TORONTO — Cresta welcomed media last night to celebrate its official opening. Located in the vibrant St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood of Toronto, the Italian-inspired eatery is named after the owner’s iconic California vineyard, the Cresta Ridge vineyard of Thomas George Estates, which specializes in award-winning Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays
“The wines came first,” said Dimitri Petropoulos, general manager, Cresta, of the menu development. “All of our wines are from the owner’s (Thomas and Jeremy Baker) winery and the cuisine was chosen to pair perfectly with the wines we had to offer.”
The original build-out took about a year and a half and was led by the Burlington, Ont.-based design firm of LK Atelier Interior Planning.
The restaurant had its soft opening in January under the name Pastizza and although it received positive feedback, the trattoria-style menu and service caused a disconnect with the elegance of the space, said Petropoulos. “We changed the name and the concept a bit to create that connection between the winery and the restaurant and to create a more polished and attentive form of service.” Also, he noted, the name Pastizza proved difficult to remember, making word-of-mouth marketing very difficult.
The goal was to capture the attention of the St. Lawrence Market clientele who appreciate high-quality, fresh ingredients. “You can’t get a more vibrant area than the St. Lawrence Market area,” said Petropoulos. “It offers the best combination of history and fresh product. We provide the freshest products on our menu and so Cresta ties in well to what is offered at the market.”
Executive chef Tri Tran and his team source many of their ingredients locally, with a large share coming from the market itself. Crowd favourites so far include the lobster-infused spaghetti, which uses lobster stock in place of water for the pasta and is topped with a B.C. lobster tail ($39); balsamic-glazed Brussels sprouts, flash fried to create crispiness on the outside and then tossed in house-made balsamic glaze ($10); scallop crudo with citrus, coriander and garlic chips ($15); and, of course, pizza. “If there’s one thing I’m passionate about here in terms of cuisine it’s the pizzas,” said Petropoulos. “We spent about two years developing the dough we use today — the secret is that it has a perfect combination of stability in the crispiness of the crust but we proof it for five to eight days so it’s both airy and a bit chewy.”
Cresta is open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
