 hen Chris McDonald closed his beloved Avalon - the impossibly upscale John & Adelaide restaurant where he served as executive chef for eleven years - he quietly slipped back to his long forgotten grazing grounds. Surprisingly, he took a rustic turn and opened a tapas bar at Yonge and St. Clair, where he operated the stoves back in ’93.
Far removed from the art-directed plates of Avalon, he was clever to bounce over to something like his new Cava. Sparked with wooden bistro chairs, tables, and a fine-tuned staff, the themes of McDonald’s return to this location will indeed play well for the area dwellers.
With McDonald himself as the executive chef and owner of the wine and tapas bar, you’d think his personal taste would be noted throughout. Plain and simple by design, the room features a scrubbed concrete floor and beige plastered walls. Heavy oak tables and a carved-wood bar take up most of the small space making it super cute but not as elegant. The “rustic” elements of the space were fashioned by uber design firm 3rd Uncle, which has transformed the space into a busy bistro.
Drop by on a weekday evening and the place is packed. Stop by on a Monday night (when you'd think all good Forest Hillers would be at home in bed watching The Apprentice), and the little place is filled. Don't even try to squeeze in on a Friday or Saturday. Who are all these people and where on earth did they come from?
Pretensions aside, Cava (the name refers to a sparkling white wine made using the "Method Champenoise”) is all about light wining and dining. The tapas based menu is McDonald’s interpretation of rustic modern dining, with an emphasis on the casual symbiosis between food and wine. But it’s actually Chef Doug Penfold that mans the kitchen (Penfold and several other staff are from Avalon).
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 AT A GLANCE
Cava
1560 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON
416-979-9918
Tapas
St Clair
Venue:
Bistro
Hours:
Mon. to Sat.: 5:00pm - 10:00pm Sun.: 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Price Range:
$$$ (within reach)
Payment:
Master Card, Visa, American Express
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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3 Reader Reviews | For our 5th anniversary we decided to try out Cava on a last minute recommendation from close friends. I called around 7:30 and managed to secure an 8:00 pm reservation for two.
When we arrived we had to wait a few minutes to be acknowledged,even though 2 of the staff clearly noticed us from the bar area. The gentlemen that seated us was not the most cordial fellow either, and when he sat us between two other tightly packed tables (even though a good portion of the restaurant was open) I knew things had not gotten off on the right foot. Now normally I would have piped up and asked for another table, but for whatever reason I decided to just go with the flow.
Shortly thereafter our waiter arrived to take our order and help us with the menu. He seemed very nice and was very willing to help us decide. In the end we chose 7 or 8 dishes.
The popcorn was really good and an interesting way to start the meal. That was followed by a crostini dish which was very good (although the tomatoes could have been of better quality). We then had the cuttlefish salad which was excellent, although maybe just a tad overcooked. Next was the sardines done 2 ways. We both really liked the grilled version with olive tapenade and found the other version not to our liking. And...this is where things really started going down hill.
After our last round of tapas, we found ourselves waiting for about 10 minutes. I thought it was a little strange, but just figured that this was tapas style after all and maybe we were meant to take our time. At the 20 minute mark our drinks have been empty for some time and there is still no sign of more food or a waiter - yet I decide to remain patient. After 25 minutes my girlfriend decides to wave down the gentleman who has been delivering our food to ask if he knew when our next dish was expected. He apologized for the delay and went to check. Finally after a half hour our waiter comes over to explain that the computer is down and that is why our order did not make it to the kitchen but that the rest of our order should be out shortly. Now this would be all fine and good if he would have explained this to us maybe 10 minutes into our delay, but 30 minutes is crazy. To add to all this, we know for a fact that this computer was down well before we arrived as we overheard a waitress commenting on it when we first sat down! Now if you know the computer is down, I would think it the restaurant's responsibility to work around the problem. Maybe hand deliver the order to the kitchen? Just a wacky thought.
After roughly 35 minutes since we last saw food on the table, our next 2 dishes show up. I don't recall what they were, cod cakes and a clam dish perhaps...the point is that at this point I have completely lost my appetite and I am getting really worked up. My girlfriend is still hungry and picks at the food, but we both decide we've about had it. From there I went and found the waiter and explained (without losing my cool or raising my voice or anything to that effect) that we would be foregoing the final dish (48 hour braised beef cheek I believe) and provided him with the reasons why. He again apologized and did not charge us for the last 2 dishes we didn't really eat.
Now I really don't know if the service we received was typical or just an off night, but either way we won't be going back and I ask you to take our experience into account when deciding on whether or not Cava is where you want to be spending a special evening.
Conclusion: Food is good, but not good enough to account for poor service.
1. Anonymous's Review :: June 04, 2007 |
For our 5th anniversary we decided to try out Cava on a last minute recommendation from close friends. I called around 7:30 and managed to secure an 8:00 pm reservation for two.
When we arrived we had to wait a few minutes to be acknowledged,even though 2 of the staff clearly noticed us from the bar area. The gentlemen that seated us was not the most cordial fellow either, and when he sat us between two other tightly packed tables (even though a good portion of the restaurant was open) I knew things had not gotten off on the right foot. Now normally I would have piped up and asked for another table, but for whatever reason I decided to just go with the flow.
Shortly thereafter our waiter arrived to take our order and help us with the menu. He seemed very nice and was very willing to help us decide. In the end we chose 7 or 8 dishes.
The popcorn was really good and an interesting way to start the meal. That was followed by a crostini dish which was very good (although the tomatoes could have been of better quality). We then had the cuttlefish salad which was excellent, although maybe just a tad overcooked. Next was the sardines done 2 ways. We both really liked the grilled version with olive tapenade and found the other version not to our liking. And...this is where things really started going down hill.
After our last round of tapas, we found ourselves waiting for about 10 minutes. I thought it was a little strange, but just figured that this was tapas style after all and maybe we were meant to take our time. At the 20 minute mark our drinks have been empty for some time and there is still no sign of more food or a waiter - yet I decide to remain patient. After 25 minutes my girlfriend decides to wave down the gentleman who has been delivering our food to ask if he knew when our next dish was expected. He apologized for the delay and went to check. Finally after a half hour our waiter comes over to explain that the computer is down and that is why our order did not make it to the kitchen but that the rest of our order should be out shortly. Now this would be all fine and good if he would have explained this to us maybe 10 minutes into our delay, but 30 minutes is crazy. To add to all this, we know for a fact that this computer was down well before we arrived as we overheard a waitress commenting on it when we first sat down! Now if you know the computer is down, I would think it the restaurant's responsibility to work around the problem. Maybe hand deliver the order to the kitchen? Just a wacky thought.
After roughly 35 minutes since we last saw food on the table, our next 2 dishes show up. I don't recall what they were, cod cakes and a clam dish perhaps...the point is that at this point I have completely lost my appetite and I am getting really worked up. My girlfriend is still hungry and picks at the food, but we both decide we've about had it. From there I went and found the waiter and explained (without losing my cool or raising my voice or anything to that effect) that we would be foregoing the final dish (48 hour braised beef cheek I believe) and provided him with the reasons why. He again apologized and did not charge us for the last 2 dishes we didn't really eat.
Now I really don't know if the service we received was typical or just an off night, but either way we won't be going back and I ask you to take our experience into account when deciding on whether or not Cava is where you want to be spending a special evening.
Conclusion: Food is good, but not good enough to account for poor service.
2. John's Review :: June 04, 2007 John's Rating: 2 Stars |
Firstly, I loved Avalon and think that Chris MacDonald is one of the city's best chefs.
Secondly, I want to love Cava, I really do. I love the name and I love the concept, but when we actually found the location (ask for directions if you're not familiar with the neighbourhood), I was a bit disappointed with the look of the restaurant. First impressions count and this generic, almost sterile, modern-for-10-years-ago space was anything but vibrant, tapas-friendly or warm. Judging from the safely non-decorated space, this could have been an Italian restaurant, a wine bar, cafe, or any run-of-the-mill North American resto. Is it Spanish? Is it French-inspired? Some colours on the walls and fun, thematic decor (bull-fighting posters, Spanish tiles) would not go amiss. The waiter did inform us that the space is "a work in progess." So while paying up to $18 for a tiny tapas portion, expect an Ikea tealight holder for your table's decor.
But a restaurant is all about its food and these little things (including the women's bathroom with the the sinks behind the door - watch your back when washing your hands) can be overlooked if the food makes up for it.
The food is good but if it weren't Mr. MacDonald's name over the door I don't know how forgiving I'd be. The "tripe with foie gras and chickpeas" described by our waiter as the "best on the menu" was rather ho-hum. The foie gras was delicious but the tripe was inconsequential and the chickpeas were hard. The octopus with fingerling potatoes was ok - the octopus tender enough but the fingerlings were charred to the point of being blackened. We also had to wait about 30 minutes for this tapas-size order. At 6:45 p.m., the "48-hour beef cheeks" were "sold out" - isn't tapas the ideal late night food? Although, with this clientele, 6:45 might very well be late (expect to see men wearing pink sweaters tied over their polo shirts on evenings when the humidex is in the high 30s).
Our waiter, though friendly enough, had greasy glasses and wore a wrinkly, tea-coloured dress shirt that, at some point in its life, must have been white.
The patas fritas were yummy ( the contraption that is inserted in to the table to hold them, however, is a little bizarre) but the jamon serrano was tough and too thickly sliced (our corner deli does it better - ethereal,thin slices a la Lupa in NYC).
The hostess, bedraggled and constantly fussing with her apparently unwashed hair, did not inspire a confidence in overall cleanliness and Mr. MacDonald himself, at times, wandered seemingly aimlessly through the place in his shorts.
Is it worthgoing to? Yes - if you like a "work in progress." I think Chef should pull in the reins, remember the tightly-run ship at Avalon, and realize that even a relaxed, bistro-type establishment (and these prices creep up fastly beyond bistro tabs) needs to be run with an iron fist - get rid of the sloppy staff, work on the ambience and, most importantly, get back in the kitchen.
3. Christy's Review :: June 03, 2006 Christy's Rating: 2 Stars |
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1560 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON |
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