Restaurant: Far Niente
Location: 187 Bay Street, Commerce Court, Toronto ON M5L 1G5
Price Range: $$$
Note: This review is only for Summerlicious 2015 lunch, it does not reflect the normal service.
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To be honest I didn’t expect to come to Far Niente for Summerlicious at all since the menu didn’t attract me. However my coworker was having a team lunch here, they invited me and it was really close to my office, so why not!
Upon entering the restaurant, I was impressed at how spacious it was! There was a second floor and a patio, the wine rack was really impressive as well.
Far Niente is located in the heart of Financial District, so even for Summerlicious prix fixe menu, I expected the restaurant was going to be pretty expensive. Normally for Summerlicious, I tend to pick the most expensive main course so it will worth the money lol. With that said, this time I chose the ravioli as my main since the steak will probably give me itis after lunch :(.
Since we love seafood, C and I got the seafood escabeche as our appetizers :).
The seafood was cooked perfectly, and by marinating them in vinegar and olive oil, it gave the seafood a deliciously sharp tang. The watermelon and capers toned down the tanginess of the seafood with theirs sweetness and saltiness flavors, respectively. However, I felt the chili was not needed as the dish turned out to be too spicy. Don’t get me wrong, I love spicy food but the heat from the chili lingered in my mouth, and prevented me from tasting other flavors.
For main course I chose the lemon basil ravioli. The ravioli had a perfect ratio of fillings to dough, and I believe the filling was ricotta cheese, yum! Unfortunately there were only 2 dots of the lemon basil sauce on the plate, hence I couldn’t taste the sauce at all :(. The tomato ragout was just like any other regular tomato pasta sauce that I could have made. Also, I’m not sure why there were a few pieces of candied walnuts as they didn’t go well with the savory ravioli at all… Overall an okay dish and just not memorable.
C got this dish and it was a generous portion for a $28 lunch! My other coworkers got the steak and they all had a perfect medium rare temperature. However I can’t say the same for the halibut as it was overcooked. Moreover, for me anything crusted with cornmeal is pretty much tasteless, so I was expecting the sauce to deliver a big punch of flavor, but I was quite disappointed…
C got the strawberry bavarois and while I didn’t get to try, she seemed to enjoy it. I was quite curious of how the black pepper would go with the bavarois though.
I ordered the mousse and it was not overly sweetened, however it wasn’t bad nor awful. The mousse itself had a dense texture and strong chocolate flavor. The first layer was jello or something, I just can’t quite put my finger on it but it was good! The top layer was tangy and really helped to cut down the rich chocolate mousse.
I thought my Summerlicious lunch at Far Niente was okay, but not spectacular. None of the items on their lunch menu jumped out to me as special, hence I was a bit hesitated to try the restaurant. Since we had 12 people, there was also a service charge so our bill came to almost $40… which were probably the most expensive lunch I ever had.