Up in the Supper Club
Is Up In the Air prescient or what? When George Clooney wanders off alone at the end, was he confirming the trend to anomie?
To find out I drop in on Ciao, the new supper club on Yorkville, right opposite the Hazelton Hotel. The supper club genre, an all-in-one-experience, a big, loud entertainment centre with food and drink thrown in, seems made for George Clooney’s character, a guy who chalks up l0 million miles in the air, flying the country as a firing facilitator, never stopping anywhere long enough to stick.
Ciao, the brainchild of The Liberty Grand Entertainment Group which has brought the city Spice Route, Rosewater, Splash, Courthouse, places where it’s easy to forget yourself, is plenty smart. Unlike Flow, the previous tenant of 133 Yorkville, which had an LED projection which kept changing the colour of the façade, Ciao’s exterior is elegant and dark with tiny red pilot lights. Inside, I am confronted with one of the most convoluted spaces in any restaurant, a choice of three floors– I almost need a GPS to get me to the right place.
If I turn right after I enter, I am in the bar with a two story backdrop reflecting the red and black motif and three large plasma screens (showing Good Fellas but real Italian cinema is promised later on). Or I can walk down to the wine cellar which is now the pizza parlour and opens on weekends for the GTA’s avid pizza fans. Luckily the Maitre D is a good traffic cop , and after he’s said “Ciao”, he points me to the right, up a winding stair to the dining floor. As I do so I pass diners in a nook. It’s all very busy.
We’re seated on the banquette that runs down the centre of what might be the top deck of a cruise ship – choicest spots for people watching – against the rails. The décor is becomingly dark with soft lighting, a twinkle of red here and there, Huge vases have been turned upside down and hung with Edison lights. The DJ is tucked away round the corner, spinning Euro-music to chill out by. The staff is dressed by Diesel. The atmosphere is moody. We were skeptical when we came in, expecting a superficial format, but now we’re impressed by the smooth professionalism.
We skim through the stylish menu, umber cardboard, skipping the full page of pizzas, hopping over all the favourites, the page of pastas, insalate, salumeria and alight on antipasto. Right there is deepfried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and parmigiano $12, but we didn’t notice the words seasonal. Too bad. Instead we have baked artichokes stuffed with parmigiano and Italian parsley, seasoning is just right if there are rather too many breadcrumbs $11. The perfect slivers of beef carpaccio $16 are garnished with arugula and shavings of parmigiano.
There are only two second courses, both change daily. The fish today is a dish of mussels, clams, shrimp, the most delicate calamari, some white fish all in a hot spicy tomato ragu $26. The alternative is lamb, three generous chops, $25, deliciously pink with superb potatoes, marvelously fluffy in their roasted skins. Grilled fennel and peppers are pungent counterpoints and so is the hot pepper pickle condiment.
We raise our glasses of Wayne Gretzky Chardonnay $11 (not quite a slapshot from the Great One)to an excellent dinner and to the chef, Roberto Punzo, a longtime veteran of local restaurants and most recently owner of his own eponymous catering company. We have to look over desserts – one seems particularly tempting, semifreddo with cool frangelico zabaglione and berries. Better still, it’s superb.
Ciao covers three demographics, according to my count – twentysomethings for pizza, the middleaged for dining, guys for the bar. There’s nothing wrong with this businesslike approach to pleasing the public – and yet it seems a little coldblooded. The food here is quite a lot better and no more expensive than several neighbourhood restaurants I’ve been to, and yet the local restaurants have been more engaging. A good dinner isn’t just good cooking, it’s an idea spun by an individual, warts and all, and whose personality influences the eater’s enjoyment. Such communication is energizing. It’s very restful to relax in such a bland enviro as Ciao’s. I feel good as I leave but I also feel rather like a robot.
Ciao 133 Yorkville 416-925-2143 No wheelchair access Two stars for food. Dinner for two plus tax $100
