Where We Eat: Leo’s

A good neighbourhood restaurant is a tough balance to strike.

The food needs to be something people want to eat regularly.  But play it too safe, and it’s no fun to cook or to serve…and things quickly start to feel stale and predictable.  The end result?  Mediocrity.

Go too far in the other direction and you’ve got a menu that pushes too many boundaries.  It becomes challenging rather than enjoyable.  The kind of place that feels like hard work instead of somewhere you want to relax.

Leo’s gets the balance about as right as anywhere we’ve seen!

By day, it’s a café in the front serving Italian-leaning lunch classics…lasagne followed by tiramisu anyone?

Head past the open-fire kitchen to the back and you’ll find a calm, sunlit dining room (at least it was on our last visit) serving outstanding Sardinian cooking…seriously good!

The wine list tends a bit natty, but we’ve found some absolute gems across a few visits…and the aperitif menu is worth the trip alone!

Last week, we turned up slightly late for our reservation…one of us sheepishly clutching an iced coffee from the coffee shop across the road.  The bartender didn’t flinch.  He took the coffee, poured it over fresh ice in a proper glass, and handed it back to us for the table!