New Owner + Same great Chefs = Amazing Food - as well as Amazing service by the way!!
I cannot give enough high praises about this place! Totally loved it!! I am new in town and had it recommended to me by a co-worker. Based on the high praises I could not wait to go. And it did not disappoint!
The Owners changed hands just recently (May 1st) and they have already made some great changes. As of Sunday, May 21st they will have an amazing sidewalk patio that can seat sixteen. It will be so nice on our great summer days! They have half price wine on Wednesdays - who cannot pass up that deal?? And I suspect some other summer specials may be coming their way.
I had the Sacchetti Con Tatufo - a lovely and decadent truffle filled sacchetti (probably the creamiest filling I have tasted) in a Brandy Cream Sauce topped with Italian Black Truffles. How does it get any better than that?! It was scrumptious. Delicious. Decadent. I loved it! And I am a hard critic, particularly when it comes to pasta.
They have several other dishes that come highly recommended some which are particularly interesting that you would not typically find on a lot of other menus. For example, their Arogosta Frites(Lobster Fries) - Italian Fries topped with Langostino and their special blend of cheeses. They offer two soups, two salads, and nine enticing appetizers including Prawns stuffed with cheese wrapped in prosciutto served with a Maple Apple Reduction (sounds amazing!) Calamari, Stuffed Risotto Balls, Crab and Shrimp Cakes and others including a Charcuterie Board of assorted imported and domestic cheeses, Italian deli meats with Focaccia and house made preserves. $24 but if you want to add a bottle of house wine the cost is $60. Nice way to spend an afternoon in the sun on their patio if you ask me!
They also offer seven pastas and eleven entrees of beef, veal, fish, lamb or chicken. Some that look particularly enticing to me and that I will have to try on upcoming visits soon include: Bistecca Alexander - an 8 ounce tenderloin grilled with scallops, prawns and langostino topped with Chardonnay, Gorgonzola Cheese, cream sauce - sounds AMAZING!! Also the Veal Saltimbocca stuffed with basil, parmesan cheese and prosciutto bakes with a brandy cream sauce. Their Atlantic Salmon is baked in Wine with a Tarragon Cream Sacue and their Rack of Lamb is marinated in a raspberry, rosemary vinaigrette grilled and flambéed in Chambord (who does that? Awesome!!) For those of you that love a red sauce, they have plenty of those as well, I just always gravitate towards the creamy sauces. Their pastas offer half size options as well. Dinners are served with a great selection of sides but you also have the option to upgrade to one of their premium sides including Lobster Risotto, Lobster Fries, Gnocchi in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, and Pasta in a Garlic Cream Sauce or a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. Nice!
La Casa Pergola is also open for lunch offering two soups, four salads, five pastas, their Lobster Fries and eight mains from burgers to veal chicken steak and salmon offerings with 1/2 size options available. A variety of yummy sounding deserts are also available.
So back to my night. My food was excellent, the bottle of wine recommended was great and the service from Alex was absolutely perfect. He is a real gem! And I appreciated Chef Cory coming out to my table so that I could share with him how much I enjoyed his food. It was a great evening and I will be back again soon - probably next weekend!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that people believe this is a high priced restaurant. I really have to disagree. This is a fine dining establishment for sure. But the food is of such high quality and the tastes and flavours are so impeccable that it is certainly worth the price point and many others restaurants of this quality are much more expensive.
My only complaint - and it's not even a complaint but rather a request. Even though this is a fine dining establishment, I would appreciate having one wine available at a lower price point. Most of their wines are not available in a liquor store so you are getting a good quality wine but the lowest price is $40. Other options range between $48 and $202 with quite a good selection. Cocktails range from $7 - $8 and up to $13. AND THE GREAT NEWS?! There is a HAPPY HOUR from 3 - 6 PM with Hi-balls, Beer and Wine for $6. I would definitely recommend you check this out after work one day and then stay for an amazing dinner!
Oh and one other thing that I wasn't aware of but I read it on the back of their wine menu, they have a FIVE COURSE CHEF'S TASTING MENU for $100 per person, $160 with wine pairings. This, in my experience, is reasonable for a five course tasting menu. I always just order a bottle of wine, instead of including the wine pairings because they always seem priced high to me, but maybe one day I'll splurge. I'm sure it would be an amazing experience!
