Pressed
750 Gladstone Ave.
613-680-9294

• Reservations: No
• Client negotiations: Yes
• Social lunch: Yes
• Price range: $$
• Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Though parking near Pressed is tricky, this café is worth visiting.

Pews, wood tables and chairs make this place homey and rustic. There’s a couch near the window with vintage magazines on the coffee table for browsing and Trivial Pursuit cards for an impromptu challenge with friends.

You can pick from a variety of ready to press Panini. Temptations included prosciutto with arugula pesto and parmesan or black bean with refried beans, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole or the one that hooked me: wild boar with BBQ sauce and kale-apple slaw. The bread was crispy from the press and the pulled meat was tender with a touch of sweetness and crunch from the vegetables. It was perfect.

On the side were freshly cut sweet potato chips sprinkled with chipotle pepper.

Though my cream of carrot soup arrived after my Panini, it was prettily garnished with red pepper and laced with cheesy goodness that overwhelmed the carrot flavour in a good way.