We found the hours and single page menu posted on the fence in front of the restaurant. The menu advertises, "We proudly use naturally raised meats, organic dairy, and local artesian products".
Inside, the restaurant is essentially one fairly small room with tables tightly packed in. Brown paper covers each of the candlelit tables, and soft ambient music plays in the background. The atmosphere is warm and cozy, but due to the number of tables in the small room, I found the noise of people talking at other tables to be a bit distracting.
Before we ordered, the waiter brought us potato bread with roasted pepper oil and olives.
I've never eaten potato bread before, and it was delicious. The inside is a little more chewy and more dense than normal bread. The loaf was prepared with potato skins on the top, giving a flavour of baked potato. The oil and peppers perfectly complimented the flavour of the bread.
For my appetizer, I chose the grilled octopus with almonds in charred onion broth.
I had high hopes for this dish, but I found the octopus to be a bit too chewy (maybe this is normal for octopus?) and without much flavour except for the charred parts, which were bitter. The onion broth it was served in was also not exactly my taste, and had a bit of an unpleasant flavour.
Elizabeth ordered the soup of the day, which was parsnips with cream.
Liz: When I was little, my mom used to make chicken soup with carrots and parsnips. Oh, how much I hated parsnip! I would always pick them out, yucky.
So, when I heard that this soup was all parsnips, I just had to try it.
Either parsnips have changed, or my taste has. The soup had delicious sweet flavour, kind of like squash but I could definitely make out the parsnip taste. It was rich and creamy, perfect for a cold day. I would definitely have this soup again.
For my main course I chose the pork with white beans and vegetables.
The pork itself was perfect. On the top, the skin was hard and crispy, which went well with the juicy meat inside. Unfortunately, the sauce for this dish was ok, but not great. The flavour of whatever bean/vegetable combination it was made with really did not compliment the flavour of the pork. It's too bad because with a better sauce this dish would have been fantastic.
For Elizabeth's main course, she chose the duck breast with cabbage and spanish paprika sauce.
Liz: I was really hoping for duck not to be too greasy, but it was :( Grease seeped into the soup base so savory cabbage tasted greasy as well. Meat was juicy and flavorful and there was just the right amount of it. All in all, the dish was average. I would probably not order it again.
Overall, the experience at the Niagara Cafe was pleasant. The service and atmosphere were good, but the taste of the food did not dazzle us. I can't help but compare this restaurant to the Bungalow Cafe (our first review), which had better food for a similar price.
Summary
Niagara Street Cafe
169 Niagara Street
(416) 703-4222
Price: 80$ for 2 people
Rating: 3/5
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