BESTELLEN

A few weeks ago I went out for dinner with my dad and the restaurant choice was up to me. I knew I wanted to try somewhere new and fun and I knew Bestellen had just opened so it was an easy choice!

"Bestellen," which means "to order" in German was opened by Top Chef Runner Up Rob Rossi and co-owner Ryan Sarfred. The restaurant is totally cool, exposed brick, reclaimed wood and a glass encased meat room give Bestellen a very rustic, cozy and intimate vibe. Near the dining room is a wall which is just dedicated to meat, painted with different cuts of meat and a whole suckling pig! The meat room is also really cool, giving people at the bar and those walking into the dining room a chance to check out their aging meats!

The meal was truly amazing! Sometimes I am nervous when I take my dad or other friends & family to a new restaurants, because I am such a foodie and love trying things, but not everyone is like me. And I am happy to say that he adored it, and was back two weeks later!

To start we had the "Devils on Horseback," deep-fried bacon wrapped dates. So salty and so sweet at the same time, a really great starter for sharing! I had the chorizo stuffed squid with braised white beans, smoked tomato and cilantro. What a great appetizer, the best of both worlds, a spicy sausage and perfectly cooked squid! I also love smoked tomato these days and the cilantro just pulled it all together! For my main I had the seared trout with fingerling potatoes, watercress, caper-anchovy vinaigrette and creme fraiche. This dish was really lovely. The fish was flaky and cooked to perfection, a bit rarer on the inside which I definitely appreciated. My dad had the "dry-aged wellington country prime beef, aged and cut in house." Can it sound any more mouth-watering than that? The meat was pure perfection, juicy, flavourful and beautifully cooked. The side it came with were carrots with honey and thyme, and they were so good we ordered more halfway through dinner!

Bestellen also offers something called "The Family," which is a whole roasted suckling pig served with all of the fixings. They require a minimum of 8 people and 72 hours notice, but for $59/person I think this would be such a fun thing to do with a bunch of friends! So easy and so fun, just leave the night in the chef's hands!

Hurry up and check out Bestellen, because I gaurantee in a month reservations will not be easy to get!!

Bestellen

972 College St West

647-341-6769

www.bestellen.ca

photo credit: toronto life & bestellen.ca