Indulgence alive and well at transformed café

In 2016, residents of Ayr watched while a corner café transformed into a classy restaurant in the heart of their town. The same owner who served the community with her Indulgence Café was ready for a change. After extensive renovations, Table 32 opened last April.

My husband and I remarked at the attention to detail given to setting the atmosphere for the space. There is a rustic side to it with the long wooden bar and stool seating for eight. Then there’s the spectacular tin ceiling and sophisticated lighting that gives the room elegance and charm. A feeling of comfort comes from the wall-to-wall bench seating and fireplace. Stunning signage and a large mirror add a simple touch of décor to the walls.

Our server, who had originally worked at the café, knew the menu well. It seemed as if she too took pride in what the restaurant had to offer. When I asked for a glass of sangria ($8), I sensed that she would have joined me for a glass if she could. She said it would be her first choice. My husband chose a premium beer to start off his evening ($5.75).

After perusing the menu, we both eyed the 32 Harvest peach arugula salad for our starters but my husband chose the Caesar salad instead, giving more variety to write about. We were both served side salads, which at $4 each were suitably sized. We’d anticipated larger salads so noted that next time the dinner size would be more to our liking.

The first of our two mains was the Wild Mushroom Ravioli ($17). It was stuffed with cremini mushrooms combined with goat and cream cheese. The pasta, made inhouse, was delicate and cooked to perfection. The light cream sauce was prepared with sweet pea, arugula and parmesan cheese. In my opinion, anyone that makes pasta this well should have more of it on the menu. I’m hungry for it as I describe it.

The second entrée was flaky Atlantic Salmon ($22), grilled with a fine outer crust. It was served alongside mouthwatering sweet-pea risotto with bacon lardons. It wasn’t my plate, but let’s just say that each taste of that risotto was more delicious than the last. The grilled root vegetables and micro greens with tarragon and shallots added more flavour and colour to the dish.

In the end, it may have been a good thing we felt our salads were small. We had more room for the spectacular finish. The owner says desserts are occasionally made onsite but they generally have selections brought in from a restaurant in Toronto. And, they still carry the famous Kawartha Dairy ice cream that used to draw locals to the original café.

I had watched as a diner close by got excited over his chocolate fudge, salted caramel brownie served with vanilla ice cream. To add to this guilty pleasure, the server added more fudge to his plate. His eyes lit up as he ate it, as did mine when the same dessert was presented to me ($6).

My husband, who has much more of a sweet tooth than I do, gave his dessert very high accolades. It didn’t last long and there was no evidence remaining of his raspberry cheesecake with the chocolate brownie crust ($6). Several times, we watched our server plate carrot cake for other customers. She overheard me say that the icing looked light and creamy. She leaned in and said that it was her favourite. With so many good options, it really was hard to choose.

At Table 32 they may have transformed the café, but indulgence is definitely still on the menu.