MALUCA WINE BAR RESTAURANT 

142 Lakeshore Rd. E. Downtown Oakville, (905) 842-6111, Dinner 7 days a week

We made reservations for Friday at 7 and the lads and I met for dinner and drinks at Maluca on Lakeshore road in downtown Oakville.

It was already starting to get busy and by the time we finished our appetizers it was full.  On the table there was a bowl of curried popcorn, which went well with the libations we started with.  

During our meal, we ordered several bottles of wine including a nice cabernet from California.

Since this restaurant's menu is mostly based on sharing plates, we ordered several - there were six of us.  Among them we had a couple of delicious trays of charcuterie (although the slices were extremely thin).

We also had a couple of platters of seafood that included calamari, the smallest scallops I have ever seen and a couple of deep fried smelts.  These trays could only be shared by two people.  We also selected a couple of mushroom pizzas that were very cheesy and loaded with toppings.

For mains most of us chose their burger.  The burger was juicy and filling and it was accompanied by roasted potatoes.

One of us ordered a nice salad. It was delicious.

He also had the mussels with pasta - it had a good amount of mussels on it.

Although we were all well fed, I found the platters rather small and we had to order quite a few of them.  The trays were unique but small.  I have had better sharing platters elsewhere. The burger was tasty and filling. We found our server very efficient and friendly.  The atmosphere and clientele that frequent this establishment made the evening very pleasant.  The place has a comfortable feel to it.

However, the best part of the evening was the company of the lads being together again!!