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Campagnolo (@Campagnolo_) opened up several years ago to a number of accolades including “Best New Restaurant” in 2011 by enRoute magazine and being named one of the best 50 restaurants in Canada by Macleans. I was impressed with their food a few years ago and after a recent visit, I’m happy to report that they’re still going strong. The food is actually even better than I remembered.

The restaurant is brought to us by Chef Craig Harding and his interior designer wife, Alexandra Hutchison who designed the restaurant. It’s a great space with a very warm and inviting atmosphere.

It can still be difficult to snag a prime time weekend reservation, especially since they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. But I assure you, it’s well worth the trouble.

Since there were six of us dining together, we had to go with the Chef’s family-style dinner for $60/person. It’s required if you have parties of six or more. While they tell you it’s five courses, they serve several dishes with each course so you end up trying a lot more than five individual dishes.

Shortly after ordering some wine for the table, they brought out several dishes for the first course which included a bowl of Warm Olives.

Warm Olives

We were also served some House-made Baguette & Gougères which came out nice and warm. I particularly enjoyed the gougères which were delicious with a bit of herbed butter spread inside its hollow interior.

House-made Baguette & Gougères

I’m glad a Salumi Board was included with our family-style meal. Tonight’s board consisted of coppa, prosciutto, mortadella and venison salami. It was an excellent selection of meats but if I had to choose, my favourites would be the prosciutto and salami.

Salumi Board

One of Campagnolo’s signature dishes is the Fresh Burrata Cheese – with roasted grapes & toasted bread. For good reason! Nothing beats fresh burrata. It was a simple dish which consisted of a few drizzles of oil on the cheese which sat on top of toasted bread. The simplicity of the dish really allowed the cheese to shine. Simply delicious!

Fresh Burrata Cheese

Up next was the Seared Scallops – with a chickpea pancake. The scallops were flawlessly cooked and were complimented nicely by the carrot-based puree. There’s just something about a well-executed seared scallop dish that I find incredibly satisfying.

Seared Scallops

After the scallops, we were presented with our pasta course. The first one I dug into was the Pappardelle – with lamb ragu & Lake Chambly sheep cheese. On my last visit, I fell in love with their pasta and I’m still very much deeply in love. The thick ribbons of pasta were cooked to a perfect al dente and the chunky lamb ragu warmed me up on this cold April evening.

Pappardelle

On paper, the pappardelle sounded like it would be the winning pasta but surprisingly the vegetarian Roasted Celeriac Agnolotti – with king oyster mushrooms & taleggio won the table over. The dish consisted of light, fluffy pillows which were stuffed with a wonderfully smooth and intensely flavoured celeriac filling.

Roasted Celeriac Agnolotti

Following the pastas were a couple more protein dishes. First up, was the Giguere Farms Cornish Hen – with Brussels sprouts & chantrelles. With a nice crisp skin and moist, juicy interior, the Cornish hen was incredibly well executed. I particularly enjoyed the pairing of it with the Brussels sprouts and mushrooms which are couple of my favourite vegetables.

Giguere Farms Cornish Hen

Our second protein dish was the Olive Oil Poached Albacore Tuna – with chickpeas, Tuscan kale & cauliflower. I love poached fish and this was no exception. The tuna was melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfectly seasoned. While fish generally makes for a lighter dish, the pairing of the tuna with chickpeas, kale and cauliflower made it a heartier dish.

Olive Oil Poached Albacore Tuna

Our dinner ended with the Salted Caramel Budino – with chocolate meringue. The meal could not have ended on a better note. The velvety smooth salted caramel mousse with a little crunch from the meringue was the perfect bite.  

Salted Caramel Budino

From start-to-finish, we were thoroughly impressed with our Chef’s family-style dinner. The only thing I didn’t love about our dinner was the service. I didn’t find our server to be particularly personable or attentive and he wasn’t very helpful when we asked for some wine recommendations. But all of that can be forgiven as the food coming out of the kitchen was flawless.

At a glance:
• Best new restaurant in 2011 by enRoute magazine; one of the 50 best restaurants in Canada (Macleans)
• Owners: Chef Craig Harding and wife Alexandra Hutchison
• Closed Mondays/Tuesdays; open from 6pm for dinner Wednesday to Sunday
• Reservations recommended
• For parties of 6 or more, you’re required to go with the Chef’s family-style dinner (5 courses for $60/person); but each “course” comes with a couple dishes
• Our Chef’s family-style dinner was flawless

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 5 stars
• Service: 2 stars
• Atmosphere: 4 stars

Campagnolo on Urbanspoon



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