Address: 971 Ossington Avenue
Website: http://actinoliterestaurant.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
Actinolite is what I'd imagine Noma to be like -
except with a focus on Canadian ingredients and much friendlier on the wallet.
Like many restaurants they use local suppliers but gone
one step further by starting their own garden. Controlling their food source
allows them to strive for peak freshness by picking ingredients right before
serving. What they don't grow and buy, they forage from the town
of Actinolite (as noted on their website). Somehow knowing that their forging
happens outside of the city was a relief as the thought of eating vegetation
out of the Don River (which may be perfectly safe) was a bit alarming.
There are two menus available, the 7-course Chef
($85) or a 4-course summary ($55). The summary menu offers larger plate sizes,
so you won’t be starving afterwards, but does mean you’ll miss three of the
dishes. During our dinner summary diners would have missed out on the radish,
squid and egg ones - the biggest loss being the egg dish which was a
favourite of my husband and I. Wine pairings are an additional $65 and $40, for
the Chef and summary menus, respectively.
We decided to go with the Chef’s menu which true
to form was seven courses. There are no amuse dishes at Actinolite, just a
slice of sourdough bread with olive oil. At least it's really good sourdough;
crunchy exterior, soft interior and enough salt within the dough that you could
eat it plain.
Next came four spears of the most scrumptiously
grilled asparagus. We were advised it was cooked on a Big Green Egg,
which my husband proceeded to explain is one of the best grills for temperature
precision and its smoking properties. The asparagus was cooked through and hot
yet still crunchy with a light smoky flavour. Served with a nettle puree (a
relatively neutral flavour), cold thick sour cream and spruce flowers this was
a wonderful dish.
Our waitress warned us the squid was chewy, and
she certainly wasn’t wrong as I gnawed on it for a while. Undeniably, the squid’s texture
wasn’t my favourite and personally would have preferred the addition of shrimp
and fish so that it’d be more of a seafood salad and less rubbery. Nonetheless,
it wasn’t a total miss as having been marinated in a tart vinaigrette and
served cold the dish was refreshing. With juniper berries, olive oil and a
flavourful wild ginger gelee we found it almost acted as a palette cleanser.
Eggs are a staple ingredient but when prepared
well can also be luxurious. For this dish, Actinolite poached the egg slowly so
that it arrives gooey and hot in the middle. Topped with light shavings of
summer truffle (a very delicate flavour) and pops of onion from the chive
blossoms it was a lovely egg. Simple wilted spinach surrounded it and helped
mop up every drop of warm yolk that leaked out.
The halibut was perfectly cooked with a
beautiful golden crust and tender meaty interior. I did find the watercress
puree on the bottom overwhelming bitter and was taken aback at first. Luckily,
it was served to the side so I could lift the fish off and enjoy the halibut by
itself. An ingredient I’m starting to get tired of is foam; yes, it’s
decorative but in most cases adds little to the dish itself. At Actinolite
their foam was made with fish stock and what a genius idea as it actually complimented
the fish quite well. Various sprigs of minty herbs accompanied the fish and
although I appreciate the naturalness would have preferred a hot cooked
vegetable (more of the delicious wilted spinach would have been better).
Our last savoury dish of the night was
sweetbread or the sheep’s thymus (neck/throat gland). Lightly floured and pan fried
the sweetbread was fairly good and really just tastes like tender dark chicken
meat. Sitting on a bed of wilted greens and topped with these tart berries the
dish was an interesting mix of sour and salty flavours, with the berries
cutting the fattiness of the sweetbread.
To end, a dish of fresh strawberries with cheese
curds – a seemingly healthier version of strawberries and cream. With sweet
drizzles of elderflower syrup and a delicious hay dust, despite its simple
presentation, this was a satisfying dessert. Every speck of dust, drop of syrup
and crumble of curd was wiped up with the plump sweet strawberries by the end!
Actinolite’s menu is so different from what
you’ll find elsewhere in the city. Dishes are simply presented allowing the
ingredients themselves to be showcased and patrons to enjoy their natural
tastes. Throughout the meal so many different flavour were presented; sour,
bitter, sweet and salty all represented at different times. But, what struck me
most was how perfectly Chef Cournoyer seasons everything; each element was
salted (for my taste) to the right strength to compliment the other
ingredients.
In addition, you still feel good after all seven
courses – the dishes felt healthy and light so I didn’t get a gluttonous
feeling afterwards. It’s also a good choices for vegetarians as so many dishes
featured non-meat ingredients prominently already.
With its small dining room and friendly dressed
down staff the restaurant has a laid back atmosphere. It was comfortable and
made me feel like I was eating in the countryside despite the busy Ossington
street just outside the window. Do yourself a favour and try it once, you may
just fall in love with all the tastes fresh produce has to offer.
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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!
