Coza Tuscan Grill in Langley keeps things simple and unique
Alfie Lau
Sun
Executive Chef Brian Everett and Amanda Brown relax in the new Coza Tuscan Grill, which brings Italian style to Langley.
The last time I looked Tuscany was not part of Langley but the moment we stepped inside Coza Tuscan Grill, the aura of fine Italian cooking was definitely in the air.
Coza, open since October 2007, is a concept that Cara Restaurants hopes can be taken across the country. The first Coza opened in Langley because of the favourable demographics — the mix of young, urban families and long-established Valley residents — and a great location adjacent to Willowbrook Mall.
According to Al Story, guest experiences general manager, Coza has a simple philosophy.
“If they don’t do it in Tuscany, we don’t do it here,” he said. “There’s no deep fryer. We want an authentic Tuscan meal and that means we keep the menu simple, the tastes unique and intriguing and everything comes from three distinct [places]: the pasta pan, the grill or the big Italian forno.”
The one-page menu is certainly easy to read. We started off with a couple of primi (appetizers): the Fonduta alla Coza ($9) and the calamari alla Griglia ($9).
The fonduta is Coza’s signature dip, replete with Roma tomatoes, a sublime goat cheese and a black olive tapenade served with home-cooked flatbread. We could imagine ourselves in the Tuscan countryside, enjoying a beautiful spring night. Even better was the calamari, fire-grilled instead of deep-fried.
For our mains, by accident, we ended up with one dish each from the grill, pasta pan and oven.
From the grill, the Gamberone al prosciutto ($22) was a beautiful array of tiger shrimp wrapped with prosciutto and served with lemon vegetable orzo — a great dish worthy of Tuscany.
From the oven, I had the roasted wild Pacific corvina ($18), a fish I hadn’t heard of before.
Our server Janna advised it tasted like halibut but it was a smooth whitefish closer to the taste of snapper. And cooking it in the forno kept all the flavour in, making it a fish dish I would definitely order again.
The only hiccup at Coza occurred with our order of veal chop limoncello ($29). The grilled veal came tougher than a smoker’s face and after my companion spent too long sawing into it, we asked to have a word with Janna.
She listened intently to our concerns and within a minute, Story was over to see how he could accommodate us.
Taking back the veal, he said the kitchen could quickly cook up their signature pasta al pesto ($17). We accepted his apology and enjoyed a delectable linguine dish with so much chicken, mozzarella, tomatoes and pine nuts that we had the makings of tomorrow’s lunch.
“We tell our staff that if anything arises, they should tell me immediately so that we can do something right away,” Story said.
“We want all our diners to have a great experience and even when it doesn’t happen [to plan], we do everything we can to try and make things better.”
For our dessert, we shared an of Italian staple, the tiramisu ($6), which was a decadent way to finish a very fine meal, and some decaf coffee.
“We’re very pleased with how well-received we’ve been since we opened,” Story said the day after our meal. “It’s been a lot of word-of-mouth and we’re learning about what works and what we have to do when we expand this concept.
“In Tuscany, it’s all about good friends, good food, good wine and a good atmosphere,” said Story. “That’s what we hope to do here at Coza.”
For a new restaurant, they’re certainly on their way.
AT A GLANCE
COZA TUSCAN GRILL
20065 Langley Bypass
Open from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For reservations, call 604-539-8880. For more information, go to www.coza.ca.