310 Water St.
Ph. 576-2782
Starchy
white tablecloths, shiny cutlery, sharp edges and a certain minimalism in
design gave Aqua the look of a fine line drawing. Aqua's dining room was warm
and comfortable, with no design distractions. It was the perfect room for
intimate conversation and serious dining, a setting where the food itself added
the decorative flourish and colour.
Aqua has
been under the management of partners, Kevin and Kim Parker since local
restaurateur and Aqua founder, Alfred Hynes, divested himself of the business a
few years ago. On the night my guest and I visited our food was prepared by
Aqua's talented chef from Quidi Vidi, Mark McCrowe. If the food we dined on is
any indication, McCrowe is on top of his game.
It’s not
wise to fill up on bread before an expensive meal but with bread as good as
Aqua’s was, such a circumstance can be difficult to avoid. A basket of Aqua’s
own fresh-sliced potato and black pepper bread, embedded with bits of spinach,
was accompanied by three appetizing spreads: black bean, hummus and curried
lentil. The black bean had a smoothness - similar to a soft pate - that I
really liked. The hummus was fresh and garlicky and the curried lentil was
sweet, nutty and redolent of curry spice. I’d be happy to take a loaf of the
bread and a crock of either spread as a stand-alone lunch anytime; not
forgetting, of course, an appropriate glass of red or white to wash it all
down.
Before our
starters came, the server presented each of us with an amuse bouche or hors d'œuvre. Aqua has
made a name for itself by regularly serving these little delectables. Frankly,
I found the toasted thins with a daub of crab and artichoke dip to be lame. I
wanted something creative, not perfunctory. Crackers and crab dip can be done
very easily at home. A restaurant with entrees going for as high as $32 should
make more of an effort, or simply not bother. Every detail should matter and
every course should impress in some way.
Guest’s appetizer was a
composition of blackened scallops served over a bed of sliced beet, apple and
red onion. Meanderings of dark, sweet dressing decorated the surface of the
white plate. Guest thought the scallops to be a tad overcooked. However, I
thought the scallop I tasted to be expertly cooked, nicely crusted and
caramelized on top and beautifully tender at the centre. I also liked the
flavour combination of the earthy, sweet beet with the slightly sweet meat of
the ocean scallops.
My smoked turkey-filled
ravioli were a treat. The two super sized ravioli squares sat in a shallow bowl
covered with a blue cheese sauce topped with crispy fried shallots. I love blue
cheeses and the marriage of that ultra creamy, perfectly pungent, salty sauce
with the deeply smokey flavours of the turkey - not to mention the silky, soft
and slightly firm textures of the dish - was nothing short of fantastic.
Aqua’s paella was a
gussied-up version of the traditional Spanish peasant dish that features rice,
saffron and pretty much whatever seafood or meat or combination of both that
you care to have. Aqua’s twist was to feature Israeli couscous instead of rice.
Israeli couscous is a type of pasta shaped like pearls. It tasted fine, as did
the calamari, prawns, spicy sausage and sun-dried tomato but give this paella
lover rice any day.
Aqua’s caribou with blue
cheese potato gratin, mushroom and blueberry port reduction was a tour de
force. The creamy, potato gratin was topped with pieces of tender Labrador
caribou, which in turn were topped with slices of cooked portabella mushroom.
Threaded between the meat and mushroom combination was a dark, sweet, fruity
reduction. The sharp, toasty, richly cheesed potatoes held their own with the
rest of the dish. Ingredients played off one another beautifully. It was a
stunningly good dish.
We tried Aqua’s sambucca
panna cotta with wine poached pears for dessert. The panna cotta was delicate enough to melt
in my mouth. If it was flavoured with sambucca, it must have been a very tiny
amount because I was not able to taste anything of the licorice liqueur. I
wasn’t bothered, however, since the dessert was brilliant just as it was. A
mote of red wine and pear juice surrounded the tentatively firm mound of panna
cotta sitting at the center of the dish. Fanned out on either side of the mound
and giving the panna cotta the look of something sprouting wings, were tiny
arrangements of rouged pear slices. This dessert was very mildly sweetened and
depended mostly, for its power, on the fresh flavours in the fruit, as well as
the texture of the panna cotta.
There are not many
restaurants of Aqua’s calibre in St. John’s. Much care and thought has been
spent in pulling together everything needed to make Aqua a superior fine dining
establishment. Congratulations to the Parkers and Mark McCrowe for building
something special on the foundation established by Alfred Hynes and his team.
Our dinner for two at
Aqua - including wine, one glass of brandy and tip – cost $170.94.
The noise level at Aqua
was low. It was not wheelchair accessible.
Best Points:
The caribou with blue
cheese potatoes.
Areas for Improvement:
More amusement in the
amuse bouches.
Ratings Category:
Aqua gets 9 out of 10
points.