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In order to understand the newly launched Roof restaurant of
the Park Hyatt Hotel, you have to know something of its past.
Originally, it was a lounge on the 18th floor of the old
Park Plaza Hotel, one of Toronto's historic landmarks. Once a
favourite watering hole for writers, actors and even the occasional
academic, The Roof was great fun, equipped with an outdoor putting
green for happy imbibers.
Nine years ago a small restaurant
was built on the southwest corner. The 14 tables were a deliverance
for romantically-inclined, dedicated diners, especially after the
hotel's rather pathetic record of mediocre food and service. The
cuisine soared under the wonderfully creative hands of Dominique
Dien and later Michael Sullivan -- critics swooned. Unfortunately,
the hotel, in need of major renovation, stumbled into
receivership.
The Hyatt hotel chain was biting at the bit to
get a property in Toronto (the most requested city in North America)
and its recent acquisition of the property earlier this year gave us
hope.
Big bucks later and ready to do battle with Yorkville's
Four Seasons, the Park Hyatt doubled the size of its rooftop
restaurant to seat 78. The transformation produced a room that lacks
intimacy. And only four outdoor tables remain. Fortunately, the
lovely lounge remains unscathed.
Our foray into this bastion
of dining in the sky is met with a cordial hostess and prompt
service. Looking around the room, I get nervous. I only hope my
intuition is wrong.
Tables are filled with casually dressed,
convention-weary hotel guests, there only to eat -- not dine. As
this is the only restaurant in the 348-room hotel (sold out for most
of the summer), the need to focus on food quality to lure the locals
is not a priority. It has a captive audience. This problem is
compounded by high menu prices, something well-heeled travellers are
used to.
The only soup on the dinner and luncheon menu is a
ginger-scented tomato broth with a seafood and caviar rouille ($12).
Why it's two dollars more at lunch is a mystery to me. Perhaps the
soup is popular? I'm told not, and that it's more like seafood stew.
The waiter did mention a minestrone with duck and bacon ($6.75).
Pass.
Seven appetizers appear on the dinner menu, starting at
$10.50. I splurge on the pan-seared foie gras with mille-feuille of
truffled potato crisps ($19). The duck liver is appropriately seared
on the outside; rather rare and slightly runny on the inside with a
correct, if somewhat disenchanting, bitterness. But what of the
mille-feuille? Surely two large burnt chips were not being passed
off as flaky French pastry. Moreover, there's nary a hint of
truffle. Served in a large, wide-brimmed soup bowl, the foie sits on
a hot bed of greens with a tasty light broth at bottom, accompanied
by slightly bitter, chewy, artichoke hearts that really don't mix.
An adroit sommelier would've suggested a glass of sweet Sauternes.
It didn't happen, despite the presence of a delicious 1995 Late
Harvest Indian Summer from Cave Spring ($9.50 a glass).
Appetizer two: a ceviche of halibut with ponzu and a mango
salad and crispy sweet potato ($12). Ten bright, lime-infused,
blade-thin strips of raw fish are next to a tasty sweet 'n' sour
mango salad hugged in a cucumber slice. Not for the vociferously
hungry, but three stars.
One of four pasta dishes includes
the signature handmade lobster ravioli, which supposedly comes in a
truffled white wine sauce with a side of steamed asparagus ($15.50
dinner/$15 lunch). A very pretty dish. One bite later, however, and
I'm convinced I ordered rubbery squid. Send the cooking team over to
chef Paul Boehmer (Opus on Prince Arthur) for lessons on how to make
a great, tender, mouth-watering ravioli. As for the lobster filling,
it's lost in the gently sweet, spicy, anise-driven sauce. Overall,
it doesn't rate.
Of the eight mains, I settle on the roasted
rack of lamb with pommery pecan crust, artichoke-whipped potato,
grilled asparagus and baby carrots ($34). It arrives as ordered:
medium-rare, both tender and flavourful. A glass of pleasingly dry
and plummy 1996 Monterey Vineyards Merlot ($7.95/$33 a bottle)
marries well.
But the five-star highlight goes to the
pan-seared black sea bass with a balsamic vinaigrette, sauteed
spinach and roasted sweet potatoes ($25 dinner/$21 lunch). It's
perfectly prepared, crispy on the outside, moist, fresh and gently
flaky inside with the wonderful texture of a very firm custard that
almost melts in the mouth.
Desserts range from a
rhubarb-lichee Gateau Saint-Honore with Grand Marnier-sabayon
marinated berries ($7), to the "Sweet Indulgence" platter with
poppyseed mango parfait, to a warm Belgian chocolate souffle with
Vahlrona Manjari chocolate mousse tower, fresh berries and assorted
sauces ($13). The Saint-Honore's puff pastry is so poorly executed,
it goes back. (Saint Honorius, the 6th-century bishop of Amiens and
patron saint of pastry cooks, would turn in his grave!) Credit The
Roof for taking it off our tab.
Things fare a bit better
with the souffle. This low-rise effort looks more like a large
upside-down tart. The exterior was firm and cake-like while the
lighter coloured, Hershey-inspired interior poured out like a runny
egg yolk. Nevertheless, it gets three stars -- with a question mark
for interpretation.
The wine list is very extensive with lots
of classy California and big-ticket European imports. A number of
good wines are offered by the glass, including Henry of Pelham's
1997 Chardonnay ($7.50 a glass). But casual buyers should beware
that a few of the wines offered are well past their prime.
I
hate to be thought of as a food terrorist. I rarely return dishes,
but am not prepared to cheerily munch down what's unacceptable. If a
dish doesn't come as advertised, it should be returned. If this was
a small, independently operated, cash-strapped, corner restaurant I
might be more sympathetic. But it isn't.
Clearly, executive
chef Joan Monfaredi isn't in this kitchen. This suggests that most
of the money is made on in-house catering for captive guests. The
Roof is in desperate need of a wake up call. Despite its hits, it
misses too many times and, for my palate, strikes
out.
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A ROOM WITH A VIEW: In spite of the vista,
The Roof restaurant at the new Park Hyatt Hotel needs a
full food reno. |
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