While it’s been few and far between, a few of my “business” meetings have taken place in the evening over appetizers and wine instead of coffee and croissants. Last night, we ventured out to JAROBlue on 17th Ave for a night of laughter, wine, appy’s and of course just a smidge of business.
We got there about 6:15 and it was empty. In fact, we were the only two in the lounge for about 30 minutes of so. It didn’t actually matter since we were so enamoured with our conversation, and by about 7:30 the place was packed. It was a great vibe, with even better service. If it wouldn’t have been a Thursday night, I’m certain I could have found trouble at the bottom of the wine bottle easily.
We ordered the chef’s platter – and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into as it says, “Let our chef choose items from our menu and his pantry to showcase the diversity of JAROblue’s creativity.” And creative they were!
We started off with a bowl full olives – various in size and flavors – which by the end, I’ve probably never consumed quite so many olives. Next was deepfried cod over neat little strip chips. The cod had an amazing sriracha mint dipping sauce that neither of us could get enough of. In fact, I believe my guest almost licked out the dipping bowl (or would have, if I wasn’t watching her). After a small rest, came the most amazing ravioli, packed with goat cheese. Paired with a dynamite Malbec, this really came to life. Finally, the main course consisted of a walnut, blue cheese salad, duck confit, lamb chops (that literally melted in my mouth), and a roasted pear for “dessert”.
All of this for a reasonable $35.00 per person. We tried and sampled so many items – it was truly a delightful way to experience an amazing tapas restaurant.
The interior design of the place is quite sophisticated and it was easy to get comfortable. Basically it was a lounge, with shorter tables and velvet couches. Dark and dim, the candelabras set an impressive mood. And a shout-out to the music director (or the iPod playlist creator) – indie/Canadian music such as Metric (acoustic versions) really allowed for good conversation and added to the overall sensation of the enjoying the food.
As the night got later, the restaurant turned over quickly, and maintained full capacity. A hopping over 40 crowd for the most part, allowed for a mature and intimate setting. And definitely a great place to relax, drink a glass of wine, and enjoy the company.
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