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6355 Somerled Ave., N.D.G.
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Open Tues—Sun from 4:30 pm—10 pm (dinner only) BYOB. Tel.: 487-8541. Dinner for three $60
Something is happening on this stretch of Somerled west of Cavendish. I noticed it a few years ago when the great Italian grocery store Tranzo—the place that still roasts a pig a day and carves it for amazing sandwiches—moved from its location of many years in NDG's Upper Lachine section of Little Italy to this part of western NDG. "The Italian community is moving there," said one of the owners, and he was right.
Here, in the 6500 range, are three places that make their own pasta: a great little grocery store that serves decent cheap trattoria cooking: Pasta Tre Colori, Tranzo and Pasta Chez-Nous.
The BYOB is particularly good value considering there is a large, well-provisioned SAQ a few blocks east of here.
Pasta Chez-Nous is a decent sized narrow restaurant, pleasantly lit with plastic grape clusters, trailing vines and small glass globes with candles. The place would not be wrong on the fringes of Greenwich Village. Waiters smile continuously. The napery is higher class than most in the area. The bread is fresh. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar arrive on the table almost as you sit (but the olive oil was past its edge—ask for some butter. It's better with the baguette).
Soups are simple—a very good minestrone for us. We then tucked into one of the best caesar salads I have had in a while and then ordered the crab cakes, which were light on the crab but had a great potato filling. They come with a terrific horseradish sauce that is close to a salsa. Next up were mussels in a very good marinara sauce, heavy on the capers, and decent fries à la burger king, which means they were dusted with starch before they were fried.
The pastas included a good spaghetti with a rose sauce and a potato gnocchi slathered with gorgonzola cream sauce. Coffee was just OK and the desserts were flat. There was tiramisu, over which we ladled our espressos to give some flavour, and a carrot cake that tasted like it was on sale at Zellers last week. Go elsewhere after the main courses.
What we didn't have is the fish. There's over a page of some appetizing stuff, with the catch of the day including swordfish, salmon and snapper. The veal dishes and steaks also looked good but this will demand another visit.
Pasta Chez-nous is one of the better BYOB places I have seen in a while and maybe the best value in the West End.
—Reviewed by Barry Lazar
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