After slowly meandering through a lovely Greek-centric lunch at Estiatorio Volos I guided MJ past the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and into the heart of King West Village. Our second feast of the day would be at Patria, one of Toronto’s favourite new King West restaurants which expertly pays homage to the culinary whimsy of Spain.
This would be my second visit to Patria after spending the previous weekend sipping and nibbling my way through a media tasting for a recently launched Patria brunch. We arrived shortly before 2pm, a classic pause for a gastronomic siesta. We opted to sit on the restaurants new patio which offered a gentle breeze on a warm afternoon.
Our meal was truly fantastic. As we leisurely watched the afternoon fade away I found myself closing my eyes and floating back to my adventures in Madrid and Barcelona. The sweet sip of sangria and whiff of jamon serrano made my lips curl with delight. We of course had to start with a patio friendly jug of Paraiso Naranja, perfect for sharing with friends and featuring aperol, codorniu cava and blood orange.
Highlights of our meal included addictive salted and spiced marcona almonds, a selection of imported Spanish cured meats, a legendary cheese from Rafael Baez and sweet and crunchy dates wrapped in iberico bacon, with manchego and guindilla pepper. I couldn’t get enough of the croquetas de jamon topped with creamy aioli. I could literally eat an entire mountain of these deep fried beauties. The final show stopper, Paella Carne Mixta featured confit duck leg, iberico pork rib, chorizo and sweet peas.
The Feast:
Red Sangria
red wine, port, sweet vermouth, spiced poached pear reduction, cloves, orange juice, pear nectar
Paraiso Naranja
aperol, codorniu cava, blood orange
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Almendras Saladas
salted marcona almonds
Pan Con Tomatoe
house baked bread, fresh tomato, olive oil
Seleccion de Embutidos
iberico lomo, morcon salami, iberico salchichon, jamon serrano
D.O Monte Enebro
handmade goat’s milk cheese, made in Avila by legendary cheese maker Rafael Baez
Datiles con Tocino Iberico
dates, iberico bacon, manchego, guindilla pepper
Croquetas de Jamon
traditional ham croquettes, aioli
Pimientos de Padron
blistered peppers, sea salt
Paella Carne Mixta
confit duck leg, iberico pork rib, chorizo, fresh peas
