Spigolo Ristorante

Date: December 14, 2012
Location: 200 Marycroft Ave. Unit 5 (near Weston and Hwy 7), Woodbridge
Website: http://www.spigoloristorante.ca/
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
My aunt gave my mom and I a voucher for this restaurant. She paid $29 for a 3-course meal for two that includes one appetizer, two entrees and two desserts. 

Let me tell you it was a good thing the restaurant owner decided to feature his business on one of those deal sites because we would have otherwise never have stumbled upon this place. It is hidden at the back of a small, inconspicuous strip plaza.

Anyway, onto the meal! We were given a plate of PITA BREAD with olive oil and garlic seasoning. This was so good that I unwittingly had three of the four slices. It eventually dawned on me that I might ruin my appetite for the actual meal, but I couldn't stop myself!

For our appetizer, we had the RADICHIO AND FUNGHI ($12), which was a dish of sautéed Italian chicory leaves and mushrooms served on toasted bread and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. We really enjoyed this but the veggies were a bit greasy.

For my main, I had the RISOTTO DEL PESCATORE ($22), which was Arborio rice with shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels and clams in a white wine tomato broth. I really like this. This reminded me of the paella I'd had a few times at Cafe en Passant. I liked this one better because the rice grains were whole and there was more seafood. 

My mom opted for the BISTECCA ALLA GRIGLIA ($24), a 12 oz grilled rib-eye steak. This was soooo gooooood. The beef was very fatty, I have to say, but incredibly tender. It just melted in my mouth. My only gripe was that it was a bit too charred.

For the finale, I had CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM ($6). There was a vanilla ice cream centre, which still had a lingering taste of alcohol. I don't normally like ice cream, but I wanted to sample both of the desserts that were available.

My mom had the TIRAMISU ($7). This was divine. After sampling both desserts, I regretted having ordered the ice cream. Oh well.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable experience. I think the fact that the restaurant is so hidden is a big reason why the restaurant was so quiet on a Friday evening - which was good. The only thing was the place smelled like cigarette smoking the moment we walked in, which was a huge turn off. But the food was impeccably done. We will return and hopefully we won't encounter the smoke problem again!