The place is kind of set up with three areas. The main room with the bar and a few tables, a second area with a banquette/couch and a upholstered chairs along one wall and a large communal table along the wall opposite the couch and chairs. The third area is a formal dinning room, that borders the second area and faces the street (so it has windows). The area is separated from the space with the communal table by a wall. The dining room is technically the Jamie Kennedy Restaurant, while the first two areas form the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. Although they're all located in the same spot, the menu differs between the two. The wine bar is tapas, while the restaurant is more like a traditional restaurant (starters and mains). The
We got a spot at the communal table in the second area. The loungy part opposite the communal table is where you can sit and wait for a table in the main room. They don't serve food if you there, but they do bring drinks. All the main room is where you want to be, the second area is still fairly crowed. There were like groups of people waiting there, and the communal table was almost at capacity. The table has a rustic look to it. It actual looks like its two tables pushed together so its pretty wide. It has enough spots to seat 14 and not worry about bumping elbows with someone sitting next to you. There were at least 9 people sitting there when we were there.
The place has got a nice look to it. I didn't have a close look at the main room. But the second area has a big wall treatment that's like a country road or something like that. It pairs well with the table. They have nice floors all the way throughout. They look like oak planks with a darkish stain, but not too dark.
The crowd is relatively young. I would say that most of it people in their 20's and 30's. I spotted a few cougars in the place, but they aren't like the haggardly old saber-tooth ones (like the ones you see at Coco Lezzone). They look good and dress well. Some suits from Bay Street and more casually dressed people as well. The music is pretty decent, it's not annoying or anything like that. With the big communal table, it was like you could hear everyone's conversation -- one of the guys sitting next to us laughed a few times after hearing what we were talking about. I didn't mind, it just reinforces the relaxed vibe that the place projects. If you want to have a private conversation this is not the place for you. I would guess that there would be the same sort of issues if you sit at the bar, but the tables seem to be a little more removed from each other (relatively speaking).
The waiters and servers are fine. I would say that the people that we interacted with were fine. I've been to the restaurant (see the review on Jan 31), where the service is substantially more formal. But the waiter we had answered questions and stuff, so I had no complaints.
The menu is tapas style. Small dishes, made for sharing. They also have smaller things to get you started that aren't the menu. From the bar tapas we had the spiced almonds, the marinated artichokes, the Yukon Gold frites and the chorizo. Of these I would probably take a pass on the spiced almonds. They're fine in terms of taste, but the problem with them is that they could clash with the wine because they have a really tangy after taste. I had to wash them taste out with the water. The best of the bunch is the Yukon gold frites. These are like the ones they have at Jamie Kennedy Gardiner, that everyone talks about. They give you a lot and they come with a mayonnaise dipping sauce. The chorizo is basically chunks of meat. The sausage they served has a subtle smoked flavour to it, so its not overpowering. The only negative thing that I would say about the sausage is that you don't get any bread with it and you have to by bread by the basket if you want it. The basket is tapas sized too, so you pay something $3.00 for like 4 pieces, which are halved slices. The reason I'm making a point about this in Mediterranean cultures that speak romance languages, bread with sausage is a big thing. You're supposed to eat more bread than sausage. If the sausage is really spicy, like Italian sausage which often includes paprika, black pepper, chili peppers and fennel, then bread is essential. You can get away with less bread with the chorizo because its not nearly as spicy. I guess a lot of people might notice this (no bread with the meat) because they don't come from a background like that.
Of the main tapas menu we had yukon gold frites as a beef brisket poutine and Hokkaido scallops. The beef poutine I've had before in the Jamie Kennedy Restaurant, where it was a combo of three starters. This is like so good. I think that I would have it every time I go there. The scallops are really really good. They are so soft and tender. They serve them with bacon, so you get a really contrast in the two tastes. This is also a top-rate dish. We didn't leave anything in the plate because it was so good. Both the dishes are the kind that you would dip bread in to get every last bit.
The wine. I went light that night. I only had one glass of an Austrian Sauvignon Blanc. It was well paired with the things we had. It's taste didn't change after eating the almonds or the chorizo, which is good. I think they try different things with the wine, so it rotates. They had a few other Austrian wines on the menu (I originally ordered an Austrian Riesling, but it was sold out). Also the sommelier, gets bonus points for emphasizing things like the Sauvignon Blanc's and Riesling's, because they are good wines to match with food. So I think a lot of wine bars in this city would be heavy into in chardonnay's and pinot gris or grigo or stuff like that. Not that they necessarily bad wines, but they might not be versatile food wines.
After we finished with the tapas we went french style and had the cheese plate before desert. The cheese plate came with five cheeses ordered from the mildest to the sharpest. They paired the cheeses with a few "crackers" (long thin whole wheat triangles), a sliced apple and some walnuts. Unlike a lot of places, where you don't get enough stuff to spread or eat the cheese with, there was a really good balance here. The crackers worked best with the soft cheeses, while the harder cheeses were best paired with the apples and the walnuts. The combination of flavours between the cheeses and the apples and the walnuts was exceptional. The walnuts really brought out some of the flavours in the sharper cheeses.
For desert I had the creme brullee and a coffee. The coffee was really good. The creme brullee comes with a biscotti, it wasn't a real biscotti because it was short bread but it was a nice pairing with creme brullee. Of course the creme brullee was very good. The other person ordered the rhubarb trifle and was generally favourable to it, although it wasn't what he was expecting.
The bill came up to almost a $100 without the tip, and I was really full at the end of the night.
Overall, this place is first rate. The food and the vibe of the place make it more than worth checking out.
Rating: 2 Bunnies
Notes on the Bunny Rating System:
- 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
- 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
- 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
- 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool
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