Long on history in a new location, Topo's is a favourite of many Victorians. I'm a notorious hard sell for Italian restaurants - I like Italian food, but I'm seldom impressed by its execution. That said, so many people were inquiring about Topo's new location, that I thought it'd be worth a try.

The new space does wonders for the ambiance. Formerly located in a strip mall on Douglas St, folks would tell it was a hidden gem, well it certainly was hidden. Now, in the former Bravo location on Wharf St, the ambiance is elegant and sophisticated.

The service was definitely the highlight of the evening, pleasant, attentive and notably coordinated. The best I've seen in a long time. We were greeted quickly upon arrival, the hostess stopping what she was doing to seat us and my cocktail service was offered within a minute of sitting down. Our dinner service was shared between a well-trained, but younger server and a more experienced, older server. This can be a recipe for disaster, but they knew their roles and worked together really well.

The menu is very much what you'd expect in a nice Italian restaurant. No major surprises or innovations, but a number of tasty-looking dishes. I was a little disappointed by the lack of daily specials and the absence of vegetarian entrees. Italian, albeit more so Southern Italian, has a lot of traditional meat-free dishes. It takes a little tweaking to make them 'vegetarian,' but is easily done. Despite this, Italian restaurants tend to be among the most disinterested in providing these choices.

The wine list is short, but has some good choices  if you know your Italian wines. There are few stinkers, like the house red, but all in all, well paired. The selection of other bar items is a little light - no beers on tap for example.

We started with the 'famous' calamari ($10). Having come recommended by a Little Piggy reader, I had high expectations. I do appreciate attempts to liven up calamari and this was a good one. Deep-fried, then sautéed with a spicy tomato sauce, it was fresh tasting and legitimately a little bit spicy (I hate it when menu items that are described as spicy, are seasoned grandma spicy). We thought the portion was a little large for one person as a first course, but worked for two. I also wondered that if on a busier night, this would be a risky dish for the kitchen, as it would get soggy really fast if the delivery was delayed even slightly.

For our mains, Patty ordered the scalopini marinara ($26) with the risotto cake and vegetable option. The veal scalopini was notably well executed - tender meat, fried crisp, topped prawns and brandy cream sauce. The risotto cake was standard, but the vegetables were notable for the selection and attention to detail.

I had the osso bucco with fetuccini alfredo ($26). Most notable about this dish was the civilised portion of pasta. I like to order the pasta, but I'm always worried about getting a kilo of noodles on my plate. Topo's spared me this horror and I was able to eat all of it without rubbing my belly in distress. Of course, the osso bucco was the centre of the dish, not the pasta. Tender veal shank, with a thick tomato sauce, that retained it's signature orange flavour. I also liked the little blob of vegetable antipasti as garnish.

Both dishes were portioned large, but for an Italian restaurant were restrained. That said, we couldn't manage dessert. Overall, we were happy with the executions of the dishes, but would have liked a little more creativity. The prices weren't bargain, but for a downtown waterfront restaurant they were acceptable. Certainly though, if you're in the mood for a safe service experience, Topo's is a good bet.

value of food 74/100

quality of food 78/100

wine and beverage 65/100

service 86/100

ambiance 77/100

average 76/100

reviewed January 24, 2007