This January my husband and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary at Bosk, at Shangri-la Hotel.
Our first time in this restaurant was when we were only visiting Toronto, even before we decided to move here. And we remembered it as a wonderful experience.
This time we decided to try the tasting menu ($125) with wine pairing (plus $85) with a selection of 7 incredible dishes.
Even before the first menu dish they served a bread basket paired with Velvet Clicquot. My favourite was the butter, how can something as simple as butter be so delicious?
Let’s start the menu? Not so fast! Before anything they brought us an incredible amuse bouche made with tartare and caviar. Do I really have to say anything? It was amazing, the best way to start our night.
The first course was a Scallop Crudo, with corn, puffed wild rice and leche de tigre, paired with Mas Carlot Blanc, Costières de Nîmes, FR, 2017. Do you know when you feel like you’re by the sea just because of a flavour? That’s what that dish was!
The second was Ontario Burrata with pumpkin seed pesto, bitter greens, and apple agrodolce, paired with Pouilly Fuissé, Dom. Deux Roches, Burgundy, FR, 2017. It was so fresh and made me feel like eating on a farm.
The third was Sweet Potato Agnolotti, with burnt lemon, almond, sage and smoked mozzarella, paired with Viña AB, Amontillado Sherry, Gonzalez Byass, Jerez, ES. Again, the surprise was in the details: the sage above the agnolotti elevated the flavour.
With the fourth dish we went back to sea. We had a roasted east coast cod with cauliflower, green grapes and brown butter, paired with Sauvignon Blanc, Meldville Estates, Niagara, ON, 2018. I’d never thought I would love something with grapes but I did (yeah, I love wine, but don’t like grapes), which supports my point: I rarely say no to food.
As the fifth dish we had braised beef short rib with cabbage, soubise and dill, paired with Emilien’ Chateau Le Puy, Côtes de Bordeaux, FR, 2013. As I always mention here: beef is my favourite food and if you bring me something braised to perfection… OMG, I will love you forever ❤️.
And then, they brought us what would be my favourite dish that night: Buschbeck Farms Lamb, with eggplant, mint, sweetbread and caponata, paired with Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena, Tuscany, IT, 2015. What can go wrong when you have a premium lamb, right? Especially with a caponata to bring some sharp taste to the dish.
To finish our epic dinner they brought us Apple Tarte Tartin with maple pastry cream, pickled granny smith apples, caramel tuile and crème fraîche ice cream, paired with Muscat de Baumes de Venise, Rhone Valley, FR, 2011. How nice is to have “Happy Anniversary” written on your plate? It can’t get any sweeter than this.
Actually, it can be sweeter than that! As a gift, they gave us a honey pot from Shangri-la Hotel hives. Yep, they have their own hives. While I was researching this I found this article from Toronto Star telling more about their work. It’s really interesting!
After you see all the photos I think I don’t have to say how wonderful the night was. All the dishes were superb and at the right size to make it a great experience. From the beginning to the end, everything made sense, especially when paired with the right wines. That’s why I recommend you opt for the wine pairing if you’re planning to try the tasting menu.
