Review: Love, Pomelo in Canton Has a Lot of Heart

When we took our seats at the bar at Love, Pomelo, the charming new Roman-inspired aperitivo bar and restaurant on O’Donnell Square in Canton, something felt…off. The cushioned, backed stools were quite comfortable, the granite bar itself immaculately clean, and the people on the other side tending it attentive and cheerful. So what was it?

“It’s much lower than a typical bar height,” co-owner Min Kim explained a few days later. The bar stands just 38 inches tall, about four inches shorter than a standard one.

“In Italy, even when you’re sitting at the bar, you truly get a full dining experience. You’re not just eating bar food. We want people to feel comfortable whether they’re having a quick dinner or sitting for two or three hours.”

Having done both, we can say that Kim and his business partner, Charles Lee, have achieved their goal—and that level of attention to detail permeates the place.

The 28-seat restaurant has been a welcome addition to the neighborhood—which lacks not for regular-sized bar stools on which burgers, wings, and beer are consumed—since it opened in April. That the partners’ excellent bakery two doors down, Café Dear Leon, remains wildly popular only raised expectations for Love, Pomelo. The names of the establishments are a nod to the opening and closing of a letter—Leon is the name of Kim’s son and Pomelo is Lee’s wife’s nickname for him, derived from the grapefruit-like fruit.

“When someone writes you a letter, they’ve thought about you and they want to make you feel loved and cared for,” Kim says.

That sentiment shines through in every aspect of the restaurant. During both of our visits in May, our service couldn’t have been better. In the dining room, simply decorated in dark walnut tones, a server accidentally touched one of our forks, then without being asked, replaced it with a clean one. After finishing our pre-dinner cocktails, a well-executed house negroni and a tequila-based drink with honey, genepy liqueur, lemon, and chile oil (there are also several mocktails and low-ABV options), we asked for a wine recommendation to pair with the meal. Not only did our server offer one, he reappeared with two bottles and offered everyone at the table a taste.

The kitchen is led by chef and co-owner Ermal Mirtaj, who grew up outside of Rome, where he attended culinary school before moving to New York. That’s where he met Kim, when they were both working at Marta, a Roman trattoria owned by the famed Union Square Hospitality Group (not the restaurant of the same name in Butchers Hill).

Mirtaj has crafted a small menu that focuses on fresh seasonal ingredients like watermelon, which that day was paired with shishito peppers and goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil to create a refreshing appetizer that could double as a light dessert. Squash stuffed with eggplant and tomato wasn’t overpowered by the ricotta, which only added to the flavor. Stracciatella, made in-house, and focaccia, baked at Café Dear Leon, is on a happy hour menu that’s available in the dining room as well as the bar from 4 to 6 p.m. As anyone who’s been to the bakery—and based on the permanent line on weekends—would guess, the bread is spectacular. It’s also addictive. Be forewarned.

Of the three pastas available on the nights we visited, the rigatoni Norma stood out. The house-made noodles were al dente, and combined with eggplant, ricotta salata, and pecorino to create a dish best described as Italian comfort food. Curiously, a plate of spaghetti with crab and ramps—a vegetable similar to spring onions—fell flat. Not enough crab and a lack of seasoning rendered it bland.

Arctic char is not a fish seen on many menus, and here it’s treated with the needed simplicity. The filet was cooked perfectly and served atop a bed of fava bean, tomato, and cucumber panzanella. It’s a worthwhile light and healthful option. The star of the menu is the 10-ounce grilled strip steak, served sliced with purple potatoes and an excellent salsa verde. Squeeze the grilled lemon over the meat to add a bit of acidity, and you’ll have one of the best takes on steak in town.

Our meal was capped with a slice of tiramisu, a version that’s exactly what you’d expect from the iconic dessert: in a word, decadent.

We couldn’t finish all that we ordered, so we asked to take it home. When the server returned it in a box, the date and contents were written on the outside, along with a closing salutation: “Love, Pomelo.”