HEARTY PLATES OF EUROPEAN FLAVOURS,
It’s one of those places you don’t notice as you drive by. On a side street, behind a collection of trees and bushes sits a red brick building. “Family restaurant” in old-style brush lettering and images of loaded plates beam from the light-box sign. It’s not flashy, but Veslo Family Restaurant isn’t supposed to be.
With its kitchen next to the entrance, aromas of grilled meats and fried schnitzel greet diners before they step foot into the restaurant.
Inside, the dining area is divided into two small rooms. The interior is a little worn, but there’s a strong European feel: sturdy wooden tables and chairs, slat walls, woodtrimmed booths, and a bar with turned wooden uprights.
Friday nights are busy at the 40-seat restaurant. Since they only take bookings for groups of three or more, we waited for a table to free up. While we could have taken one that needed to be vacated in less than an hour (for a reservation), we waited for a table that wouldn’t have us watching the clock.
After about 10 minutes, we found ourselves at a booth in the backroom. Sljivovica — Serbian plum brandy — ($4.49) warmed my throat, and a Rickard’s Red ($4.99) wet my friend’s whistle.
Veslo specializes in dishes from Serbia and its neighbouring countries. Their mains feature schnitzel dinners, chopped beef plates, sausage dinners, and combination platters. A few American-inspired dishes round things out. The food is hearty, sometimes smoky, and often features substantial portions of meat. Options for vegetarians and gluten-free eaters are limited.
The lightly dressed Shopska Salad ($5.49, small) boasted chopped fresh cucumber, green bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, and olives, and was blanketed with grated feta. I expected the Goulash Soup ($5.49, small) to be stewlike, but this version was a soup with chunks and strands of beef and pork in a peppery broth.
Veslo’s Karadjordjeva Schnitzel ($14.99) was a bronzed, rolled pork schnitzel, its hollow filled with house-made kajmak (a rich dairy product somewhat like a slightly tangy clotted cream or a very soft cream cheese). When sliced, a creamy puddle oozed onto the plate, which made a nice dip for the accompanying diner-style potatoes. The potatoes were fine, but the mixed vegetables lost any crispness they once had.
Chevapi are ground meat sausages without casings, similar to minced meat kebabs. Diners can choose to have theirs with sides or, as my companion did, with lepina (a pitalike, yeasted flatbread), kajmak, and chopped raw onions ($10.99, six sausages). Here, chevapi are made from seasoned ground beef and pork. After grilling, they were seated on the split round of bread, allowing the lepina’s soft tight crumb to soak up the smoky chevap juices.
Baklava ($4) and Krempita ($3.99) ended our meal. The baklava was sweet, but thin on nuts. The krempita was much like a Napoleon, with a tall layer of thick custard cream sandwiched between layers of puff pastry.
Service was mixed. Two staff members tended to us: One was amiable throughout,
but the other started friendly, became brusque when asked questions, and was inattentive by the end. Our mains arrived well before we were done with our starters, a mistiming that led to feeling rushed.
About an hour before closing when diner numbers began to thin, a group arrived and asked for a table for 10. They hadn’t called ahead but were shown to empty seats near us. Fork and knife in hand, my friend and I were tucking into our mains when we were asked to move. We declined (as did the service). It’s important to note that the group was accommodated without my companion or me noticing other diners needing to relocate or be inconvenienced.
It’s clear that Veslo satisfies its niche with generous plates of eastern European flavours. That said, guest experience could improve with a keener eye on timing, consistent service levels, and better guest management.