647 930 9517  |   $16-28 Mains  |   60 Richmond St E

After having gone to one of Rose & Sons first dinner services, I started to develop a tendency to try out other restaurants making their supper time debut. Hawthorne had been very popular for the lunch crowd over the past few weeks and was just beginning to offer a new menu in the evenings, so I decided to drop in with a bunch of friends to sample their offerings.

Exterior Image Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

Food

I’m not exaggerating when I say the menu that night was extremely eclectic. The same menu shares edamame, lamb empanada, lemongrass ribs, fish and chips, peking duck phot and steak frites. Usually, this would send me running for the door, but the described elements of each dish seemed to be in harmony so we proceeded to order.

Starting with the ‘russian unorthodox’ above, there was a pattern of over-salting early in the early-going. The flavour combinations of horseradish, apple beet, caraway and dill made sense, but not all them showed up on the plate and I couldn’t help but feel the aioli was really salty.

One of the other starters was a mushroom ‘soup of the moment’ with some decent mushroom flavour, but really lacked depth. Felt very one-note and again probably had more salt than it needed.

The last app was a small beet and beef tartare with pickled mustard seeds, horseradish cream, and coffee oil. I can’t say I really picked up the oil, but for a third time, I’d say the tartare was too salty.

On to mains. My order was the ponzu glazed pork belly with lobster broth, long bean, crispy toast and chili peanut dust. While the broth did have lobster flavour, it was quite bitter almost like a Massaman curry. I was really hoping for some bright flavours or spice somewhere to help balance, but everything else on the plate was rather bland. No hint of heat or peanut, which made me wonder if there was any dust at all.

The crispy skin char with vanilla poached tomato, chestnut gnocchi, charred kale, onion fondue and bee pollen just sounded way too ambitious. I didn’t order it, but I did have a bite of a few elements and I just didn’t get it, especially the tomatoes. Very odd combinations here.

The beef cheek with bok choy, stone crab chow chow and crispy potato cake was another dish that sounded like there may be something there, but flavours didn’t really come together. Again, felt it was a bit bland.

The final dish sort of embodied the ongoing theme of promising description, followed by flat result. This chicken (while huge) was supposed to have east African spice and coffee essence, but really wasn’t as pronounced as it needed to be. Also, the presentation felt like Swiss Chalet take out and the croutons surrounding the bird were not what I’d call a good rendition of panzanella salad.

Service and Ambience

Safe to say the food was disappointing, but I did like the vibe of the place. Tasteful use of stone and wood with lots of jars filled with preserves made for a pleasant atmosphere. I can see how the giant bar facing into the kitchen would be buzzing during lunch.

Interior Image Credit: Karolyne Ellacott, Toronto Life

I also thought our server was very friendly, attentive to our large group, and was also around to answer questions or take any ad hoc orders. I really wish the food had been better so that we could have validated some of his recommendations.

The Reco?

I honestly think the menu stretches this place too thin and has resulted in dishes that seem to over-promise and under-deliver. I continue to hear good things about lunch here, and perhaps this early dinner service is not reflective of the food quality this kitchen puts out, but I can’t recommend this in the slightest based on what I tasted. Sorry guys.

Other Reviews? 
 No Dinner Reviews Yet

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Jan 11, 2013

416-860 0086   |    $16 - $36 mains

I’ve talked a bit about being disappointed with O&B restaurants because my first time at each of them always seems to be underwhelming. I find the service is always good, the selection seems appealing and the spaces are beautiful…the only problem is I never really like the food. Luma had changed my mind a bit after returning recently, so I decided to give Biff’s on Front a shot. 

Food

Honestly, this menu looked certifiably appealing to me. There were tons of classic french dishes from the starters, to mains and bistro specialties. Biff’s even serves cheval (horse!). I was pretty excited to get tasting.

The picture of butter you see above was an odd way to start the night. The bread came out as usual (a decent sliced baguette) accompanied by a ramekin of regular, spreadable butter by all appearances. Weird thing was I could have sworn there was a noticeable aftertaste of oysters. The other two at the table conveyed similar sentiments. I kinda liked it. Unfortunately, our server said that it shouldn’t have any aftertaste. Weird.

The chef also sent out some house-made grainy mustard that had a pleasant - and intentional - bitter aftertaste. That along with some house-made pickles were a nice start.

Our first main was the pork belly with spaetzle and fennel (above). The pork belly piece itself was the largest I’ve seen in a main. Unfortunately, it was a big miss: chewy on the outside (not crispy), meat wasn’t tender, and the melt-in-your-mouth fatty part was barely there. Also, the spaetzle looked, felt, and tasted like soft breadsticks, which definitely wasn’t we were expecting. I just didn’t get this dish at all.

Next had another large portion, this time of smoked sweetbreads with potatoes, wild mushrooms and a creamed leek sauce. My first bite of everything was decent, but this got bland from the second taste onward. I couldn’t pick out the green-coloured oil/sauce, which I wish had imparted a stronger herb flavour to keep the dish interesting. I understood the concept, but I just didn’t think it delivered on it.

We finished with a crowd-pleasing trio of profiteroles stuffed with vanilla ice cream, covered in chocolate, caramel and almonds. This was undoubtedly an extra-safe choice to end the meal and it paid off. The chocolate was darker than I expected which I found made the topping of almonds more complimentary and the caramel more contrasting. 

Service and Ambience

Despite the food not being great, Biff’s lived up to the positives of O&B restaurants: the service is awesome and the spaces are beautiful. 

Our server was super friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, and checked up on us the perfect amount. Probably one of the better servers I’ve had across all my restaurant visits in the city.

The Reco?

I’m giving this two stars because the only things I enjoyed were the pickles, profiteroles and unintentionally oyster-kissed butter. Neither of the mains were very good in our opinion, despite their size, and that just doesn’t make me want to come back and sample anything else. On the bright side, I hear Auberge du Pommier is O&B’s best. Perhaps that should be next…

Other reviews:
  Toronto Life   |     Chu on This

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Mar 30, 2012

416-368-1920   |   $16-23 mains

I’d heard some good things about Harlem, and hadn’t really had any riffs on ‘soul food’ before. Figured this would be a good spot.

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

Food

The CD shaped menu lists a variety of starters and mains, many of which actually sound tasty. Most items have a southern/cajun spin on them. Was especially tempted by jambalaya, braised beef short ribs, and jerk beef meatloaf.

In the end, we decided to start with some ‘harlem crisps’ I would liken to a cross between pita chips and bubbly samosa batter. The two dips were avocado ginger hummus and spiced walnut pate. I thought both could have used some salt as the flavours fell a little flat and the flavour of the crisp muted the dips. For me, the dips didn’t pass the ‘I would buy that again at Loblaws’ test.

Photo Credit: Christina Truong

After much flip-flopping I ended up selecting fried chicken and waffles with collard greens. The pic above is a variation that has a salad and gravy. The fried chicken was crispy, not overly greasy, and the chicken was moist - mostly dark meat. Also had a scotch-bonet-corriander-lime syrup drizzled over top that I thought could have used more heat (writing scotch-bonet is a promise of ensuing heat). I think I got citrus, sweet, and a pinch of spice though. As for the waffles, lukewarm and soft, and the collard greens side was under-seasoned and felt mailed in.

My friend ordered the blackened catfish served under a shrimp and crab etoufee sauce with collard greens and basmati. The fish was flaky, but ‘blackened’ implied a crispy quality that was lost under all the sauce. That said, sauce was good. Again, the sides were an after-thought.

Photo Credit: Food Junkie Chronicles

We finished the meal with candied plantain (above) and mango cheesecake. The plantains felt like part of a dish. We actually thought it would work well in a bread pudding or breakfast muffin. Sauce was quite sweet, but that wasn’t a huge problem. 

Cheesecake was OK, somewhat heavy, and tasted like a cremesicle. 

Service and Ambience

We went early on a Thursday for dinner so we were the first in the restaurant, and not too many people joined in. Service was attentive and polite throughout, food came as ordered and in good time. 

Photo Credit: Harlem Website

The vibe there is very ‘small jazz club’, especially at night with the lights down. I expect it would have felt more authentic with one of their live music acts and a packed house, so I can’t really comment.

The Reco?

As much as the menu intrigued me and the fried chicken satisfied, there were too many things that just weren’t executed well. I probably wouldn’t return to Harlem.

Other reviews:
Toronto Star   |     Food Junkie Chronicles

Posted by: Jacob, Visited Jan 12, 2012

647-343-0268    |    $7 -$30 Dishes

Have walked by this place a few times and thought the menu looked pretty encouraging. I have yet to go for Korean downtown outside of some of the chains, so I was excited about this spot.

Food

The menu is split into dishes (sharing plates), and different ‘sets’ that either come cooked (ssam) or are self-prepared on a table top BBQ or hotpot style (swish). We tried a variety of starters, so I’ll do a quick run-down on them followed by the swish.

Photo Credit: Swish by Han website

First thing to come out was the pork neck tacos (above). Two little ones for $10 wasn’t exactly great value, but they tasted good enough. The kimchi flavour you’d expect, don’t know that pork ‘neck’ really mattered much. Very saucy, which may or may not be good depending on your preference.

Photo Credit: Swish by Han website

Next were the Kimchi’d pears with stilton cheese (above). This was the best thing I tasted of the night. Ordered it because it sounded different, but it was was fresh, barely sweet, a little spicey, and the cheese gave it richness to balance everything. I’ll definitely attempt to replicate this at home.

We also tried the spicey pork buns, which were like the onion buns you find in sandwich shops or grocery stores, but the pork was flavourful and not very spicy. Tried some potstickers as well, but probably would have preferred something crispier. Nothing ‘wrong’ with them though.

We finished out the meal with the beef swish, essentially boiling our own vegetables, noodles, and beef in the pot. While fun, I don’t think the broth added very much, there was no twist or upscale tweak, and generally I don’t think it was worth the $25 price tag. 

Wanted to finish off the meal with some bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert topped with red bean & ice cream, but they stopped serving it…months ago. The only available dessert was a special and it too was sold out (likely because it was the only dessert option). I’m cool with things running short - it happens - but to keep items on your paper non-laminated menu for months after you stop serving is just lazy. For a ‘nicer’ restaurant, I can’t get around that.

Service and Ambience

I thought service was OK, not particularly friendly or warm. One of our orders didn’t make it out until much later when we reminded our server we’d ordered it (kitchen mix-up I suppose). 

Photo Credit: Swish by Han website

I quite like the design of the place though. Tons of exposed brick, a couple chandeliers for contrast, big abstract wall-paintings and big windows. It’s a good look. What I didn’t like was the music volume. I love A Tribe Called Quest, and I love that they were playing it, but people across the table could barely hear me. 

The Reco?

I think there were some successful dishes and I wouldn’t be totally against returning, but some things didn’t click. Paying $25 for the swish didn’t sit right with me, the service wasn’t stellar and the dessert menu thing makes no sense. Personally, I just didn’t have a great experience overall.

Other reviews:
 blogTO      |     Toronto Star    |     Toronto Life

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Dec 7, 2011

416-531-4447    |    $10-18 entrees

Headed over to this new spot on Queen West for a country brunch with a twist on a Sunday morning. Had some reasonably high expectations with a 40 minute wait. Here’s my take on it.

Food

Very small brunch menu with classics, each of which has a little twist on the traditional. The two that most appealed to me were the corned beef hash with pork belly and the English breakfast complete with blood sausage, baked beans, two eggs and sautéed mushrooms. Our server recommended the latter, while my friend had the fried chicken sandwich with avocado and tons of fresh cilantro.

My plate was pretty good. Baked beans had a pleasant spice with a generous cumin flavour, eggs perfect over easy, and mushrooms added to the earthy quality of the plate. Now I’m no blood sausage/boudin noir/black pudding expert, but the mushy texture was off-putting personally. I know it can come in a variety of textures: this one turns me off. An all-spice flavour is what I picked up most, but not much outside of that. For $18, it’s a plate with good variety.

My friend’s fried chicken sandwich was a little on the small side, and my bite had some grizzle in it. However, big fan of the liberal cilantro to keep it fresh and the chicken was moist. Heads up, it’s also a little messy. Fries aren’t anything special, but the ketchup seemed house-made which was a nice touch.

We were curious about the dessert. They have a cupcake, a cookie, and a pie that vary frequently. I went with the apple pie with a layer of sharp white cheddar on top and my friend went with the chocolate cupcake with salted caramel.

The apple pie was fine, don’t know that the cheese added much and generally got lost in it all. The cupcake had the chocolate and salt, but caramel didn’t come through at all. The offensive part of it was the butter cream on top that literally tasted like salted butter. Too much fat for me.

I also had a little $12 mimosa (really? $12!) and my friend’s Shirley temple had no grenadine, no cherry. Not a huge deal, but it’s such a standard.

Service and Ambience

Really small inside which explains the long wait. I like the look of it though, with plenty of wood everywhere to keep the country feel.

They call your cell when your table is ready, which I thought worked out well and the estimated wait was close enough. Once we arrived our server was friendly, and had an opinion on the menu which I like to see. Only thing I wasn’t so happy about was that the cheese on my pie was an extra $2, which was a surprise and wasn’t worthwhile.

The Reco?

If I were just eating the two mains, had no wait and lived nearby, I’d say check it out. But places with long waits need to be held to a higher standard, and the dessert/drink missteps kind of killed it for me. In the end, especially after going out of my way to eat there, I didn’t see the value.

Other reviews:
Globe and Mail

 Posted by: Jacob, Visited Nov 6, 2011

647-288-4715    |    $9-26 lunch entrees,  $15-36 dinner entrees

Dropped by for a Friday lunch on the patio with high expectations. 

Food

The menu was promising for lunch, with items I’d expect to only see on a dinner menu: burrata, roast pork belly, veal flank steak, etc. Unfortunately, I’d categorize the menu as hit and miss based on our group’s experience.

Hits:

Mixed Drinks - ‘Fruit of the luma’ and ‘blackberry charger’ are both cleverly named, not too sweet, and perfect on the patio.

Coconut Poached Red Snapper - Friend of mine enjoyed the lightness of the perfectly cooked fish with the mix of root veg, ginger, lime and tofu. There’s a bit of heat here as well.

Ricotta Gnudi - Light and fluffy, tasty mushroom foam (there’s a ton of it, actually covered the gnudi entirely), and chunks of Parmesan made this affordable lunch portion ($13) a good value.

Misses:

Grilled Octopus - Always a good test for a kitchen. Good flavours (not great) when you got everything in one bite: pickled eggplant, candied olives, romesco, arugala. Problem was there was barely any eggplant or olive on the large portion and the romesco was bland. In addition, the octopus, while not rubbery, wasn’t tender and had a very dense quality reminiscent of steak, making it difficult to chew. Not sure if it was intentionally prepared this way, but it wasn’t pleasant to eat. We saw another table near us send theirs back to the kitchen.

Lobster burger - This was my main, paid $21 for the burger (no side) and was let down. The lobster wasn’t chewy but the delicate flavour got lost in the togarashi mayo, cucumber, and bun. I appreciated the texture of the crispy shallots, and I think it tasted good as a unit, but I needed to be wowed by either the lobster flavour or some great use of spice/acidity. Just wasn’t there. 

We tried the endive salad and shrimp salad as well. Both were neither hit nor miss. Wish I’d ordered the burrata; heard it was delicious.

Service and Ambience

High marks for both. Restaurant is beautiful and located in a convenient location as I’ve come to expect from O&B. The elevated patio, while loud from mid-day traffic, is a cool spot on a nice day and is great for people watching. Food presentation was also impressive for lunch dishes.

Service was friendly, attentive, and didn’t rush us through our long lunch. Our server recommended my friend’s snapper (good call) and was around frequently to check up on us. I’m definitely a fan of the style of service at O&B restaurants.

The Reco?

I’d like to tell people to come here, but my bottom line is food and both of the dishes I ordered didn’t pan out. It’s a great-looking spot, and you could very well pick a satisfying dish - the fact is that I didn’t. For that reason I can’t give Luma more than two stars.

I’ll admit a second visit for dinner might enlighten me, but I think I’m going to lay off the O&B for a while and give the little guys around the city a try.

Other reviews:
National Post    |     Globe and Mail    | Toronto Life

Posted by: Jacob, Visited Oct 7, 2011

416-423-7555   |   $10-17 Entress, $7-10 Margaritas

Been here two times before, decided to walk over for a lunch out of the office.

Food

Your first question should be, “how are the margaritas?”. Answer: great. I had Pamelita’s Pick of the Day (mixed berry and chiles today) and it tasted like a berry smoothie with a hint of chile that lingers in your throat. Friend of mine had The Original and also endorsed it. Not super expensive either with the value in the 14 oz cup with 2oz of tequila ($10.95).

The sangria pitcher we ordered was decent, not overly sweet, but a lot of ice diluted the flavor a bit.

The menu is straightforward Mexican cuisine and well priced. Tacos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas, and some traditional dishes like chiles rellenos.

We shared Totopo (nachos with the usual fixings). Lots of goat cheese on top which added richness but the excess liquid from the tomato on the bottom of the plate turned most of the surrounding chips to mush.

I ordered mole on chicken enchiladas for my main. It’s rich with a prominent chocolate taste, not much heat or other distinct flavor, but I still enjoyed it. Sides were bland rice and salad.

Friends around me ordered quesadillas and fajitas and didn’t have much to say about them. The fish of the day was tilapia and came battered (surprise to us, waiter didn’t let us know).

Quick notes on what I’ve had there before: chicken con pollo (again mole was chocolaty good, sides were basic), guac (fresh, served in stone mortar for effect), tortilla chips (look like they’re made in-house, enjoyed them).

Service and Ambience

Took at least 30 minutes for mains to come to the four of us which was too long given the number of the patrons in the place. Our plates weren’t cleared very frequently so we used the table beside us as an unloading dock. Lots of wasps out on the patio appreciated it.

Patio itself is quaint but nice. Theres another on the roof of the place as well that gets busy when the after work crowd descends on Baldwin St.

The Reco?

If you’re in the area and want to grab drinks and snacks on the patio it’s definitely a good spot. It can probably satisfy a craving for Mexican food, but don’t expect a ton variety, any real depth of flavour, or stellar service.

Other reviews:
Toronto Life     |      BlogTO

Posted by: Jacob, Visited September 22, 2011

416-850-2855    |    $17-25 entrees

Food

It’s OK. Great selection of apps, tacos, enchiladas, margaritas, sangria, ceviches, and cocktails. Definitely a large menu.

The best thing we ate was Vuelve La Vida, a shrimp, octopus, and crab ceviche. All fish cooked well, bright flavours, probably a touch too spicy though.

My main, short rib enchiladas with a habanero salsa, refried beans and rice didn’t wow me. The habanero salsa had the right spice level, but lacked depth and tasted a little sour. When I had the short rib, I liked it, but it was hard to find in the enchiladas. Rice and refried beans were dry and needed seasoning or something.

My friend had the Barbacoa, shredded(ish) lamb in a banana leaf. It was well cooked, but there was no flavour outside of the lamb and generally the plate looked kinda sad.

I also tasted the Margarita de Pepino, a refreshing cucumber margarita. Couldn’t really taste the tequila, but I did like it.

Service

As we were seated, our host told us we’d love the food. ‘Some of the best mexican food in the city’ he said. We both felt he over-promised (don’t blame him though). The bartender waited on us, which actually turned out to be great. He was a little busy on Friday night, but helped us through the large menu, was very knowledgeable about the food, and was an all-around good guy.

The Reco?

Not awful by any stretch, but I can’t think of a good reason to revisit unless I’m really craving Mexican food in the entertainment district. The selection gives me hope that there are some gems on the menu, but I don’t think I’ll spend the $20 each to find them.

Other reviews:
Toronto Life     |     Globe & Mail     |     49 St. (video review)

Posted by: Jacob, Visited Sept 16, 2011