Fat Friday – Enoteca Sociale

This week’s Fat Friday is a special collaboration with my wonderful husband. He wrote an article about Entoteca Sociale for his company newsletter, and with a few minor changes, I thought it was a great review for the blog. This was our second visit to the restaurant; the first time I was so hungry I neglected to take photos! But the food and ambiance only whetted our appetites for more, so we headed back, this time with Matt’s mom Diane when she was in town.

Enoteca Sociale is a recently opened Italian restaurant located on Dundas West, just off of the Ossington strip. We’d been looking forward to trying it since reading numerous good reviews in its first few months of operation (plus, our great experiences at the owners’ first restaurant, Pizzeria Libretto, made us optimistic). Well, in the name of getting the scoop for you loyal readers, we’ve sacrificed a lot to make sure we went twice in the last couple months.

The results: we can vouch for Sociale and their tasty rustic Italian dishes. In addition to the usual courses (Antipasti, Pasta, Mains) that you can enjoy off the menu a la carte, there is also a 5 course tasting menu for $45. The first time we went, Matt had been set on that tasting menu but was sadly informed that they had just served the last one (they serve them until the ingredients run out). Although crushed, he quickly recovered to sample some other great dishes plus a healthy amount of wine from their extensive wine list (ah, the life of us TTC-ers; never having to pick a DD for the night) and we both left full and satisfied.

On that first visit, we discovered an amazing starter: it was called Arancini con Stracciatella (above), which we assumed was something with oranges (since in Italian, arancia means orange). Turns out that the dish was actually deep fried balls of risotto, which was every bit as amazing as you would imagine something that was a deep fried ‘surprise’ would be (I’ve since discovered the recipe to make at home, although it has yet to be attempted for lack of deep fryer). The pastas were also very good, from the All’Amatriciana (a good kick of spice) to the Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper on pasta; simple but delicious).

The second time we went, Matt made sure he had the tasting menu (you can request it when you make a reservation) and was not disappointed – the highlight of which was the heavenly House Made Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Candied Pecans. The fourth course in the tasting menu is a cheese course – a great break between the main and dessert (the cheese comes with accompaniments like crostini, preserves, etc.). Even without the tasting menu, your cheese options are endless as this restaurant has its very own cheese cave (you can even host private parties in there)! The only course that didn’t knock his socks off was dessert (I don't actually see a dessert listing on their menu, but I think it was a  cake of some sort with plums) – not that it was bad, he was just quite full by the time it arrived (I guess in a clothing analogy, belt loosening trumps the sock knocking?)

And for myself, I ordered the Arancini con Stracciatella again as my starter and decided on the Carbonara (below left) as my main. Diane also indulged in the same starter (we had been talking them up all day!) and the Cacio e Pepe (below right) for her main. We both enjoyed our meal and watched in awe as plate after plate arrived for Matt to enjoy. 

The atmosphere is intimate but not crowded (reservations are taken but ½ the tables are kept unreserved to accommodate walk-ins). It’s upscale but not too expensive (like some downtown restaurants): pastas in the $12-$15 range, mains with one side $20-$24. The bottom line: the delicious food, ample wine list and upscale-yet-casual vibe will keep us going back (plus the fact that they have a cheese cave – I mean, come on, who has that?!)