Posticino

Tonight is my hubby M's birthday so I wanted to take him out for a yummy Italian meal at Posticino. Tucked away in a tiny space located at Royal York and The Queensway, Posticino is a quaint restaurant with all the comforts and atmosphere of a cozy Italian eatery you'd find in Italy. The lighting is low and inviting and the tables are dressed in crisp white linens.

That said, my experience there wasn't the best. Now, I don't want to sound like a snob, really I don't. But after dining there tonight, I don't get what the big deal is about Posticino. Maybe it's because it was an off night for them. Or maybe it's because we got married in Italy and ate the most amazing and delicious Italian food for three weeks. Not sure. But I can say that I wasn't too impressed with the place and I probably won't be going back anytime soon.

We had a reservation for 7 p.m. and other than being seated right away, no one really acknowledged us until at least 7:20. No water. No wine. No bread. When the waiter finally came over, he was pleasant, albeit harried, and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. The place was packed on for Tuesday and he wasn't getting much help from his assistant.

After ordering wine, we waited another 10 mins or so before the waiter came back for our order.

We started off with an order of Insalata Tartufata ($14) a medley of mixed organic greens with sliced pear, walnuts and shaved parmiggiano in a truffle, dijon, honey vinaigrette. Unfortunately, the salad had little flavour. It was bland and disappointing.

Next we had the grilled calamari ($12), which was topped with a sauté of tomato and balsamic vinegar. The flavours were complementary and one of the nicest dishes we had tonight.

For dinner I ordered the "famous" Paglia e Fieno ai Fungi Porcini ($18). This is the dish that everyone talks about and apparently one of the best on the menu. There's even an article posted at the entrance that talks about how great the dish is. It melds together spinach and egg noodle pasta with a rich wild porcini mushroom rosé sauce. Again, I don't mean to be Debbie Downer, but the dish didn't taste like anything. As in it lacked flavour. M ordered the risotto special which was delicious thankfully (since it was his birthday!). It combined flavourful veal sausage with mushrooms and was set in a velvety red sauce. I was considering switching it for my meal when he wasn't looking.

Earlier, I mentioned that I probably wouldn't go back, but quite honestly, I'd like to try it again on a weekend to see if the quality of the service and food are different. There has to be something I'm missing from this place. Maybe I have to be a regular to get it.