Cresta Toronto- Permanently closed

Last week, I was invited to the media launch of Cresta Toronto.  An Italian restaurant right in the heart of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood, it was enough invitation for me.  I have always been in love with this address.  If I ever moved out of North York, this is potentially where you would find me. To see how the neighbourhood just grows with the addition of a good restaurant, makes me wish harder to make that move sooner rather than later.

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I was a little late to the event and it was already full of people when I walked in.  It was a pleasant surprise to see that the interiors was lofty, with a second floor that spacious enough to be used for private functions.  The first floor was rearranged to accommodate the crowd that was there for the same reasons I was there.  It definitely helped that there were floor to ceiling windows, letting the light in, bouncing on the beads that tastefully adorned the bar.  Towards the back end, the kitchen was visible and I felt my tummy churn. Watching the cook turn a pizza around and pushing it right back to the oven made me hungry as I know I would only bite into a warm crusty pizza. The night bode so much promise and I anticipated a night of good food.

For the night were invited to experience how contemporary Italian cuisine is seamlessly paired with the Californian wines of Thomas George Estates.  I opted for a glass of Thomas George Estates Chardonnay as I picked scallop crudo too beautiful to eat. Politeness stopped me from standing right beside the plate and help myself to more.  It didn’t really matter as my attention was grabbed by the next offering of perfectly grilled sirloin steak and a piece of margherita pizza. A parade of dishes came after – roasted beets, grilled brussel sprouts, black tiger shrimp on empty ravioli, fungi pizza but my heart skipped a beat when I tasted the mushroom risotto.  Just the smell would make your mouth water and you would be inclined to have some more after a spoonful. The sweet taste of truffle intertwined with a sliver of parmesan was very intoxicating to a foodie like me.  I went back three times just for that dish and it was the one that made me wish that I was sitting down enjoying a full dish.

Thank you for the invitation Cresta Toronto. I am definitely coming back for a full plate of that mushroom risotto really soon. :)