Toronto restaurant recommendation - Page 48

Wednesday for lunch I was at La Societe. This is the Yorkville French bistro that replaced Dynasty. They actually have a grill patio on ground level along Bloor and an upstairs patio as well. Otherwise as many people noted, the interiors are similar to Balthazar. I liked the decor. The ceiling was exquisite. The service was okay. At 12pm, they ran out of things already on their menu. I heard this was a common occurence. We had duck liver terrine and tuna tartare to start. Not enough bread with the terrine. And the tuna tartare was too salty. For entrees, I had the mussel and frites. Frites were nothing too spectacular. Mussels were great - every one opened up and literally dropped right out. My lunch mate had a striped sea bass. Her portion was so big there was probably enough to feed 2 or in Europe, 3 people. That's the one thing about this place, it serves American sized portion bistro. Couple glasses of wine and it ended up being around $176 including tip. I think I would return to try the seafood bar but otherwise I didn't think it was worth the price.

Friday for lunch I went to Beer Bistro. The menu has gotten a lot healthier - more vegetarian options but even on a Friday it was pretty dead except for the patio. I had the salmon cakes, which were average and a beer. 4 people eating salads and the vegetarian pizza, plus a cheeseburger ended up being $129+ tip. Cheeseburger was funny because he asked whether you want cheese or bacon on it and you got exactly that - just the cheese. No other garnishes. Service was pretty slow - 1 1/2 hours for beer, entree and coffee.

Friday for dinner was at Splendido. I showed up with my cousin shortly after 6, had the trout tartar, pea soup, some cocktails, halibut and sea bass. The fish were all certified by some Vancouver ocean something association. But one of the fish was from Nova Scotia so you have to wonder what they know about fish from the other side of the country. Split the chocolate caramel tart - extremely heavy and it ended up being $260 including tip. As always I liked the service. Very attentive.

Night cap at Toronto Temperance not before passing by a massive queue to get to Cafe Diplomatico.

^^^^^ Cool - I'm having brunch at La Societe tomorrow so will report back on how it is. Had lunch at Queen Margherita today. Was excited to see how it compared to Libretto. Sadly, there's no comparison. Libretto kicks its ass easily.

Relish Bar & Grill, 2152 Danforth Ave. (Greektown), Toronto. Small bistro-styled wine and tapas bar: plates are portioned, being small but decent, the idea being to order more than one dish. Casual atmosphere, with a live band on Sunday afternoons following brunch apparently. Prices are very reasonable, ranging from only $8 to $12 per dish, and less for appetizers. Euro-Canadian food, with pasta and seafood to chicken and beef offerings. Food is decent, and well presented. Wine list is reasonable, but nothing special. Also, have a gluten-free menu which is sizable, and not vegan-oriented and reason for going there (my friend has a gluten allergy). My friend and I were not particularly hungry, so only ordered one dish each, with a desert and cheese plate. I ordered the medallions of beef, which was served medium-rare off the grill, very lean and very tender. Could have been paired with a vegetable dish or appetizer, but I was looking to eat light, as noted. My friend had the chicken stuffed with spinach, ham and cheese and found it properly cooked, tasty and said it was very satisfying. Creme-brulee topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries for desert, and finished with a cheese plate (a nice sampling of 3 cheeses from Quebec and Switzerland, served with the usual fruit, French toasted bread, and walnuts, etc). Service wasn't particularly attentive, but satisfactory. Total for two, under $100.00. If looking for a casual, gluten-free resto that isn't veggan, would recommend. Also, would seemingly be a good place for lunch/brunch (seemingly have made a name for themselves for their brunch and post-brunch Sunday music jam sessions, though haven't experienced it myself).

Sucks. Go to barchef instead.

Beautiful place, good service, food was decent (I had the eggs Benedict).

I'd go back.

I went to Swish last night. It's a korean place on Wellington just off yonge . The ambiance is really nice with reclaimed wood tables and brick walls. Jinda would have loved it as there were several really hot korean girls, which made for nice eye candy while dining.

I've eaten at some cheaper korean places in my time but this place is definitely more high-end. I ordered a kimchi trio, spicy pork neck tacos, yook suk (marinated/braised beef shank), and chicken ssam set (a grilled chicken preparation that comes with veggies on a hot iron plate that you wrap in lettuce). Everything is shared.

The kimchi trio was about 1 for 3. I only really enjoyed the "traditional" kimchi. The spicy pork neck tacos were really tasty; i'd definitely get them again. The yook suk was just ok. I think it should have been served hotter though. The beef shank was sliced carpaccio-thin and lined up on one side of a plank with spring greens on the other. The chicken ssam set was excellent. The chicken was succulent and the dish was very flavorful.

I enjoyed the ambiance and food so i'd definitely go back. It was only $70+tip for 2. I had a glass of wine and my father had a beer.

Had lunch at the Blowfish location on Bay.

Warm dishes:
The black cod with a miso sauce was juicy and flavourful, very tasty.
Tempura shrimp was good but nothing special, same goes for Edamame.

Sushi:
Their Ebi shooter is like a handroll with a soy wrapper and shrimp, avocado and a whole bunch of other stuff inside. yummy.
Spicy tuna roll, nothing fancy but top-notch ingredients make for a good roll.
White tuna nigiri: partially seared, very tasty.
Striped bass nigiri: almost tasteless.
Smoked salmon in curry sauce: not my cup of tea.

Dessert:
Flour-less chocolate torte with white-chocolate mousse and raspberry sorbet. damn.

Service was attentive, interesting decor, bathroom is unisex and very dark with aquariums in the stalls...
Around $90 before tip.

I went to Zucca Trattoria again tonight. I really enjoy the place and hard to go wrong there. I WISH it was downtown bc if it was, I'd go once a week.

I had the garlic flan with sauted morels and cirspy chicpea polenta followed by tagliatelle with ragu of spring lamb, white wine, artichokes, and oregano.We ordered a bottle of Bracancaia Toscana Tre, 2007, which is a blend of sangiovese, merlot, and cabernet. The meal was followed by a cheese dish, and of course, I can never go without my lagavulin and chocolate dessert, which to me is the perfect pairing. it was a sort of warm chocolate cake with a crispy exterior and melt in your mouth interior.

$250 incl. tip for 2.

I never see any hot girls of any ethnic background when I go there.

Do they still push the sake-tinis? I liked the original for people watching. I saw Belinda there. That Bay Adelaide building has spawned two money pits already (Blowfish and Temperance). I'm sure Trump will add another one.

Friday lunch was spent at Pearl at Queen's Quay Terminal for dim sum. Too many fried dishes and they ran out of certian things (rice noodles) fairly quickly. Otherwise the turnover was quick and it seems like they're really gearing towards tourists because you automatically get a fork with your chopsticks as part of the default place setting. Does the fork and chopstick not duplicate each other's function? $27 + tip.

Friday night, flipped a coin to choose between Pizzeria Liberetto or Salt but my cousin wanted pizza. There's this nice looking greeter at the door but she doesn't bother greeting you if you come with someone of the opposite sex. Stood around in queue for 10 minutes before getting a table and leaned on to the specials chalkboard with my suit. Had the duck confit pizza and a regular margherita. Totally stuffed but somehow managed a half bottle of wine and one of the bubbly dessert cocktails for something like $90ish altogether.

Then we hit the Distillery District. I must be really out of date. Where the heck is the outdoor stage with the latin music, the grill and the beer & vino? There was this weird space sculpture and every patio is now owned by some restaurant. In the middle is a condo project which seems to have obstructed the flow of traffic. Very disappointing as my cousin was in from Vancouver and I thought we could catch something. It's so commercialized and full of more "mature" couples who want to blow money and get sloshed in 3 hours. We spent $3.75 for a beer flavoured ice cream window shopping closed stores.

Spent the remainder of the night killing time listening to soul at the Reservoir Lounge. Since I got off the plane the previous night, I was pretty knackered to do much more than that.

Do you go for lunch or dinner? There were a couple tables filled with 20-something koreans when i went. The girl (with bf) that was at the adjacent table to me was hella pretty. Definitely a pure azn beauty of the highest caliber.

Went to Terroni tonight. Had the margherita di bufala and a pretty decent bottle of pinot grigio. 100+tip. Definite repeat.

Weekday lunches. I reckon the females were all over 45 at that time and spent the last 20 sitting in a cubicle because they looked it.

Speaking of gluten free a few threads back, Toronto is on the forefront from this. I had some visitors down in Atlanta from Jersey and they couldn't find much to eat because they had gluten allergies. I thought that was strange considering every other restaurant I go to in Toronto has some kind of gluten menu or gluten substitute, and some just plain do gluten free across the board.

The crowd, from what i've read, is substantially different at lunch from at dinner. In the evening you've got more asians whereas during the day it's all suits. My father and I were the only white people in the restaurant.

not in this case.
[...]
Do they have the carts on weekdays?

On the weekend, the key to a successful Pearl Harbourfront dim sum experience imho is to order your favourite items from the menu, and then use whatever comes by on the carts as a way to sample new things. Otherwise, depending on where you are seated you may never get any of the dishes you like.

Dinner at George on Saturday night. Had the 7-course tasting menu with wine pairings. Didn't expect it but with two of us they actually brought different items with each course. Black cod on my side paired with scallops on hers. Foie gras with duck breast, foie gras with sweetbreads. Beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin. One dessert plate to top off the meal.

Had a new wine varietal I had never heard of before, a Tannat from Argentina. Was actually quite good, a bit chianti-like, although I was well into my fifth pairing by that time so don't take my word for it.

Overall, took about 3 hours. $450 with tip. Would definitely do again.

Yes. I showed up at around 12:30 because I had to pick up a few people in the Financial district but the carts were out. No sheets so you had to order from the wait staff. I didn't and ended up looking at countless carts full of fried stuff. During a winter weekend this year at 11am, they only had the sheets. I was told by my brother they start dim sum carts late on weekends to cater to the locals.

I was going to invite my cousin to one of those lengthy tastings and was looking at George or Colborne Lane. I might save it for the winter though.