Italian Opulence in the "Ghetto"

The Pitch

Our "random restaurant" night took us to Da Vinci, an upscale Italian ristorante in downtown's Concordia Ghetto.  We hadn't been to this longstanding "oddball" establishment in over ten years, so a visit was overdue.  We say oddball because it is surrounded by otherwise casual, student-friendly bars and eateries.

The Mood

Classy, ritzy and intimate is how we would describe the setting at Da Vinci.  It's the kind of place you would go to with your significant other or your parents on their anniversary.  However, we thought the wall of fame at the entrance, featuring autographed pictures of everyone from Robert De Niro and Celine Dion to Habs players, didn't really go with the restaurant's elegance.

tagged:  DATE NIGHT SPECIAL OCCASION

The Food

Antipasti

Antipasti

$10.50

$10.50

Sinfonia Verde

"Salade verte composée, poires, noix et fromage gorgonzola"

Antipasti

Antipasti

$18.50

$18.50

Mozzarella di Bufala

"Mozzarella de bufflonne, tranches de tomates, huile d'olive extra vierge et basilic"

Primi

Primi

$43

$43

Linguine Fini del Pescatore

"Linguini avec fruits de mer (demi-homard, pétoncles, crevettes, moules et palourdes) dans une sauce tomate"

Secondi

Secondi

$38

$38

Filetto di Vitello di Latte al Forno

"Filet de veau de lait rôti avec champignons chanterelles, thym frais, purée de pommes de terre Yukon Gold et rapini"

The Service

You know when you walk into a restaurant with several empty tables in the main area, but are told by the staff to sit in a different, isolated, mostly-empty section?  Well, that was our experience tonight, and we weren't happy about it one bit!  It took several requests to different people to finally get a better table.  Asides from that, our waiter was friendly, chatty and irreproachable.

The Verdict

Da Vinci is a relic from a bygone era when upscale restaurants actually invested in posh interiors.  Based on tonight, unfortunately, we felt that was the only predominantly positive aspect of our dinner.  The food tasted good mostly, but lacked a certain creativity in presentation, while the "table" mishap left a bit of a bitter taste in our mouths.  We will definitely give it another shot in the future.

tagged:  DESERVES A RETRY

Price per person:  $55