I went with my friend, Ray, a month ago on a Thursday night. I knew I was going to love this restaurant once I stepped in - it was small, cozy and stylish. I love the dark colours at the bar and the chalkboard at the back, and also the tiny window where you can see a bit of the kitchen inside.
On the right, by the entrance, is a table suitable for a big group.
Random chicken, yet a classy chicken. It totally works.
Not sure why but I ♥ the big table in the middle of the dining room, but I really do. I think it's because it's different; most restaurants fill the entire room with tables, but at Table 17, this big table is smack in the middle. It held various lovely things like breads in woven basket, bottles of olive oil and vinegar, flowers in a large vase, a tall candle, cutlery, plates, etc. The wine we ordered was placed on the table too during our dinner.
Classy lighting gave a dim atmosphere; not too dark, just right.
Ordered a bottle of Malbec.
Beef Tartare - Chopped tenderloin of Ontario beef with roasted baby beets & traditional garnishes served with country toast.
The last time I had steak tartare was at Canoe for lunch, I liked both the steak tartare at Canoe and Table 17. However, if I had to choose, I would choose this steak tartare at Table 17 over the one at Canoe; although very close, I find that this steak tartare was less sticky and wasn't so patted down tight like the one at Canoe. The one at Canoe also lacked the baguette; at Table 17, I was able to spread the tartare on the bread which is more fun than just eating the steak tartare straight up (Canoe had a really tiny salad with it, but I would much prefer a baguette).
Hot Balls (in that order from closest to furthest)
Arancino - Mushroom & Fontina Stuffed Risotto
Goat cheese - Wildflower honey
Arancino - Spiced lamb stuffed risotto
Loved these! How can I not? I love mushrooms, risotto, goat cheese, and lamb. They were served piping hot (hence the name), and each of the sauces really complimented the different flavoured balls. The presentation was simple, nice and clean.
Duck Confit - with slow cooked lentils du Puy, persimmons and almond cream.
This was Ray's main. He really liked it because the meat was juicy and the skin was crispy too. There was also a thin layer of fat underneath the skin which was great (I had a bite).
Organic Black Cod - Pan roasted & served over Jerusalem artichoke puree, stewed Savoy cabbage & roasted hedgehog mushrooms.
Black cod is one of my favourite fishes so it's a no brainer that I would order this. This was cooked to perfection. The skin on the top not only looks perfect, it tasted that way too; it was thin and so very crispy. The fish was buttery soft and seasoned well, not bland at all. The mushrooms and cabbage at the bottom was also very tasty with the artichoke purée. I was so happy with my entrée.
It was dessert time and we noticed that we still have a lot of wine to go...
...so naturally we ordered cheese.
Cheese Board - a selection of Canadian Artisanal cheese.
I had no complaints about the cheese (I naturally prefer some cheese over others, but this is always the case when you're given a variety of cheese). The jams and honey were great, the pecans was nice touch, and our server also offered us extra bread when we were done with the initial loaf.
What a great dinner at Table 17. Writing this post really reminded me just how great everything was: from the ambiance, the service, and the food. When we left around 9pm or so the whole restaurant was full.
However, there was ONE hiccup during the night. In the middle of dinner, the fire alarm went off. Nobody panicked as the servers seem like they were expecting it. A bit embarrassing though for the restaurant since it was extremely loud and it didn't stop until well over a minute later.
