Review: Scaramouche

This weekend I embarked on a half celebratory, half escapist getaway to Toronto, in order to dine at ambrosial restaurants and take advantage of the Holt Renfrew summer sale.  It was truly a weekend kissed by the gods - the rain steadily forecasted all week prior held off, giving way to beautiful sunny skies and 25 glorious degrees Celsius.  Despite fabulous fashion finds for all in our party, the highlight of the trip was most certainly Saturday night's dinner at Scaramouche.  

I'd heard many laudatory reviews of the restaurant, but for some reason never made it there when I lived in Toronto.  The second we walked in, we knew we were in for an unparalleled dining experience.  Scaramouche is built into a cliff of sort, and is equipped with towering windows that allow guests to admire the Toronto skyline while dining.  (The view is depicted above, but the photo doesn't really do it justice.)  The service reminded me of upscale restaurants in New York; we were waited on by a number of different people, including but not limited to a main waiter, a water and bread boy, and a sommelier.  Everyone was super friendly and helpful - not at all snooty despite the high-end quality of the restaurant.  

Also like in New York restaurants, we were presented with complementary pre-appetizer appetizers in the form of mini bread crisps topped with a delectable pork pate (along with a bread basket - so much food!).  For the "main" appetizer, the three of us split the organic prosciutto americano with buffalo mozzarella.  Oh my it was good, but thank god we shared because it was quite large - a LOT of prosciutto!  For the main course I had the pan-roasted Pacific halibut with squid ink, sea food risotto, and tomato pistou with fresh chili.  I was a little intimidated when it first came because the risotto was jet black (presumably from the squid ink).  I was worried it would taste burnt, or - even worse - like black licorice.  Upon taking the first bite, however, all my worries vanished.  The "blackness" was not at all detectable in the taste of the risotto, which turned out to be a flavourful combination of seafood, parmesan, and el dante rice.  The halibut itself was cooked to perfection, virtually melting in my mouth.  My favourite part of the meal was the last course; I'd heard Scaramouche is known for its desserts, but I really had no idea how good it was going to be.  We all shared the summer berry pillow, which consisted of fresh berries in a cream puff pastry with raspberry sorbet.  The pastry was so light and flaky we were able to divide it into three without shedding a crumb.  Like the halibut, it pretty much melted in my mouth (I honestly felt like I barely chewed anything for the entire meal!).

Bottom line:  this restaurant is expensive, but worth every penny.  It's an experience I'll never forget, and I hope I get a chance to go back before too long!