Grano

A few weeks ago, a birthday dinner in the heart of Toronto allowed me to taste one of the city's best Italian restaurant.  Grano, which has been present for quite some time in the southeast side of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, was our dinner destination that evening.  Needless to say, it was just one of those nights where one knew that everything right was going to fall into place right from the get go.

Although it was in the heart of Toronto, finding parking on the side street on that particular evening had a bit of a lucky theme to it in that we were able to locate a free spot about 5 minutes walking distance away.  When we got in, the restaurant table was already prepared.   Having been there for the first time, I personally enjoyed the surrounding decor with lots of huge pictures of famous movies and actors and actresses of the Italian's past and present.  Some of my colleagues had been there before and absolutely loved it. So going with the experts, we decided to go with the following: Spinaci, Pere E Padano ($14.00), Linguine Al Nero Di Sepia ($20.00), Costate D'Agnello ($27.00), Animelle E Finghi Trifolati ($24.00), Italia Mia E Terra Nuova ($22.00), Bigoli Alle Noci ($25.00) and the Pasta of the Day which was Sirloin Carmelized Onion, Mushroom, Asparagus Fettuccini.

My love for salads brought me to the Spinaci, Pere E Padano which for me was my favorite for the evening.  Fresh spinach leaves mixed with the shaved grana padano cheese turned this simple salad into one very delicious salad to have.  There was really no salad dressing on it and I believe that the only "juices" in the salad were from the pears that came with it.  I was impressed with how great tasting this salad was.  If I hadn't ordered anything else that evening, I would have ordered a second one just to satisfy my taste buds.

Spinaci, Pere E Padano

The grilled lamb chops or the Costate D'Agnello was actually my personal order for the evening.  Three juicy pieces of lamb chops were mixed with a handful of vegetables.  The pork chops were beautifully marinated, the meat inside was medium rare and the outside was seared with perfection.  If you are a lamb chop lover, this dish would be perfect for you.  No complaints at all from me.  It was exactly as advertised.
 

Costate D'Agnello

We decided to split the Italia Mia E Terra Nuova which was basically a mixture of the restaurant's most finest Italian meat.  All of the meats served that evening were thinly sliced, not overly salty and tasted great.  The meat was fresh and mixed with a bit of garnish, the meats tasted even better. 

Italia Mia E Terra Nuova

I have no idea how much the pasta of the day was but whatever it was, it was worth every penny of it.  Small chunks of sirloin steak were mixed with diced up asparagus, mushroom and onions and all of it was mixed with freshly made fettuccini. The taste was unbelievably very good where the meat juices, onions and mushrooms provided the great amount of taste.  One can't really taste the asparagus but you know its there when you eat it.  My only gripe was that the proportions were somewhat small and that I believe we had to order two of the dishes in order to make sure everybody at the table had at least some of it.  

Sirloin Carmelized Onion, Mushroom, Asparagus Fettuccini

Another interesting and tasty pasta that was ordered that evening was the Bigoli Allle Noci.  This wasn't one of the dishes that were shared so I took a scoop from my friend's dish to have a taste to see what this dish was all about.  To my huge surprise, this pasta tasted amazing.  It was a little creamy, the noodles were small and the grana padano cheese once again brought this dish out to the fore front.  It certainly didn't look too impressive when it left the kitchen but it sure tasted like a pure classic. 

Bigoli Alle Noci

I was very happy and very impressed with the service, the food and with the entire experience.  Being my first time there, I wasn't really too sure what to expect.  Having been to Italy before, I have to say that this was very close if not better than some of the best authentic Italian dishes from overseas. I'm always have a hard time finishing my pastas because most pastas are very thick and creamy and I get bogged down with it however I can honestly say I would have no problems at all finishing any of the pastas that were served that evening.  If I am in the area again, I would certainly give it a second go without hesitation at all.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Grano
2035 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario

416-440-1986