Sambucas on Church

Whenever I get to go on a great dinner date with the person I love, I can easily forget about all the worries in my life and just enjoy a quiet evening with good food and even greater company. Sambucas On Church was an excursion that my partner and I made the evening of our 9 months together, and it has taken its place as our favourite Italian restaurant. Sambucas demonstrated stellar service, delicious food, and reasonable pricing!

The inside of Sambucas was large, and had brick walls inside. It gave a warm, cozy feeling with its wooden floors and candle lit tables. I was a bit disappointed with the age of the restaurant inside, however I think it added some character to it.

Upon our arrival, we had originally came to Sambucas to try their Winterlicious menu choices, however when we arrived they said they weren’t starting it until a later date. Their daily menu however, presented some great promise, and with a set menu price of $30 per person for a 3 course meal, we were intrigued to try out some of the menu choices. We had some inquiries about the menu and the waiter was very hospitable towards us, giving us genuine suggestions and addressing us with kindness and care. Once we settled on our choices, we made our order and awaited our meals in deep anticipation. 

The appetizers included a side of bread and butter, and our choices for our first course. In the middle on the top was my order of Mussels which were p.e.i. mussels and julienne vegetables in a light curry cream sauce. I was surprised by the quantity of the appetizer, it was almost like having a full main course. My boyfriend got the Soup of the day which he claimed was the best soup he’s ever had in a restaurant. A bold statement indeed! Not only was the appetizer large in quantity, but it was even larger in quality – and that’s a very rare thing to find in restaurants. I remember my boyfriend and I were buzzing with excitement after finishing just the first course, and we were eager for what Sambucas had for the rest of the evening!

The main course came out swiftly after the first, and my goodness it was a sight to see! The one at the forefront of the picture above was my order of Linguine, which was linguine pasta with black tiger shrimp, grilled chicken, peppers, oyster mushroom and leeks tossed in truffle olive oil. This was absolutely phenomenal – there were a great amount of tiger shrimp, the peppers, oyster mushroom and leeks were tossed beautifully in the flavors of the truffle olive oil and the dish itself was just spectacular. I think that the grilled chicken was over the top for me, and I could have done without it, but I can see others may enjoy that portion of the dish because it filled the stomach much faster. 

I wish I got a solo picture of my boyfriend’s meal, but in the same picture was the Chicken Parmigiana which was chicken cutlet in rich tomato sauce coated with melted parmesan cheese, served with linguini in tomato sauce and steamed seasonal vegetables. He seemed to really enjoy this dish as well, and the quantity was a huge plus for him. Despite the quantity of our dishes, the tastes were just too good to leave the plate with leftovers. In no time, the main course was devoured.

And of course, we had to reach the three course of this wonderful three course meal with dessert. My boyfriend and I aren’t truly a fan of sweets, however these desserts made us grow an appreciation. On the left hand side up top was my dessert of Creme Brulé which looks standard in looks, but excels in taste. The sugar on the top of the brulé was a little bit chewy to taste, but the sweetest and softness of the flan was still evident and made dessert a joyous experience. On the right hand side was my boyfriend’s Homemade Tiramisu. At first I thought they would simply serve a slice of tiramisu cake, however they gave him one smal bowl of the tiramisu. It was very fluffy, and perfect to taste. 

For dessert however, the quantity played against the experience for us – but that may be because we don’t eat dessert too often. If there were less of it, I think that it would be the greatest. 

For more information on Sambucas, take a visit to their website: http://www.sambucas.ca/

Ratings
Plating – ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ 
Ambiance – ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ 
Taste – ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ 
Service –♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡