Chiaro Ristorante

One thing Italian families never do is go out to eat at an Italiano ristorante. I’ve been eyeing Chiaro for quite some time now. It caught my attention by their social media feed on Instagram (mouth watering including the feed from Motorino) and the clientele that went over to this restaurant religiously (Big Cannoli). I enquired about having a private function here and decided to finally go in today to see what it’s all about. This place is about 40min from my house and it is definitely worth the drive.
Chef Dom is passionate about what he does and you can tell by the art that’s delivered to your table. All of the ingredients are carefully thought out and perfectly balanced. Your palette will be appreciative of the effort he put into his food. Italian always cook with so much love and every course we had from appetizer to dessert did not disappoint.
This is the type of restaurant that you can go to and ask the chef to make you whatever he recommends. He might bring something to the table that you’ve never tried but it doesn’t matter because of how delicious his dishes are. Everything is authentic and home made.
My family is Italian, I’ve been to Italy three times and Chiaro ristorante I would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys sitting down for dinner and be awed by what you taste.
Below is what I had at the restaurant
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Cominciare:
Arancini Rotolo: These are the Italian version of sushi rolls. Golden to perfection stuffed with prosciutto /​fiore di latte/​basil leaves and served with a warm garlic tomato sugo
Grilled Octopus: No chewy seafood here, well balanced and deliciously grilled.
Baby Lamb Chops server on top of a garlic mushroom caramel sauce that is to die for. The crispy Parmesan polenta was a surprise I wanted to keep eating them
Primi:
Spaghettini Carbonara — Perfectly al dente with a flavourful carbonara that makes you feel like your in Rome. Simple good quality ingredients you can taste the love that was put into the dish.
Dolci:
The dessert made my taste buds so happy. The blood orange meringue will be one I’m going to crave for a very long time. The sweetness and crunchiness from the shortbread then a burst of citrus from the blood orange that instantly cleansed your palette was one of the most beautiful melody of flavours I’ve ever had in a long time. He also served a modern remake of the carrot cake dessert with mascarpone. Made me think of a spice latte. I wish I had more room to keep eating and order a second round of desserts.

My husband an myself, had finally had the opportunity to have dinner at this lovely place. I won’t lie when I say it’s not always easy to get a table here.
We’re always looking for a classy/​jazzy feel with a good vibe, great wine selection and live music. This place is very conveniently located in Woodbridge, where we live, so we don’t have make the drive out to downtown.
We really enjoyed the classic, tasteful, yet simple design with a hint of sexy. The service/​staff were that WE had were very professional and prompt, also knowledgable. Not only on their menu, but we’re able to cater to my ‘gluten free needs’
The presentation of the food was very clean and sophisticated, and the music really helped set the tone. Especially once the live band started the play, the outdoors came to you! (They opened the whole side of the restaurant, we all got to enjoy the lovely summer air) although the cigar smoke from nearby was not too much of a bother to ME, it may not appeal to everyone…
The only reason I just could not have myself give the restaurant a full 5 stars, was mostly due to the flavours of our main course. Although my husband and I both had different meals (stuffed chicken and sea bass) we both felt that it was either too rich, or was missing something… Other the flavours did not marry well… We just could not put our finger on it… Or perhaps we were simply full from our appetizers…
We will most definitely return in the near future and try more off the menu!
Although the pictures from… What I believe was from the previous Vincento looked extremely appetizing! And I wished they kept some of those items
Over all a beautiful evening and a lovely experience.