Toronto restaurant recommendation

[EL72]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Hmm. I need to find some of these places that are good and worthwhile, but not crazy expensive. I like to treat myself to high-end places once in a while, but i like to eat out weekly and can't afford high-end every week.

You know any good italian places that aren't too far out of the way?

Oh and i've got a date friday with a girl that doesn't drink... If anyone has ideas i'd love to hear them. I hate sitting in coffee shots (don't even drink coffee). it's a first date... PM me if you don't want to derail the restaurant thread.

The smaller italian places that I like tend to be in my neighborhood (Avenue-Yonge/Eglinton) like the ones I mentioned above. With the exception of Bloom (near Jane and Bloor), which is pretty decent but not somewhere I'd go to on a regular basis, I haven't been to many restaurants in the west end. For downtown Italian places, I like Terroni and Mercatto (the one on Toronto st.). Pizza Libretto is great too.

What's wrong with bringing a date to a place where they have booze even if they don't drink? At least you can have a drink and she can still get a virgin cocktail or something. I haven't been on a first date in 15yrs but would simply go to a casual lounge/bar somewhere convenient depending on where you're meeting/picking up.

 

[fwiffo]

Or this place: Queen Margherita Pizza
... got a few reviews recently as a challenger to Libretto.

And some say it's even better. Doink will be unhappy.

 

[doink]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

Or this place: Queen Margherita Pizza
... got a few reviews recently as a challenger to Libretto.

And some say it's even better. Doink will be unhappy.

I have yet to hit libretto, can't stand long lines when I want to eat. Now I have a reason to head to the east end.

 

[fwiffo]

Originally Posted by doink

I have yet to hit libretto, can't stand long lines when I want to eat. Now I have a reason to head to the east end.

I always do lunch weekdays or siesta type lunches on the weekend. Plenty of space then.

That's the same reason I haven't gotten into Guu Izakaya.

 

[doink]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

I always do lunch weekdays or siesta type lunches on the weekend. Plenty of space then.

That's the same reason I haven't gotten into Guu Izakaya.

Have done GUU a few times, the only way to do it is get there at 4:50 and make the first sitting. One caution, the service and timing of food is really poor. The quality of the food is good though. As an example of poor service and food timing, we tend to order 2-3 dishes at a time. The first 3 took nearly 45 minutes to come out, then we decided to order the next 6 we wanted, they all arrived at once within what seemed like 10 minutes.

 

[Brian1976]

Sassafraz is one of my favorites...not at all cheap, but very well worth it.

 

[fwiffo]

Originally Posted by doink

Have done GUU a few times, the only way to do it is get there at 4:50 and make the first sitting. One caution, the service and timing of food is really poor. The quality of the food is good though. As an example of poor service and food timing, we tend to order 2-3 dishes at a time. The first 3 took nearly 45 minutes to come out, then we decided to order the next 6 we wanted, they all arrived at once within what seemed like 10 minutes.

That takes some devoted foodies to do that. I'll keep it in mind.

Originally Posted by Brian1976

Sassafraz is one of my favorites...not at all cheap, but very well worth it.

That before they were burnt down or after?

 

[Brian1976]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

That takes some devoted foodies to do that. I'll keep it in mind. That before they were burnt down or after?
Both, I was there once before and twice after...for dinner. Been a bunch of other times just for drinks.

 

[fwiffo]

Tuesday night, drinks for work at Mio. In spite of the chaotic bar area, this place knows how to serve after work drinks. They keep coming around to give you more alcohol and the bill shows up in a minute - good for those commuters trying to run home.

Last night drinks at Turf Lounge. It was a racing night. The bartender was okay - too busy serving everyone. I heard this was on Summerlicious and would never imagine getting food here. Also I remember there used to be a dress code here but I saw some bloke standing near the bar with jeans. Maybe the standards are relaxing.

Dinner at Hiro Sushi. Just chose a bunch of stuff. I didn't think it was more or less spectacular than other places. For a Wednesday night, they were nearly empty except some people around the sushi bar doing omakase. And we got crappy seats. I saw one table of girls run out after being seated - I guess they were afraid of the prices? Turned out to be $100 + tip.

Night cap was at the martini bar in Pantages. Not going back - didn't think they did great martinis. For example, every martini was shaken James Bond style, which after watching the Thirsty Traveler, I started loathing.

 

[fwiffo]

I tried Duggan's Brewery today for lunch. For a place that brews its own beer, at least 3 beers were out of stock or sold out by 12pm. I tried their signature beer which tasted more like a poor man's version of London Pride. Lunch date had veggie curry. I had curry poutine. The portions are massive. Neither of us finished our dishes. The food service, as reported elsewhere, was notoriously slow. I almost finished a pint, drinking slowly, before the food arrived. The washroom has some kind of infestation in it and is oppressively hot. $72 + tip including drinks.

The evening was spent at Toronto Temperance...

 

[Saul Gud]

Earl's in Sauga!!!

Food is okay, drinks not bad, but staff amazing LOL

 

[Redwoood]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

Or this place: Queen Margherita Pizza
... got a few reviews recently as a challenger to Libretto.

And some say it's even better. Doink will be unhappy.

Had lunch there.
I had the one with prosciutto and mushrooms (around $16), my gf had the Pizza Funghi (around $17).
They burned my first Pizza and when I complained, they offered to remake it. The second one was fine, but still some burning along the crust.
Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and so did my gf. I'm very picky about pizza, and the dough (which is the most important thing) was very good. They use fiori di latte (think white, unripened cheese, Italian-style mozzarella), which is the real stuff, not Canadian rubber "mozzarella". Their prosciutto is also very tasty.
Bottle of aqua fizzante was $5 I think.

Overall, a very good experience. Thanks to SF and fwiffo; would definitely go again.

 

[fwiffo]

Originally Posted by Redwoood

Overall, a very good experience. Thanks to SF and fwiffo; would definitely go again.

Oh - don't thank me. I only got up on a Saturday morning and read about in the paper. I have yet to go. Do they have that chili sauce for the crust that I love at Libretto? It was like a mild pizza version of olive oil and bread.

I was at Forte today for a business lunch. I had the ratatouille omelette with greens - most probably because out of all the "specials", it had a connotation to a Disney character. Everything seemed to revolve around this Berkshire pork or bison meat. My lunch date had a chicken salad. Two glasses of wine, two scotches and a spanish coffee ended up being $94+tip. I don't think I'll come back. Server was all friendly but after I paid, she didn't even wave goodbye after I came out of the washroom. And it feels like they turned off the A/C or something on the weekend because the place was barely cool and a little damp and had an infestation of fruit flies. Not just one whizzing around but two or more at a time. Oh well, more OpenTable points for me.

So there's a Burger King or something up in the Annex that is supposedly being bought for the next Guu restaurant. There are already queues for random sushi places in the Annex, I wonder what the queue will be for this one. At the very least, maybe it'll be a relief valve for the one I never get into.

The other one I wanted to go last week was South of Temperance. Every time I go by in the evening, they have some corporate party. Every time I go by at lunch the queue to get in is 10+ long (11:54am!)

 

[TheButler]

Yeah, South of Temperance seems to be the new hotspot for the Bay St. crowd. Tried to arrange a small event there this week and failed miserably due to lack of space.

Had lunch at Vertical last week. The squid appetizer was okay, nothing to write home about. The papardelle with wild boar was good but the pasta was cold on the edges. Disappointing; clearly sitting while they prepped food for the rest of the table.

 

[Redwoood]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

Oh - don't thank me. I only got up on a Saturday morning and read about in the paper. I have yet to go. Do they have that chili sauce for the crust that I love at Libretto? It was like a mild pizza version of olive oil and bread.
[...]

They do offer chili sauce but I didn't have any, nor would I ever... as I said, I'm pretty serious and old-school about my pizza