Patria Restaurant

Patria Toronto is located on the west side of downtown Toronto and focuses on serving an enriching taste of Spanish tapas and paella types of food.  What makes this place so unique and so fascinating is that the chefs have the ability to gather some of the most enlightening ingredients that are out there and create some pretty interesting masterpieces. A small party of us decided to have a small birthday dinner at Patria’s as many  reviews to this place were stunning and warranted a visit. 

We made reservations to the restaurant and it was a good thing that we did.  The restaurant was pretty full and truthfully we actually took a little while locating the actual restaurant.  Although it has an address on King Street West, the entrance to the restaurant itself was actually located in an alleyway sandwiched between two or three condominiums.  Once we found the place, we were given a spot right by the glass window.  While scanning their Spanish menu, we decided to go for about 5-6 tapas-style dishes and one paella rice dinner.  If  you plan on ordering a paella rice, make sure you tell the waiter when he or she comes by asking for your drinks as it takes them 45 minutes to make your paella.  

Croquetas De Jamon

Scanning their menu, we decided to go with their Pimientos Rellenos De Buey ($14), Jamon Iberico De Bellota ($30), Croquetas De Jamon ($8) , Datiles Con Tocino Iberico ($9) , Pulpo a la Gallega ($16)  and their signature paella, the Paella Patria ($50).

The Croquetas De Jamon were the first to arrive and it looked like three fried potatoes laid on top of one another with a piece of cheese sandwiched in the middle.  Of course that’s not what it was but it was certainly something very delicious.  The middle of the croquetas were nice and soft and well-stuffed.  The outer layer was lightly breaded and not thick and heavy in oil.  What made it uniquely interesting was that there was a certain kick or spice to it.  I wasn’t really sure what extra ingredient was added by it almost tasted like there was either small onion bits or jalapenos embedded inside the rolls.  This tapas was definitely very good and certainly a must have if you attend this restaurant. 

 Pulpo a la Gallega

Next to arrive was the Pulpo a la Gallega.  This tapas was actually not on their main menu but on their separate specials of the day menu.  There were about eight pieces to this delicacy in which an octopus tentacle was chopped up and placed on top of small pieces of potatoes in which turn was immersed in olive oil.   Although, the octopus tentacle was very tender, it unfortuantely lacked any taste and placing it on top of a potato didn’t enhance it all that much further.  The addition of red paprika on the dish also for some reason failed to provide the necessary wow factor either.  It was one of those dishes that I neither loved nor hated.  

Jamon Iberico De Bellota

The Jamon Iberico De Bellota arrived next and this was basically thinly sliced meat of a 36 month acorn fed black hoof jamon iberico.  It was very thin and salty tasting but not as salty as some of the other meats I have had before.  The meat was nice and dry, and the thinly sliced meat made it a wonderful light appetizer to have.  One could probably eat the entire dish on their own and not feel full at all. 

Their signature paella arrived next and it looked wonderful.  There were langoustine, shrimp, mussels, cuttlefish, monkfish, snap peas and saffron in the rice.  It smelled really good and really made one’s mouth watery.  You have to remember, tapas style dishes are quite small and when you are super hungry after a long day at work, a dish like this paella sure would feel nice in one’s stomach.  Having been to Barcelona twice, I do have to admit it the paella in Barcelona was a little better than the one here however it was still pretty good nonetheless.  The one thing I didn’t like was the fact that mussels had no meat in them.  The meat actually shrunk to the point where there was very little mussel meat to consume.  The meat was probably about one quarter of the total size of the shell.  Had the meat been more of a normal size in appearance, I think it would have given the dish a better presentation.  The entire rice dish itself was a little bit mushy.  It didn’t taste bad, in fact it was tasted actually really good but the paellas I had in Barcelona were more purer and not as sticky or mushy as the one that was served here.  I didn’t have any issues with the rest of the seafood.  It was a really good dish to have, well proportion for three to four people, hot when presented.  If the overall rice was just a little less mushy, it would have been a perfect paella. 

Paella Patria

The Datiles Con Tocino Iberico arrived next and this was my favorite tapas for the evening.  The datiles were wrapped with a piece of bacon and this dish had the distinction of allowing one to experience all of your taste buds all in one bite.  The datiles themselves were sweet in nature, the bacon were salty and smoky tasting, the shallots gave it that garlicky taste and my personal favorite, although I might be wrong, was that there seemed to be a jalapeno component to it as well that gave it a really good kick to it.  It had a mixture of a lot of extreme tasting foods and ingredients which when placed together made this dish a wonderful dish to have.  I was really impressed by this dish and would give full marks to the chefs in its presentation and in its overall taste.

Datiles Con Tocino Iberico

The Pimientos Rellenos De Buey arrived last and this was basically an ox’s tail immersed in a pepper and manchego type sauce.  The best way to describe this dish was that it actually felt like one was eating beef brisket, the ones that are served in Chinese restaurants, served with noodle soup.  My fellow Chinese friends would understand what I am talking about.  The meat was soft, juicy and had a string like texture to it.  It was pretty good and although I wasn’t really a big fan of ox’s tail before, I am now.  

Pimientos Rellenos De Buey

Since we were sitting right next to the coat rack, patrons kept coming up beside our table to get their jackets.  As a result, there were a few incidents where people were dropping their numbers cards, their coat hangars and even their jackets.  The owners took notice and actually served us with a couple of complimentary chocolate pudding deserts which I thought was a really nice gesture.  Although the patrons weren’t really much of a hassle, simple gestures like that really makes you feel like they care about their customers. 

Chocolate Pudding

The total bill was $200.00 total, tax and tip included.  We also order a pitcher of alcoholic sanguine to go with our dinner that evening.  The atmosphere, the waiters and the people were all very nice and relaxing.  I actually enjoyed my evening there and had a great time.  Although finding the place could be a little tricky, once found I am sure you would not be disappointed.  If you get a chance, give them a chance.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.  Overall I give them a 4.25 out of 5. 

Patria
478 King St W, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1L7

(416) 367-0505