KULTURA SOCIAL DINING
Last night a couple of our friends visited Kultura with us - none of us were familiar with it and the only reason I chose this restaurant is simply because I enjoy watching "Everyday Exotic" with chef Roger Mooking on the Food Network. His food is always colourful and a delightful fusion of regular dishes with exotic cultural ingredients. In fact, the plantain recipe on my blog ("Plantain Gratin" ~ Feb 09) comes from his show! So needless to say I was really excited about visiting his restaurant and looking forward to tasting his dishes...and we definitely weren't disappointed!!
The building is unrecognizable from the street as it is simply a storefront that is glass and black metal without any signage that is apparent, and upon entering you are greeted by the hostess in the bar area where later in the evening a DJ also spins the great music that flooded the entire restaurant.
She took us upstairs to this airy, loft-like area with 14' ceilings and skylights. The tables are beautifully set and the club chairs which surrounded our table even had embroidered throw cushions on them!
Essentially everything is served tapas style and since we are all avid foodies, we ordered all but 2 or 3 items on the menu so we could taste everything the restaurant had to offer! There was not one dish that disappointed; chicken samosas with mango chutney, a market variety of cheeses from Quebec with quince paste, sliced pears and toasted walnuts, tuna tartare, risotto with cheeses and wild mushrooms, beef medallions, black sea bass...you name it, we ate it and shared in the wonderful combinations of flavours that surround each dish. Nothing wasn't thoughtfully paired with zesty, pungent ingredients.
Needless to say the wine and cocktails were also flowing!! The only complaint that we had was that there were four of us at the table and the dishes came out with only three items each ~ we felt the waiter could have suggested he order us plates with four items each for a few dollars per plate more.
Dessert was also served in a sharing platter style; we sampled the mini donut holes with caramel and chocolate sauces, a coconut brulee with pineapple sorbet, chocolate tart with salty crisp caramel and ice cream....all finished off with an Americano!
It was heaven and a must for anyone who is interested in trying a variety of dishes with interesting flavour combinations!
Definitely a very trendy, comfortable environment with great music, food and atmosphere!!
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