Francobollo Posto Italiano
Francobollo Posto Italiano is a modern Italian restaurant, just north of downtown Toronto. They have been open for 1 year and are the newest restaurant introduced by Substance Food Group. I had a great time reviewing Terra, Substance Food Group’s flagship restaurant, so I came into this meal with high expectations. We reserved a table with fellow food lovers Clara and Monica from The Food Sisterhood so that we could share and try more dishes!
Francobollo Posto Italiano is located in the upscale Avenue Road neighbourhood. The restaurant’s decor is very sheek and has a clean, modern feel throughout the narrow building that also gives it a homely ambiance. They have a nice selection of wines that are proudly displayed on the wall, which is where we started the night. There was a wide variety of menu items including some classic Italian dishes and lots of great seafood!
For appetizers, we ordered the Calamari Fritti, Buratta “Oscar”, Polipo Sottovuoto and the Cuori d’Anatra. Gotta love the Italian menu names! The Calamari Fritti was a crispy fried calamari with horseradish and sea salt. The Burrata “Oscar” was delicious and consisted of a giant piece of domestic Burrata cheese dressed up with charred asparagus, snow crab, roasted lobster bisque, dried tomato and almond pesto. The Polipo Sottovuoto was another favourite at our table- a 75° octopus dish with quinoa, butter lettuce, orange-red-onion-caper-mint salsa, all plated beautifully on a red endive. Duck hearts are rarely seen on Toronto menus, so we had to try the Cuori d’Anatra. This dish used pan seared free range duck hearts, roasted Brussels sprouts, guanciale and 10 year old balsamic.
We decided to try more seafood for the mains, as a Grilled Whole Seabream and Filet of Mediterranean Sea Bass were both available as daily specials. Both were tasty, however the seabream was especially impressive as a whole fish dish. Very fresh flavours as both fish were well seasoned and were accompanied with local veggies. Francobollo has a wide selection of pasta, and we decided to try the Linguini Vongole, an Italian classic made with manila clams, fresh tomatoes, parsley, white wine and aglio olio e peperoncino. Again, fresh ingredients stood out in each bite. We also ordered the 8 oz Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin Steak with Bone Marrow and Wild mushrooms. This was a really nice cut of beef with a big chunk of roasted Bone Marrow.
If you like desserts, Francobollo does not disappoint. Their selection of desserts changes daily, so we had to try all the featured desserts. I really enjoyed the house made Tiramisu and the fresh baked Apple Turnover. There was also a Pistachio Cheesecake and 2 types of Tartufo- double chocolate and salted caramel. If you find dessert choices difficult, sometimes you just have to order them all. Treat yourself.
Since we were dining with fellow bloggers from The Food Sisterhood, our cameras were out in full force! I couldn’t have gotten these bright shots without some creative lighting help from Clara. It’s always more fun to eat with friends, especially when exploring Francobollo’s extensive menu. Francobollo Posto Italiano is a great choice for all occasions, with top notch service and impressive modern Italian dishes, heavy on seafood.
