Like any good Italian restaurant, you won’t leave Padella hungry. Even as we sipped on wine, a basket of freshly toasted bread and a small bowl of delicious pickled beans arrived, something that even people waiting by the bar were nibbling on.
To avoid
sounding repetitive, I found Padella best suited for people who enjoy under
seasoned dishes, which allows an ingredient’s natural flavours to shine, but
was too plain for me. Some restaurants add a lot of toppings to their beef
carpaccio ($16), the only garnishes at Padella were well-drained capers and
shaved parmigiano; even the greens were left undressed. Indeed, we could taste
the beef, it just doesn’t taste like much without seasoning.
Similarly,
the pan seared octopus ($16) and cannellini bean salad barely had a lick of
salt so the flavours were derived from the herbed olive oil. I just couldn’t
get used to the octopus’ texture, which was too soft. Sure, you may be thinking
tender octopus is a good thing. Yet, when the seafood flavours disappear and the
springy texture almost becomes mushy, it no longer tastes like octopus.
The
clams to linguine ratio in the vongole
($19) was impressive: equal amounts of seafood to pasta. Moreover, both
ingredients were prepared to perfection – the clams just cooked through but
still juicy and the pasta retaining that lovely chewiness. If only the sauce
wasn’t so acidic – it’s like the chef forgot he added lemon and did a second
squeeze, then the person at the pass added a third helping – rendering
everything so sour that even the garlic and white wine were masked. This could
have been an amazing dish with a quarter of the lemon and double the salt.
Only the
spaghetti carbonara ($18) had a decent amount of saltiness from the guanciale, pecorino, and parmigiano. If
you like bacon, this dish is for you as Padella doesn’t skimp on the guanciale. Combined with the egg yolk,
the cured pork’s fat creates a rich smoky sauce that covers the fresh
spaghetti. For me, I would have like more pepper to balance out the flavours.
Padella’s
tiramisu ($8) was equally rich with generous amounts of mascarpone cream,
making for a moist and decadent dessert. If only it had a stronger espresso
flavour it would be even better, but still left us satisfied.
The cozy
restaurant was packed on our Monday evening visit. From the number of people
speaking to the staff, I could tell there are a lot of repeat customers and this
is a neighbourhood joint. The friendly environment and respectable portions
were great, I only wish the flavours were better. Luckily, aside from the vongole and octopus, the others are an easy fix with a dash of salt and pepper,
something that can easily be accommodated by asking for some shakers.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1967 Avenue Road
Address: 1967 Avenue Road
Website: http://www.padellaonavenue.com/
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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!
Is That It? I Want More!
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