Winterlicious (the review)
Last night, the GF and I went out for Winterlicious at Toula Restaurant. I'm just going to review the restaurant in case someone wants to go.
For dinner, I had:
- Jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma with a drizzle of our specially aged Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
- AAA Beef Tenderloin, grilled to Perfection topped with an XO Cognac Reduction, served with Scalloped Potato Toula
- Toula's famous home-made fresh Tiramisu
The GF had:
- Fresh P.E.I. Lobster Tail served on a Saffron Risotto Cake and finished with a Citrus Beurre Blanc
- Toula Classic AAA Rib Eye Steak with a Medley of Wild and Porcini Mushrooms in an Amarone Red Wine reduction, served with herbed roasted Parisian Potatoes
- Home-made fresh Apple Strudel on Callebaut Belgium Chocolate Fondue
Atmosphere 5/5:
The place looks beautiful. We didn't get to see the entire restaurant. The restaurant is located on the 38th floor of a hotel. The elevator ride has an outside view showing the city. The restaurant is circular with the bar and kitchen in the middle. There were areas for more formal dinner with tables. Another area had a more casual feel to it with couches to sit back and relax. They seated us with a lakeside view. Normally, it would've been beautiful (if it wasn't winter and foggy) but I didn't take any points off as it was not something they can control.
Food 4/5:
The food was good. The portions were very decent considering it is a fine dining restaurant. The tiger shrimps didn't have much taste to it. You can barely taste the shrimp in the tiger shrimps causing the loss in points. The tenderloin was tender and very good. The gf's steak turned out very tender too and she thought it was very enjoyable. Desserts came and their famous home-made Tiramisu was very delicious. I'm not a fan of desserts but I really enjoyed the Tiramisu. They used some sort of cocoa powder on the top creating a bitter chocolate taste to offset the sweetness of the cake.
Service 4/5:
The service there was decent. It's nothing to write home about but it wasn't bad. When we walked in to be seated, the waitress walked really fast almost leaving us behind. The way the seats are arranged, there weren't a lot of place to squeeze by if someone got up. We were sitting near a corner so it was harder to get to us but the waitress still managed to visit us a few times to refill our water and ask us how our food was. I like that. The waitress wasn't really that friendly or talkative but she did look very tired and didn't look like she was feeling too well. When we asked her to take a picture for us, she did try to get a good angle for us. She helped us take two pictures too. She might just be having a bad day that day so I enjoyed her service. When we left though, no one said goodbye to us. Maybe i'm too used to going to chinese restaurants with highly exaggerated hellos and goodbyes (Ajisen) but I expected some sort of goodbye near the door as you leave.
Overall:
The experience was good. We had a good time. These winterlicious/summerlicious events are said to be hit/miss. I think this place is a hit. Good food, decent portion and the waitress was pretty friendly overall. This is the first winterlicious event I've attended and it was pretty decent. We would come again in the summer just to enjoy the view.
-DM
For dinner, I had:
- Jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma with a drizzle of our specially aged Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
- AAA Beef Tenderloin, grilled to Perfection topped with an XO Cognac Reduction, served with Scalloped Potato Toula
- Toula's famous home-made fresh Tiramisu
The GF had:
- Fresh P.E.I. Lobster Tail served on a Saffron Risotto Cake and finished with a Citrus Beurre Blanc
- Toula Classic AAA Rib Eye Steak with a Medley of Wild and Porcini Mushrooms in an Amarone Red Wine reduction, served with herbed roasted Parisian Potatoes
- Home-made fresh Apple Strudel on Callebaut Belgium Chocolate Fondue
Atmosphere 5/5:
The place looks beautiful. We didn't get to see the entire restaurant. The restaurant is located on the 38th floor of a hotel. The elevator ride has an outside view showing the city. The restaurant is circular with the bar and kitchen in the middle. There were areas for more formal dinner with tables. Another area had a more casual feel to it with couches to sit back and relax. They seated us with a lakeside view. Normally, it would've been beautiful (if it wasn't winter and foggy) but I didn't take any points off as it was not something they can control.
Food 4/5:
The food was good. The portions were very decent considering it is a fine dining restaurant. The tiger shrimps didn't have much taste to it. You can barely taste the shrimp in the tiger shrimps causing the loss in points. The tenderloin was tender and very good. The gf's steak turned out very tender too and she thought it was very enjoyable. Desserts came and their famous home-made Tiramisu was very delicious. I'm not a fan of desserts but I really enjoyed the Tiramisu. They used some sort of cocoa powder on the top creating a bitter chocolate taste to offset the sweetness of the cake.
Service 4/5:
The service there was decent. It's nothing to write home about but it wasn't bad. When we walked in to be seated, the waitress walked really fast almost leaving us behind. The way the seats are arranged, there weren't a lot of place to squeeze by if someone got up. We were sitting near a corner so it was harder to get to us but the waitress still managed to visit us a few times to refill our water and ask us how our food was. I like that. The waitress wasn't really that friendly or talkative but she did look very tired and didn't look like she was feeling too well. When we asked her to take a picture for us, she did try to get a good angle for us. She helped us take two pictures too. She might just be having a bad day that day so I enjoyed her service. When we left though, no one said goodbye to us. Maybe i'm too used to going to chinese restaurants with highly exaggerated hellos and goodbyes (Ajisen) but I expected some sort of goodbye near the door as you leave.
Overall:
The experience was good. We had a good time. These winterlicious/summerlicious events are said to be hit/miss. I think this place is a hit. Good food, decent portion and the waitress was pretty friendly overall. This is the first winterlicious event I've attended and it was pretty decent. We would come again in the summer just to enjoy the view.
-DM