Skin + Bones

Skin + Bones (@skinandbonesto) is another great addition to the already great Leslieville's dinning scene. From Daniel Clarke and Harry Wareham, alum of Pizza Libretto and Enoteca Sociale together with Chef Matthew Sullivan (@GastroMatthew) formerly Malena, L'Unita & Boxed; I can expect but great things and I was definitely not disappointed.

Love the long bar seating extending all the way to the back, I just love how the fridge light shine through below and with the expose brick wall and minimalist look, it was definitely my type of restaurant but was a lot more spacious than usual (no bumping into your neighbor).... ♥ it here

 It was a much larger space than I expected, seeing the big table by the kitchen I can't help but regretted of not having my Birthday here since I have been looking everywhere for a restaurant that I like which can accommodate the 16 of us
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 I read somewhere how Chef Sullivan created each dish with a specific type of wine in mind, so I was surprise at that there wasn't wine pairing on the menu and our waiter didn't suggest it either. But the wine-list do consist of a lot of variety of wines, with a lot from lesser know region and variety.

 Cabernet Sauvignon Waterstone 2009, Napa Valley, California $ 79.00

They bake their own bread in house, served fresh and hot; we ate our first basket of bread in no time and even had second. The outside was so crispy and so moist inside.

Their Menu is devided into 3 parts: Snack, Apps & Mains (+ sides)

And we order 2 of each, which was piratically almost half the menu.

Crispy Chicken Tails $8

~ w/ potato salad

Just had to get this since it was highly recommended by a few fellow foodies... This was so good, very flavorful and just a tad salty and I can see myself pairing this with a beer or a crisp light white (^_^)

 Salt Cured Foie Gras $11

~ Preserved Quince, Brioche and " L'Effet Papillon" Raw Honeydew

I can't believe I'm going to say this but this was my least favorite dish of the night cause I always say "anything foie gras is good" but it was really nothing special, forgettable even...

Nova Scotian Smelt Escabache $14

~ Braised Swiss Chard, Lemon, Fennel, Crispy Garlic

It was just perfect looking as it was perfect tasting, every component of this dish complimented each other both flavor and texture wise. Love how the deep fried the fish bones which not only added the crispy texture but very flavorful as well.

Rhode Island Marinated Squid Noodles $14

~ "Soiled Reputation" Baby Romaine, Buttermilk and Brandade Vinaigrette, ja;apeno & Olives

The flavors are more subtle here but somehow everything works together in such a harmony.

Thought the squid noodle would be somehow tougher but it was very soft and tender.

Roasted Perth Pork Belly & Octopus Salad $18

~ Roasted Bone Marrow Arancini, Marinated Radish & Parsley

Where most places would cook/braised the pork belly to a soft melt in your mouth goodness, I was surprise at how this still have the texture with the crispy seared outer layer which gave you a bit bite.... just love the change for once. Somehow when I read the menu, I can't see how the octopus salad would go with the fatty pork belly but somehow it works, the tartness just sort of balance it out. The bone marrow in the arancini gave it a extra sticky and gooyee texture with plenty of flavor even without any of the usual stuffing.

Beef Cheek Bourguignon $ 23

~ Sunchokes, Perth Bacon, Roasted Mushroom and Red Wine Onions

Good, so good, very good..... melt in your mouth good! Everything we had that night was beyond my expectation. I really can't choose my favorite which is a first  =P

Chemex Coffee ~ Los Rosas $2.5

 Sticky Toffee Pudding $6

~ Bone Marrow Caramel & Vanilla Chantilly Cream

omg, my favorite warm ooey gooey dessert and this time there was fatty yummy bone marrow added to it. Just to die for ♥

 Brioche Donuts $6

~ caramelized White Chocolate

 I am not a big fan of white chocolate since it's way too sweet but there was only 2 dessert on the menu, so we just ordered both. Surprisingly it wasn't that sweet given that I am not sure how you caramelized chocolate but this was good. Made fresh, it was very spongy and not heavy at all.

Verdict :

Love everything here and can't wait to come back to try the rest of the menu

Somehow after all these food, we were not overly full and felt very satisfied (unlike a lot of other places where the food felt so heavy, good but very heavy)

Great service, Great Winelist & Great Food

♥♥♥♥♥