Cafe Brio is big on reputation. They've been around the block and don't really have anything to prove. The outcome from a consumer point of view is consistent quality, premium pricing and moderate creativity. If your relatives are in town from Toronto, Cafe Brio is a safe bet, but isn't going to knock anyone's socks off. Cafe Brio is a good restaurant - they do everything right, but don't take many risks.   

We were seated promptly and given a choice to sit in the restaurant's main dinning room or in the atrium off the front patio. We went for the somewhat more private atrium. Cafe Brio is known to many for the building's unusual Mediterranean design. While distinctive, to most it looks out of place on Antique Row. Happily, once you're seated, it doesn't seem so out of place. However, some of the decor, like the blue glass table settings, is a little dated. Patty also noted that the men's room, was not up to par - the pull-down revolving towel dispenser disturbed him.

We were offered cocktails quickly upon seating and were pleased to see Asti Spumanti by the glass on the wine list - a fun drink. We noted that they also had a selection of sparkling wines by the half litre. We'd never seen that before, as sparkling wine doesn't usually lend itself to a carafe.

Our server was very professional. The menu was loaded with cooking jargon, but the server was able to describe all the dishes we asked about. Seriously, as two professional cooks we were challenged (and amused) by the number of textbook terms on this menu.

We started out with the charcuterie plate ($14 for one, $22 for two) - chicken liver mousse, rabbit ballantine and venison and walnut salami. The portions and the presentation were good and the quality of the meats and accoutrement high.  All the meats had distinctive flavours and were well executed examples of charcuterie. We were impressed by the amount of energy put into the garnishes, including a variety of pickled vegetables, fresh items and aspic.   

For our mains, Patty had the Papparadelle with rabbit and mushrooms ($18 for the smaller portion). Not a ground-breaking dish, it was tasty and well-balanced. It did lack a garnish, for both presentation's sake and flavour contrast.

I had the pork belly with sordalise potatoes and sauce gribiche, no doubt the most interesting selection on the menu - I was in for a surprise. I love pork belly, the fat, the richness, it all works for me, but this dish seriously pushed the limits of my coronary system  (for those of you who don't know, pork belly is like un-smoked bacon). The dish consisted of about 8 oz of seared pork belly, with potatoes cooked in duck fat, served atop an egg-based sauce, with chopped egg added to it. I can handle a lot of fat, but by the end of this meal I felt my body screaming at me to stop the punishment. I liked the combination of flavours, but I wonder if a reduced portion would have been better as a first course, or if omitting the potatoes and replacing them with something fresher would have cut some of the fat - a little watercress would have gone a long way.

Clearly we were too full for dessert. I went for a coffee and Patty went for a grappa de moscato ($14). While they remedied the situation very quickly, the drink was served discoloured by a dirty measuring jigger.

The wine and beverage selection at Cafe Brio is good. I am hard pressed to find anything to criticise about the selection, but nor didn't I find anything in the selection that really excited me. The non-wine selections are acceptable, but not spectacular. Generally, the list could handle a little more creativity, but otherwise parallels closely with the theme of the restaurant. 

If you're looking for a quality, no-surprise kind of restaurant, Cafe Brio is a good plan. I'd like to see Cafe Brio take a few more risks, and a balance their menu with a couple of protein-lighter selections (this is not a place for vegetarians).  It's quite clear that Cafe Brio has the talent in place to engage in a more competitive culinary approach, but lacks motivation.

Value of food 77/100

Quality of food 80/100

Wine and beverage 80/100

Ambiance 78/100

Service 83/100

Average 80/100

reviewed May 8, 2006