It was a get-together/welcoming home with friends on a cold Sunday night that the seven of us joined at Fressen for dinner. The restaurant was quiet when we started trickling in around 7:00pm but by the time we all arrived at 7:30pm the restaurant was almost full and buzzing with excitement.
Rounds of cocktails started for the whole table, and the first ones flew out of the bar and onto the table. Fresh juices and ample booze all around, but don't be surprised if your cocktail is more spartan than you're used to; no refined sugar and a focus on healthy and pure ingredients made the "grapefruit fizz" a little sparse on flavour but equally as refreshing. One diner outright hated her drink, but she's the picky one, so we drank it for her and had her order another; problem solved! From there we all moved to wines and beers to warm us up a little on the chilly night and were pleasantly surprised by the wines by the glass and the assortment of great local microbrews on tap.
Bread came to the table warm from the oven with our second round of drinks, and though some of us were surprised not to receive butter (vegan restaurant, duh!) or olive oil we were all pleasantly delighted by the moist, delicious herbed focaccias and olive breads. The bread was gone in an instant.
The table split an assortment of tapas as we contemplated our main orders; we avoided all the salads and such that would be hard to pass around and stuck to splitting orders of the basil hummus, the fava bean smash, the spicy red lentil balls, the marinated olive plate, the chickpea and avocado, and the babaganoush. Three tapas were $15 so the 6 came out to $30; not bad to start a table of 7 instead of ordering conventional apps. The table favourites were the fava bean smash and the spicy red lentil balls, but the spreads (hummus, babaganoush, etc.) were also delightful. It took some time to get another bread basket to have carbs to smear things on, but when another heaping basket of that delicious bread arrived we all pounced like hungry herbivores. No complains there, save for the timing on the second round of bread.
For mains the table was mostly split. The pasta special was a tomato farfalle arrabiata that two friends enjoyed and loved; perfectly spicy and delicious mouth-feel. The other five of us had the spelt linguine with pesto (myself included), the moroccan stew, or the grilled seitan. I tried both the seitan and the stew and was amazed by the wonderfully flavourful sauces of both, though the moroccan stew was the hands-down winner for a hearty, warming meal on a cold night. My spelt linguine with pesto was heavenly and VERY filling (I'm a carnivore and a big guy, and I eat like it most of the time) and the whole pitted olives were the only detriment being a little too salty for my taste after a round with the marinated olive plate at the beginning. Nonetheless, the asparagus and tomatoes were bursting with flavour and the pesto was light yet extremely rich in flavour; I was wowed that I could be so satisfied without an ounce of meat, cheese, butter, or eggs to bulk things up.
I enjoyed a bottle (yes, a bottle, don't judge me) of the Malivoire 2008 Chardonnay that, although perfect, was pricey at almost $50 for the bottle; it's $20 at the store, and a 150% premium is stiff to pay almost anywhere outside Manhattan or LA.
The downside to the delicious food was the wait; there were only two servers on that Sunday and they seemed at times both in cooperating and competition. The mains took 45 minutes to arrive after our appetizers were done. After the first round the drinks were slow coming out from the bar and orders to either of our servers were muddled or delayed. Table checks were infrequent at best, and empty plates and glasses stayed too long at the table after outliving their usefulness. However, both the servers - though harried - were congenial and lively and brought their enthusiasm (if not their A-game) to our table and indeed the whole restaurant. Mid-meal the place was packed and the conversation was flowing so we weren't too bothered; I'll chalk that up to a staffing problem rather than a continuing issue.
Finally desert came: there is one desert and it isn't on the menu, but it's there every night. The kitchen somehow manages to whip pure chocolate, avocado, whiskey, nuts, and magic together into a vegan ganache they call "flourless chocolate cake"; really it's a big truffle in the shape of a triangle surrounded by flawless fruit and drizzled with Raspberry sauce. If you're a chocolate fiend, order a large cup of coffee and dig in, but be sure to bring a friend - it's a lot to get through, and that's coming from a beast of a man like me!
All-in, the night was great. Maybe a better place for a table of two or four, and maybe a little easier on the timing during weekdays. The wine list is good and, though small, quite comprehensive. The food is outstanding and easily some of the best I've ever had (and I'm a regular at Manna in London and Hiltl in Zürich whenever possible) and the food prices are great. I wish the wine and cocktails were cheaper, but I understand they've got to make the big money somewhere. Will definitely return again for another romp through their superb vegan menu.
**Groups 6+ be advised there is a mandatory service charge of 17% on your bill that will be taxed as part of the subtotal with HST**
