Montreal Gazette

A STALWART OF OLD-SCHOOL ITALIAN

Montreal landmark Da Vinci has been serving up the classics since 1960

- LESLEY CHESTERMAN

Toronto food writer Amy Rosen recently came to Montreal to write about our upscale, and by now old-school, Szechuan restaurant­s. According to Rosen, restaurant­s like L’Orchidée de Chine and Piment 2 (the remake of the old Piment Rouge) are unique in Canada and have become a category onto their own. It never occurred to me that such establishm­ents weren’t omnipresen­t in all big cities, which made me wonder about old-school restaurant­s overall.

Since Le Mas des Olivier closed, you would be hard-pressed to find a classic French restaurant in Montreal. And as for Italian, consider how many have closed over the past decade — among them, La Cantina, Casa Napoli, Le Muscadin, Le Piémontais and La Sila, as well as those two power houses, Le Latini and Il Mulino.

With a push in one direction toward authentici­ty and another toward creativity, Italian food has taken on renewed appeal in our city, especially when enjoyed in less formal surroundin­gs at more reasonable prices.

And yet, the older Italian restaurant­s still seem to be drawing in crowds, proof being a dining room full of happy diners at a recent meal at one of downtown’s most famous old-school Italian restaurant­s, Da Vinci.

First reviewed in these pages some 17 years ago, DaVinci had been operating since 1960 at the time under the Mazzaferro family. The menu, southern in spirit, offered a repertory of popular dishes from various regions of Italy.

Waiters were tuxedoed, tables were clothed, and towering pepper mills descended the moment appetizers hit the table. Top quality Tuscan olive oil was set on every table, a bowl of walnuts was served before dessert and homemade amaretti cookies arrived with coffee. All great.

Save for the high wine markups (a given, alas, with many of the city’s Italian restaurant­s), I loved the whole thing, from the carpaccio made with thinly sliced beef tenderloin, to the silky semifreddo packed with caramelize­d hazelnuts and chocolate.

There was nothing all that exciting about the food, but the quality of ingredient­s was excellent and the end result was delicious.

On the way out, the gentlemen waiters would always thank you for coming, you’d pick up your coat at the coat check (when was

the last time you even saw a coat check?) and you’d linger for a few minutes in the vestibule checking out the photo display of stars like Céline Dion, Michael Schumacher and Jean Béliveau (Da Vinci is a long standing favourite with the hockey crowd).

When heading back out onto Bishop St., you couldn’t help thinking that though a night at Da Vinci didn’t come cheap, it was all so civilized.

I returned a few times over the years, the last being in 2008 after the restaurant was bought from the Mazzaferos by an American family. I still recall that perfect Italian meal in the beautiful-asever, candlelit dining room. The chef, Renato Ferrante, a veteran of the establishm­ent, earned a three-and-a-half star rating.

Now, eight years later, the restaurant has changed hands again, with Ferrante taking over with a front-of-house partner, Vincenzo Amodeo. I was happy to hear the same chef was in place, and eager to return en famille to see what — if anything — had changed.

Well, sadly, much has changed. There are still many positives to a night at Da Vinci, but it’s not quite the restaurant I remember.

First, the menu seems frozen in time. I can understand staying true to the classics, but I can’t help but wonder how long a chef can keep making arugula and Parmesan salads and seafood fettuccini before going around the bend.

And as for the little details I remember? Long gone. We were presented with a platter of sliced sausage and garlic bread, and then a basket filled with some more (pretty terrible) bread and rock-hard grissini. Not the most auspicious start to the meal, but the waiters were so friendly and welcoming, and the ambience was so pleasantly formal that one of my kids said, “Mom, I’ll make an extra effort to sit up straight tonight.”

To begin, we opted for those three Italian restaurant warhorses: caprese salad, fried calamari, and a prosciutto and Parmesan platter.

As we’re not in tomato season, I inquired about the quality of the tomatoes. Not to worry, said our waiter, they were top quality Savoura tomatoes that were nice and “crispy.” Not sure crispy’s a quality you look for in a tomato, but the ones that arrived were firm and delicious. But what scored most was the luscious buffalo mozzarella served alongside that simply made the dish.

As for the calamari, well, it wasn’t as shattering-on-the-outside-and-tender-on-the-inside as the one I last tasted here, but it was still perfectly acceptable. But the prosciutto plate was a bust as it contained six slices of prosciutto and a few tiny bâtonnets of Parmigiano-Reggiano without a drop of the promised “aged balsamic from Modena.” For $19, that sad and stingy plate didn’t cut it.

From the pasta section of the menu we sampled a plate of ricotta gnocchi. The dumplings were nice and light, but poorly enhanced by the accompanyi­ng thin and rather sweet tomato sauce.

The farfalle Santa Maria is a house classic which I enjoyed here in the past, made with spaghetti instead of today’s bowtie pasta. Sautéed with smoked salmon, shrimp, tomatoes and green onion, the pasta was too copious in portion, especially in regards to the smoked salmon which overwhelme­d all the other flavours. I remember liking this dish, but this time half went back untouched.

The next dishes fared better. First up, risotto enhanced with green peas and topped with succulent little lamb chops. The meat was rosé and delectable, and though the risotto was mushier than I would have liked, my kids lapped it up in seconds. Still, for $35, I expect a made-to-order risotto and this one tasted like it was cooked halfway in advance.

That very same risotto arrived with a dish of ossobuco. Another house specialty, this hulking veal shank wowed because the meat was flavourful, tender, perfectly cooked and loaded with plenty of soft marrow. Yum!

Though missing the traditiona­l gremolata garnish and served with one measly stem of bitter rapini, the dish was one of the highlights of the dinner, especially with the San Felice Chianti 2012 we selected from a wine list filled with old classics unfortunat­ely sold at steep prices. That San Felice retails for $27.20 at the SAQ and sells for $75 here, which, in the end, sets you back $97 with tax and tip. Ouch.

From the dolci menu, there’s a fine molten chocolate cake and a good — if a little stiff — panna cotta. But if you’re to get one dessert, don’t miss the cannoli, which are crunchy/creamy and utterly scarffable.

I left DaVinci stuffed, but definitely lighter in the pocket. This is an expensive restaurant, and for the price I wish the food was that much sharper. I liked the warm ambience, the formality of the place, the oh-so solicitous service. And I understand there’s a price to pay for old-school fine dining. But having experience­d superior food in this very same space prepared by the very same chef, no doubt they could and should do better. criticsnot­ebook@gmail.com twitter.com/LesleyChes­trman You can hear Lesley Chesterman on ICI Radio-Canada Première’s Médium Large (95.1 FM) Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and on CHOM (97.7 FM) Wednesdays at 7:10 a.m.

 ?? PHOTOS: MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER ?? Ristorante Da Vinci’s chef and co-owner, Renato Ferrante, right, with partner Vincenzo Amodeo and staff.
PHOTOS: MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER Ristorante Da Vinci’s chef and co-owner, Renato Ferrante, right, with partner Vincenzo Amodeo and staff.
 ??  ?? The lamb — “pink and delectable” — is served with risotto and peas.
The lamb — “pink and delectable” — is served with risotto and peas.
 ??  ?? Ossobucco is a house specialty at Ristorante Da Vinci.
Ossobucco is a house specialty at Ristorante Da Vinci.
 ??  ?? Olive oil is poured on the tomato and mozzarella appetizer.
Olive oil is poured on the tomato and mozzarella appetizer.
 ??  ?? For dessert, don’t miss the crunchy and creamy cannoli.
For dessert, don’t miss the crunchy and creamy cannoli.

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