Il Centro | www.ilcentro.ca | 252 Lakeshore Rd Pointe-Claire, QC H9S | (514) 695-6222
Il Centro is an Italian restaurant in an old Victorian home on the edge of Pointe Claire Village. We have driven past it a zillion times...most notably en route to The Pub (Ye Old Orchard - the best addition to the West island since Panama, but that's another blog entirely...), and thought it was time to give it a try. After enjoying a really nice evening there, we suggest you give it a try as well - it's worth a visit.
At first the ambiance threatens to be a little too cozy - the main floor layout from the original home was maintained, so the restaurant is broken down into two main dining rooms, which seat under 20 people each. Early in the evening, before it fills up, you can eavesdrop on pretty much every conversation without making much of an effort - but by 7h30 the restaurant was pretty full, and the combination of the overall din of conversation and the soft music drown out the distracting talk around you.
First of all, service deserves a nod. The owners were on site, and you knew it - they were clearing and serving, and generally making sure everything ran smoothly, which is really nice. It's also why the other staff is so well trained and attentive - they seemed genuinely happy to be there, and they cared whether we were as well - very nice.
We started with the marinated octopus and the escargot/mushroom starters, both of which were delicious. Mains were veal pizzaiola and a parpadelle from the table d'hote menu, with sun dried tomatoes and chicken in cream sauce - again both very good. The food is fresh and uncomplicated, and could have been prepared by someone's Nonni - it's that kind of good.
The wine selection is not bad, although there were a lot of the usual suspects on hand. The website indicates that they cellar over 500 bottles - so maybe there were options which were not on the wine list? We opted for a 2005 Barolo which was the perfect temperature. We skipped on dessert and coffee, heading to the aforementioned pub for a pint instead (hey, we don't get out much - we need to cram as much adult time into an evening as possible!), and in retrospect I kind of regret it because I suspect both their coffee and sweets are good. Next time...cause we will go back.