LA FENICE 4 out of 5
319 King St. W. Toronto, (416) 585-2377, lunch Mon. - Fri. 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, Dinner Mon. - Sat. 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. - Closed Sunday.

Four of us went to La Fenice for dinner tonight, it was grey cup weekend in Toronto.  The city was pumping and the entertainment district restaurants were full.  We were fortunate to be early enough to get in to La Fenice.  Within half an hour it was totally full.  When we entered we were greeted by the maitre d who took our coats and hung them in a coat room - this prevented the inevitable battle of where to put them once we sat down.  A classy first impression.
  

As we were seated a waiter came around with a platter that had a selection of whole fish that were being featured tonight. He was followed by another waiter with a large platter of solid ribeye that could be cut and grilled to any size 6 oz, 8oz, 10 oz etc.  However, this night we all decided to order from the standard menu, since this was our first time at this restaurant.

waiters filleting grilled fish for patrons

We began with a basket of bread that was rather mediocre and tasteless.  We hoped this wasn't an omen for a mediocre meal.  It turned out that the meal was far better than the bread.

rye type loaf was tasteless without dipping in olive oil

For appetizers we all ordered the same thing the grilled shrimp with la fenice extra virgin olive oil.  They were lightly spiced, gigantic and absolutely delicious ($13) and worth the price.

large grilled shrimp - tasted like lobster

We ordered two bottles of a very tasty Ripasso Wine at a very reasonable price of $38 - it was a smooth and tasty version of Ripasso.

reasonably priced very nice ripasso

Three of us decided to have the veal scaloppine with fresh wild mushrooms as our main.  It was accompanied by a selection of grilled vegetables which blended nicely with the light wine sauce.  The veal was tender and delicious and the sauce was smooth and not over salted. ($22)

veal scaloppine with mushrooms and vegetables

One of us had the fettuccine con funghi freschi (fettuccine with fresh mushrooms).  I had the opportunity to taste it and it was divine.  The pasta was house made and melted in your mouth ($19).

house made fettuccine melted in your mouth

We finished our amazing dinner with great deserts.  Three of us had the raspberry chocolate tartufo.  One of us had zabaglione ( a warm custard flavoured with Marsala and served with berries).  We completed our dinner with a couple of cappuccinos.  All in all a wonderful meal with wonderful company.  We will definitely come back to this restaurant.



http://www.lafenice.ca/