Bocca On Baldwin
26 Baldwin Street
Toronto, ON
M5T 1L2

On an adventurous evening, we chose to venture to Baldwin Street, which is a hidden gem for restaurants. Tucked away in the midst of the Annex and Chinatown, this street holds an eclectic mix of restaurants and cafes. There isn't much parking, so carpool or make other transportation arrangements if you must, but don't let this stop you. We arrived to Bocca, which was quaint (however it was a Tuesday) and appealing for that reason. Décor is quite typical for an urban Italian restaurant, with beaded chandeliers, deep shades of wood, lots of tables and even a few booths. They also had Cinzano posters on the wall (which are so incredibly typical, but to each his own).

The menus were presented and served standard Italian fare, they seemed to have a good wine list as well. The restaurant boasts a 4 course meal for $29, which is quite a deal if you can stomach it. We were not that hungry at 9:00 in the evening, so we stuck with mains only. Our waitress was helpful when we were ordering, which is nice (because poor service is a real no-no), however our food did take a long time to arrive. We ordered seafood angel hair pasta tossed in garlic and olive oil along with a Mediterranean mackerel dish. The pasta was cooked perfectly al-dente and tossed with snap peas for an added crunch. The shrimp was enormous and fresh (4 oz. according to the server)! They could have been more generous with the rest of the seafood portions, since there were 2 mussels and one scallop to compliment that behemoth shrimp, but it was still good nonetheless.

The mackerel was a gamble, but did it ever pay off! It was served in a creamy Medeterranian sauce (no clue what was in it, but it was phenomenal) and topped with chopped black olives and diced tomato which provided the perfect saltiness to the dish. A small serving of rice accompanied the dish along with a selection of tender crisp broccoli, zucchini and green beans, cooked just right. The two mains and a bottle of sparkling water came to about $45. If you are looking for an intimate place with great food and that ‘hidden gem' appeal, this is the place to go. We give this restaurant 3.5/5.

Overall: 3.5/5 | Understated Quality.