My husband and I had dinner here during their "Presdelicious" Event and it was fantastic. Now…read more"Presdelicious" is similar to "Winterlicious" and "Summerlicious" where restaurants make a special fixed-price menu with a set number of courses (the name is from the the participating restaurants all being on Preston St). At La Roma it was $38 for a 3 course meal.
We each agreed to get different things, so that we could sample more items. Luckily, we each ended up getting what we would have wanted anyway.
We were given complimentary bread and spiced olives to start. The bread is baked in-house and was quite crusty, but still very good. The olives still had the pits inside, and I found them really salty, although I liked the spicy kick. We got 12 and I ate 2 (my husband ate 10, lol).
I started with the Arugula Salad with Spicy Shrimp. I asked for the dressing on the side, but unfortunately the salad came already dressed. It didn't look overly-dressed and I was quite hungry, so I just ate it. I got 2 large shrimp (although I gave hubby 1) and they were juicy and had a mild spicy kick. The arugula was fresh, and I liked the shaved pecorino cheese on top. The dressing was a pomegranate vinaigrette, but I mostly tasted oil, I didn't taste too much sweetness or tartness. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the salad, although it was a tad over-dressed for my liking.
The hubster got the duck prosciutto, which came on a bed of arugula with asiago cheese. I had some of the duck prosciutto and while it was good, I much preferred my shrimp.
For my main I got the Salmone al Cartoccio. Since I'm not familiar with Italian terms, I didn't realize that it was essentially "en papillote" (wrapped and cooked in parchment paper) until it arrived at the table. It was so delicious. The salmon was perfectly cooked and it was on top of a slice of orange, which was on top of some heirloom carrots, which was on top of a bed of red quinoa. The quinoa was a little crunchy along the edges and the texture went really well with the softness of the carrots. This item should definitely make it to their regular menu!
My husband got the Ucchelletti, which was veal stuffed with shrimp, capicollo, and a blend of cheeses. It came with some heirloom carrots, bell peppers, kale, and potatoes. I had a little taste and it too was delicious, but very rich and filling. Again, I was much happier with my choice. The Ucchelletti is on their regular menu.
For dessert I had the Cannoli. OMG, the best cannoli I have had in my life (although admittedly I've never been to Italy). The pastry was crispy and not overly oily. The filling was thick and creamy and had little discs of chocolate in it. I tasted a citrus element to the cannoli which was different, but I liked it. It was big, which I liked too ;)
My husband got the dark chocolate torte. I only had a tiny bite, but it was rich and creamy as well and full of chocolate flavour. My husband said he could smell the chocolate from the table. It was also delicious, but I'm glad I got the cannoli.
Service was very friendly and attentive. Decor is very pretty and uncluttered. Washrooms are downstairs.
There's a nice sizeable patio out front if you want to eat outside.
There is a private parking lot at the back of the restaurant (entrance on Norman St) but it is not too large and when we arrived at 5:30pm there was only 1 spot left and it was really narrow because the adjacent cars spilled into the spot, so we just parked on the street. I think it's mostly for staff because when we walked in there were only 2 other couples in the restaurant, so at most that would have been 4 cars, but more likely 0-2 cars. So I wouldn't rely on the private parking lot for parking, especially if you're dining at more peak times.
My husband and I are rarely in this neighborhood and we're glad we checked out La Roma because of "Presdelicious." I would definitely go back :)
