Restaurant review: CocoLezzone

CocoLezzone on College Street

Any place that will happily entertain four boisterous ladies for four hours and still love us when we leave is okay by me.
The mood at this restaurant is very boudoir - all gilt mirrors and swags of crimson fabric. We made quick friends with the attractive waitstaff, and were treated accordingly for the duration of our visit.
The martini list looks like the same old offerings, but the drinks themselves were something special. A pomegranate martini was not too sweet and just boozy enough, while the "Sex and the City" was appropriately bubbly and pink: a cosmo-plus.
Pretty good winelist - a nice spread of by-the-glass selections. I question the wisdom of having a $600 bottle on the same page as a $45 bottle and the $8 glass, though. I mean, either this is a place you shell out for exquisite, expensive wine -- or it isn't. Frankly nothing other than "You have twenty-four hours to live, go!" would make me ante up that much for vino, but if you were so inclined, I don't think that this would be the place.
For an appetizer, there is no question that you should order the antipasto platter. It is an impressively arranged assortment of grilled seafood, grilled vegetables, beef carpaccio, smoked salmon, big chunks of shaved parmesan and a crusted goat cheese round that made someone squeal with joy. It fed all four of us no problem. The grilled vegetables were raw when we got them, but the restaurant quickly remedied that and brought us a whole other plateful. Big pieces of tender calamari and huge juicy shrimp inspired one diner to continue the meal with more excellent grilled seafood. The rest of us went for pasta. Everything was flavourful and hearty, nothing mind-blowing.
Prices reflected College Street trendster inflation, so not the best value for money, but all was forgiven when a huge plate of exotic fruits arrived at our table courtesy of the house. All in all, highly enjoyable. I would recommend to friends as a place to start a night out, and for cozy dates.