Terrence L.
Yelp
In Montreal, there's a popular steak and seafood resto in the heart of beautiful Old Montreal called Gibby's. The food there is simply decadent, and while maybe not the best steak place around, it is rated by local Montrealers as the best restaurant to go to if SOMEONE else was paying the bill. This is my feelings about Teatro.
A year or so after Teatro's renovations, my companion and I went down there to celebrate her 40th birthday. I normally don't go to what would probably be perceived by most locals as an upscale resto, but it was a special occasion after all. It was probably one of the best choices I've made.
The place feels huge, with the classic roman pillars, large windows and immense space yet almost sparsely placed tables. It's not that there weren't huge numbers of tables. but more that there were far less tables that the space could hold, a deliberate choice that keeps the appearance and feeling of intimacy. Add some of the unusual furniture, such as these enormous fabric backed booth-like chairs, and it does have a pleasant cozy feel to the place. Add the open-faced kitchen where the diners could easily see their food being prepared, the incredibly huge copper ovens, and the light jazz playing in the background, you can see that there was a fair amount of thought put into the experience.
Now as for the wine lists and all, Teatro has routinely year after year won awards for their immence selection of wines. Please note, WINES not beers or anything else. They do want to keep the upscale image after all, though I didn't see a single bottle available under $90 at the least, with most in the $150+ range. Sooo, if you're there to drink, be prepared for the ticket shock. Still, as I said before, this is an upscale restaurant for the connaiseur, not the average joe blow down the street. Heck, both times I've been here, the first was for the first Downtown Dining festival, and this time around with the added support of a rare groupon event that Teatro participated in earlier this year.
You've been waiting for me to talk about the food, right? Yep, this is where the rating went to 4 and not 5 stars. My meal was simply outstanding, and in many ways, I think it may have honestly ruined beef for me for the rest of my life. This was the first time I ever had Alberta beef in the new sous-vide preparation style. Now, ever since I even heard of this practice from season 3 of Top Chef, I had always wanted to try it. Olives apparently does it from time to time, and I've never been lucky enough to hit a night when it serves beef or lamb this way. The absolutely fabulous Rouge does (review to follow in a day or two), and I admittedly found it's sous-vide treatment of Octopus to be incredibly unbelievably tender. But still, actual sous-vided meat had eluded me over the years until this night.
Now, first, for those not in the know, sous-vide, described by wikipedia, is "a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for a long time--72 hours is not unusual--at an accurately determined temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 60 °C or 140 °F. The intention is to cook the item evenly, not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same 'doneness' and to keep the food juicier." Based on years of Top Chef seasons, I was simply facinated by the whole process, and the descriptions that meats prepared this way is simply undescribably incredible. Yep, definately.
My striploin had a texture very unlike that of a steak (except for the exterior which seemed to have been flash seared for colour and appearance), but instead much more like smoked salmon. It could almost be cut by my fork, but I was more than satisfied that I was able to cut it effortlessly with a butter knife. Add what was probably the richest most buttery mashed potatoes and an interesting sweet vegetable medley, and it was a simple, yet elegant dinner. As for how buttery? Well, it was more stick of butter than potatoes admittedly. While I admit it was incredibly rich and utterly delicious, I also had the taste of butter in my mouth the next morning as well.
The meal then progressed with a brilliant trio of Creme Brulees, being caramel, chocolate and mint tea flavours. Everything had a great flavour, texture ad so on, with a nice perfect hardness of the caramalized sugar on top that breaks just right with a solid tap with my spoon. If there was any complaint I would have had about this, it was simply that it may have sat for a little while too long after the torch, as I was a bit surprised to find the hard candied tops to be quite cold.
Overall, great atmosphere, wonderful food and absolutely astounding wine list, but it's a place I would go once in a blue moon. Why? Well, as my opening paragraph said about Gibby's, Teatro is EXACTLY that for most Calgarians. It's simply way too expensive for the average diner.. but I'll be back one day.
