Appetite for Steeltown: February 2018

Caro Restaurant & Bar

https://www.carorestaurant.com/

Caro Restaurant & Bar is located on the corner of Ottawa Street at Main Street East in Hamilton. This location has been home to a few restaurants over the years with the last one being a pizza place. It is a great location and the new signage is very visible from the street as you pass buy. The owners have done quite a bit of renovations and it looks fantastic. We met the owner when we walked in and he was busy serving and seating customers. We actually phoned ahead and he had added us to the wait list, so when we arrived the wait for a table was not too long.

It is not a big place but the seating is perfect and there is a large open bar area where people were either waiting for a table or eating their meal. We sat at the window in a great spot. A patio in the summer would really be ideal for this restaurant.

The draft beer was not set up yet so we ordered a craft bottled beer made by Fairweather brewery in Dundas. The beer was citrus flavored and a bit hoppy which we like. The menu has a selection of apps, pizzas and pastas. We decided to order two apps to share and two pizzas. The Brussels and Porchetta ($8) and Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Ravioli ($10) were excellent. The brussel sprouts had a nice flavor combined with the prochetta but I think we liked the ravioli even better.

For pizzas, we ordered the Mushroom Pizza ($13) and the Herbivore ($13). The mushroom pizza was topped with arugula and had a honey glaze on the crust. The herbivore pizza was topped with feta cheese and just as good. We would have preferred a crust that was not as doughy, so maybe a bit thinner crust but no complaints about the taste of the toppings.

This restaurant should do well at this location with this menu. Hopefully they will get permission from the city to open a patio in the summer. We enjoyed our experience at Caro and will definitely go back, maybe for brunch next time.