Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West | 416.977.6400 | notabenerestaurant.com
This has been an exceptional month for me with respect to restaurant service. Toronto restaurants have too long been populated by disinterested waitstaff delivering meals with all the enthusiasm of law students doing due diligence in the waning days of their articles.
Recently, however, I dined at Nota Bene. Now, Nota Bene is a seasoned veteran of the Toronto restaurant scene. It is a fixture on the “top 10 this” and the “best 5 that” lists, even garnering accolades from hard-to-impress New York. So it’s not like I wasn’t expecting good food. In fact, I was expecting great food.
And my dining companion and I did get great food. But what stands out in my mind is the service. My firm, and I’m sure yours too, is trying to teach up-and-coming lawyers the value of service. For instance, my firm’s intranet has scrolling slogans that urge “Quality, Expertise and Service” and remind us that “Clients must be top of mind in all we do.” Like you, I largely ignore these exhortations. But we’ll come back to this.
First, the food.
Hamachi ceviche ($16) is an Asian-Latin fusion that arrives nestled on a bed of ice. The hamachi (aka yellowtail) is lime-marinated, producing a silky, buttery texture and a taste that’s sweet-tart. This is set off beautifully by the sprinkling of corn nuts — an inspired addition (or just “weird,” according to my dining companion) that provide a salty crunch in contrast. Finely minced jalapeños lurk amongst the cilantro leaves with their heat tempered by rich coconut milk.
Pommes frites with aioli ($8) are as expected. They are, after all, just frites. The shaved onion rings ($6) are another story. Coated in a feathery batter, they arrive stacked in a wobbly tower, and are shaved thinly enough that they crumble on your tongue. Bliss.
The mains are next. The wild Digby sea scallops ($28) are beautifully seared, and are sweet and tender with a fresh scallopy flavour that’s unmistakably a Digby scallop. They are served with black bean, ginger, chili, coriander and asparagus, a fresh and zippy combination.
P.E.I. grass-fed beef tenderloin with pasilla chili mushrooms, marjoram and lime ($36) is the most disappointing of the dishes. While the tenderloin is perfectly done and the mushrooms themselves are sheer fungal glory, the rich pasilla sauce is not a good match for this already heavy dish. Unfortunate, too, is that the sauce is brown, as are the mushrooms and the tenderloin, making this dish a monochromatic eyesore.
My dining companion and I chose to dine at the bar, in part because it is a long narrow lounge area that runs the length of the windows onto Queen Street. The body of the restaurant is in the rear and by no means dark, but it does lack the natural light available at the bar. The wine list is extensive and varied, with a good selection both by the glass and by the bottle. The crowd is a combination of high rolling theatre-goers and Bay Street types, and several business deals and one closing party are going on around us. Need to impress a client? Nota Bene is the place to do it.
Now back to the slogans on my firm’s intranet. I have ignored them not because I’m a cynic with attitude but because I didn’t really understand them. What does “Clients must be top of mind” mean, exactly? After dining at Nota Bene, I now know.
Imagine if your practice was run like Nota Bene:
Someone walks in the door (or you meet them at an event). You introduce yourself, and ask their name. You ask if they are familiar with your firm. If they say no, you quickly and enthusiastically outline what you and your firm do best. If they say yes, you ask how they found the experience and who they might know. You take their coat and offer them a seat, a drink; you ask about their day, their plans. You ask what brings them there. You are interested and tailor your response appropriately. You make intelligent suggestions based on what you’ve learned about them. You are knowledgeable about your practice and your firms’ offerings and respond to questions in detail. You personalize any literature or token offerings. You are unfailingly polite, witty, intelligent and genuine. If a problem arises, you own it even if it’s not your fault (“I’m so sorry you found that disappointing. I will speak to X immediately and put this right”). You thank them for their time, tell them you look forward to seeing them again, walk with them to the door. The next time you see them, you greet them by name and follow up on previous items of conversation.
If this is what “Quality, Expertise and Service” and “Clients must be top of mind in all we do” mean, I get it now. And kudos to Adly and Brendan of Nota Bene who live and breathe service, and by doing so elevate chef David Lee’s already superlative cuisine.
Judge Foodie’s verdict:
Highs: outstanding creative food, exemplary service
Lows: creativity comes at a cost and the occasional menu item doesn’t quite match the others
Kirsten Thompson is a Toronto-based research lawyer and commercial litigator. Since her call to the bar in 2000, she estimates that her restaurant to courtroom ratio has been approximately 14:1. Thoughts? Comments? Ideas for a review? Email her. Follow Judge Foodie on Twitter: @Judge_Foodie