and sauce itself tasted decent, but could have benefited from some cheese
and/or herbs sprinkled on top.
We had to try
their pizzas, given Sip’s AVPN accredited status (essentially an association
that sets up regulations to ensure the standards of making Neapolitan pizza is
maintained). The first was the capricciosa ($16.99) a pizza loaded with
mushrooms, prosciutto, artichokes, olives, mozzarella and basil. The crust was
certainly Neapolitan with the blistered pockets of dough and paper thin crust.
But, the amount of tomato sauce was a bit too generous making the middle soggy
and causing the ingredients to slide off when you tried to move a slice onto
the plate. Nonetheless, the toppings were abundant and flavours good if you
don’t mind a mushy crust.
For a white
pizza (olive oil rather than tomato sauce based), we tried the funghi porcini
($18.99) which was more simplistic highlighting porcinis with mozzarella,
parmigiano, tomatoes and basil. In this case there was no soggy crust but the
pizza also lacked flavour. Certainly you wouldn’t want to overwhelm the pizza
and cover up the porcini’s woodsy taste, but even an additional drizzle of
olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt prior to serving would have been
appreciated.
The gnocchi
alla trevigiana ($16.95) was absolutely delicious. First off, Sip nailed the
gnocchi texture I covet – soft and doughy yet still hard enough to have some
bite so that it resembles pasta rather than mushy dough. Tssed a light
gorgonzola cream sauce the hot pieces of gnocchi had just enough sauce to
flavour it without being overly heavy. This would definitely be a dish I’d
order again.
Sadly, their
tiramisu was sold out by the time we arrived at the desserts. Instead, we ordered the white chocolate
cheesecake ($8.99) and the crème brulee ($9.95). The cheesecake was rich and
had a great flavour – a mix of caramel and chocolate. Sip’s dessert chef does
need to get the chocolate cookie base thinner; at almost ¾ inch thick we struggled
to break through it so the cheesecake mixture ended up falling off. Then when
it was eaten together the abundance of crust overwhelmed to smooth cheese base.
However, the
cheesecake was a better choice than the crème brulee which arrived cold, had an
uneven sugar crust (although in the centre was nice and thin) and the crème
itself fairly watery. Again it had a nice vanilla flavour, but the execution
needs some improvement.
Most of the
media articles written about Sip focuses on their pizzas. But from our visit,
my friends and I agree their other dishes are much better; even from scoping
the table beside the lamb chop and chicken dishes looked appetizing. We were
advised by our helpful waitress that Sip has a patio out front in the summer so
a return visit may be in order to sample their pasta and meat dishes while
enjoying a lovely summer evening outside.
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
