La Dolce Vita in Niagara
At Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Revé, Adriano Cappuzzello crafts Sicilian dishes with the region’s bounty.
Ontario’s Niagara region has no shortage of fantastic food and wine. The fertile peninsula accounts for roughly 75 per cent of the province’s tender fruit orchards and over 60 per cent of Canada’s grape and wine production. Logically, restaurants of all sorts would arrive in tow to cook up dishes made with and inspired by the local cornucopia. And while there are some standouts throughout the region, it has long lacked the quantity of dining options needed to showcase its best. However, the latest addition to Niagara’s fine-dining scene is doing such a good job of using the fruits, vegetables, wines, and meats of its farmer’s labour to exciting effect that one wonders if there’ll be any peaches or pinots left for the rest of our country’s chefs.
At Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Revé, opened late last year, chef Adriano Cappuzzello employs his 15-plus-years of experience in esteemed kitchens to craft dishes inspired by his Sicilian childhood with the best of Niagara’s bounty. With assistance from his partners—Anna Kruusi, Nicole Pisarenko, and Kevin Gillingham—Cappuzzello guides diners through à la carte and four- or 10-course tasting menus that make use not only of the best locally sourced seasonal ingredients but also the open fire that forms the heart of the restaurant, which the 10 chef’s counter seats overlook. The optional wine pairings, chosen by Pisarenko, come primarily from Niagara and Sicily, with select bottles from regions such as Champagne, Bordeaux, and Piedmont.
