There are many milestones that should be celebrated in life, be it birthdays and anniversaries or hard-earned achievements. Thinking back, there were many wonderful moments spent at themed birthday parties and silly laughs at childhood jokes. The one thing that has remained constant has been the wonderful friends that have always been there, old and new, that make each milestone just that much more special. As we all got older, it seemed more difficult to get everyone together to celebrate, with busy schedules and distance separating us. While I panicked about hitting the 2-0s in age, I realized that the only thing that I wanted was to have all my friends together for a great meal.
I settled on the Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill at Bayview Village. I’d always wanted to try a restaurant in the O&B chain and the location seemed the closest to being the center point of all of our homes. If you have a party greater than 15, you won’t be able to make a reservation online and the restaurant won’t seat you for 5-7pm on weekends. Those are their high volume service times so they offered me a table for 8pm (you’re welcome to stay for as long as you need to after closing so don’t worry about the restaurant hours). Since I had gathered everyone together under the pretense of celebrating my birthday (I really just wanted to see all of them), my friends wanted to bring a cake. O&B does charge a $2.50 plating fee per person at the table but will plate and decorate the cake, portion and cut, and package any leftovers for you. Since some of my friends had allergies and wouldn’t be participating in the eating, we cheated and a friend of mine (shoutout to Jen K.!) convinced the waitress to allow the cupcakes that she had baked at no charge. I guess you’re welcome to get creative with this rule but there are no guarantees for what they will and will not allow.
The evening started out a bit rocky since the hostess at the entrance didn’t exactly leave the most friendly or warmest of impressions. Upon approaching her, she directly told me that we couldn’t be seated until at least 75% of my party was confirmed to be present. It was a fair policy but her delivery didn’t exactly sit well. Huge portions of my experience at restaurants are the staff that work there and it really contributes to a positive impression if they’re courteous and go the extra mile to make you feel welcome. Perhaps she was having a bad day, but it’s more comfortable for everyone if emotions are kept in check for a private setting. Due to the size of my party, we had to be split into two tables. The décor of the restaurant gave a relaxed, low-key vibe as you are immersed in a space of ambient conversations and the sounds and smells of the open kitchen. Silhouetted candles helped to brighten up the tables by supplementing the slightly dim lighting. Our very friendly waitress made up for the earlier exchange with the hostess.
My friends insisted that I start out my meal with a cocktail so I opted for the Bayview Sangria. It’s a fruity drink that’s based in vodka, but the strong taste of the liquor is masked by cranberry, peach and fresh lemon. I don’t drink too much at restaurants (always driving home) so I can’t comment much on the price but I will say that it was delicious and fun! A funny routine of my friends and I is our usual inspection and critique of the breadbasket. On very few occasions will a restaurant deliver on nice, fresh, soft bread and O&B did not earn that distinction that night. For our table, we had two orders of Grilled Brown Butter Calamari with olives, anchovies & Tuscan bean salad as an appetizer. The calamari was most definitely a standout from the evening: the squid was so nicely prepared and just melted in your mouth with a subtle hint of butter. Although I’m not a fan of olives, the Tuscan bean salad gave a nice refreshing bite to contrast with the creamy goodness of the calamari. It’s safe to say that we happily cleared both dishes.
The menu at Bayview Village’s O&B does not differ too greatly with its downtown counterpart and features a varying selection of foods that range from pizza to steak. According to our waitress, the daily specials can be quite popular depending on the day of the week but, unfortunately for us, they were all out of the Sunday Roast Dinner. Instead, I chose the Roasted Heritage Salmon with tomato ratatouille, basil pesto, fregula & winter squash mostarda. Quite frankly I chose after seeing “salmon” since I didn’t know what half of what the other things listed with this dish were. The dish came layered with what I assumed to be the basil pesto on the bottom and then the fregula (small, chewy, grain-like pasta) and tomato ratatouille in the middle and the salmon sitting on top. I’m not sure where the winter squash mostarda (usually candied fruit) was hiding out. Each element had a distinct flavour and texture that mixed well to create a complex dish. The salmon was cooked to medium-rare and retained a buttery consistency. I really enjoyed the fregula since the dough absorbed a lot of flavour and gave an interesting chew. One point of conflict would be the amount of oil that this dish held. Towards the end it seemed as if each bite had too much slickness and got a little sickening.
The best part about eating with friends is being able to mooch off bites of their food and having the opportunity to try more than one thing during a meal. Two other dishes worth mentioning are the Fish and Chips (two pieces of haddock, Yukon Gold fries, creamy coleslaw & tartar sauce) and Leo’s Parsnip Ravioli with wilted spinach, toasted walnuts, Woolwich goat cheese & brown butter sauce. Fish and chips seem like a pretty boring and standard dish but was really nicely prepared. The batter was flavourful, full of crunch, and provided the perfect home for a nice succulent piece of haddock. The ravioli was really rich, creamy, and was unsuspectingly filling compared to some of the larger sized entrées. My friends and I found the food greatly enjoyable and the menu provided a lot of options for those with allergies and particular dietary choices (gluten-free, vegetarian).
Overall, the dining experience at Oliver & Bonacini Bayview Village was amicable with good food and even better service. The wait staff were truly tremendous and offered friendly service, excellent recommendations and, of course, patience at our indecision. It was evident that they were comfortable with parties of all sizes and facilitated the bill splits and special requests with ease. Oftentimes restaurants will make the final moments of a shared meal complicated and awkward by not allowing parties to split bills or having some sort of rule to limit the ways to combine checks. The atmosphere at O&B provided a nice backdrop for a relaxed evening of dining out with friends. It’s a definite recommendation for larger parties due to the wide variety in food options and the accommodations that the restaurant provides.
Here are the wine & cocktails and dinner menus for your convenience!
uWAFFLE 