Grappa Ristorante

797 College Street
Toronto, Ontario

After careful deliberation of which, of the many, Italian restaurants to go to on College Street for the Summerlicious 2008 festival, I decided to try Grappa. And I'm so thankful I did.

This small to mid-sized, cosy restaurant boasted wonderful service, warm ambiance and a fantastic menu.

Right away, we were started on homemade breads and cornbreads, with fresh, hummus made in-house. For the starter, I went with the grilled calamari salad in tomatoes, red onions and capers. The calamari was cooked to perfection and was nicely blended with the mediterranean flavours. To follow I tried the pork tenderloin with a stuffing of mushrooms, spinach and pinenuts. A wonderfully complimentary marsala sauce accompanied the pork, as well as homemade mashed potatoes and veggies. The pork was tender and the stuffing was a fantastic contrast to the sometimes plainness of pork. Finally for dessert try the vanilla creme brulee or classic chocolate tartufo.

If the chef's were this good for the Summerlicious menu, I can't wait to go back and try their regular dishes. I will certainly be returning to Grappa and sincerely recommend walking that one extra block west on College in order to get a really good Italian dining experience. Enjoy!