The crown jewel of Durham’s Albis family food empire has long been a stunning old home on Green Street in downtown Whitby. Years ago the spot was well known as the Stairways nightclub. As the family business grew and other venues like the popular Tosca Banquet Hall began to thrive, the old house became the family patron’s playground. Over the past 15 years or so, the spot has been known as Mondo Cafe, The Green Street Mansion and even a second stint as Stairways. Recently, the Green Street Mansion name was scrapped in favor of Prego Bar & Grill, building on the success of the popular Avanti Trattoria in downtown Oshawa.
The concept of traditional Italian fare at more reasonable prices fits well within the wonderful old 3 story building. The cozy basement dining room is flanked by a wine cellar alcove, while the 3rd floor has high ceilings with glass overhead which brings the night sky into a party. The main floor is dominated by a beautiful wooden bar and the giant staircase that gave the nightclub its name.
We have dined at Avanti a couple of times and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so we were surprised to find the food at Prego to be somewhat lackluster.
To begin our dinner, we enjoyed the Bruschetta and Shrimp Provencale along with a Spinach Salad. all of which were enjoyable. Our son enjoyed his nicely spiced Penne Arrabiata, while Sandy and I ate the Lasagna and Chicken Parmisiana. Neither of our traditional Italian baked dishes were as memorable as we had expected. They weren’t bad, rather just not as flavorful as we would make ourselves.
The big disappointment of the evening came in the form of Shelby’s Gnocchi con Formaggi. The menua claims the sauce is made of “asiago, parmigiano, fontina, sweet pepper cream”. What came to the table was a bowl of heavy, almost doughy gnocchi that were drowned in a thick, gloopy sauce that had the same yellow/orange flavor and consistency of melted Cheese Whiz. It tasted like it too.
To be fair, we did visit during the first week Prego was open, so perhaps the kitchen was not quite up to speed. That being said, the company already has another kitchen that slams out incredible Italian meals that are among the best offered east of Yonge Street. For their new kitchen to blunder a showcase dish like a classic gnocchi is a shame.
Affordability is very much in the eye of the diner, but for 2 adults and 2 teens, we spent about $180. Yes, that included a bottle of house wine and a drink before and after dinner, but that still seemed a bit steep considering 2 of us were not drinking.
Whitby needs more dining options and Prego Bar & Grill certainly fits the bill. With 3 other top flight Italian venues (including their own Avanti) in the area though, the kitchen is going to have to step it up in order to stand above the competition. We’ll go back in a couple of months to see if what we experienced was the real deal or just opening week jitters.
To learn more, visit Prego Bar & Grill online.
