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.

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 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

416-363-8447    |    $6-$24 sharing plates

Tonight, I went to Veritas with a couple friends and came away quite impressed. This two-story, barely-lit restaurant is easy to walk past on King St. E, but it’s a jewel in my opinion.

At first, I wasn’t expecting too much as it wasn’t very busy and it took a while before anyone noticed I was standing at the door waiting to be seated.

The menu was divided into Earth, Ocean, and Land and was slightly confusing since we couldn’t distinguish appetizers from mains . Thankfully, our server Claire was fantastic and gave us a run down (think tapas) and her personal favourites.

There are some unique items on the menu that we were excited to try. Here are our thoughts on our dishes.

Starters

Bread with Pear Butter - The pear butter was phenomenal. More sweet, which balanced the salty taste of the buttered baguette. The flat bread was slightly salted and had a great smokey, charred taste which mixed well with the pear butter; the other type of bread was nothing to brag about.

House Pickles - I hate pickles and anything pickled but I must say, I didn’t mind them. Not overly sour, good variety, and portions were generous.

Sharing Plates

Albacore Tuna - My friend stuck to her healthy diet (very proud of her!) and enjoyed the seared tuna. It was cooked perfectly, no complaints from her.

Qualicum Bay Scallops - Two seared scallops topped vegetables cooked in a sweet potato curry. Scallops were cooked just right and the curry flavourful. However, did find this dish quite expensive ($16) for only two scallops.

Crispy Pork Belly (above) - A table favourite. If you haven’t had cripsy pork belly before, you’re missing out bigtime. Chunks of fatty goodness (similar to thick-cut bacon), fried and covered in a sweet corn relish. This is definitely a dish for sharing. I had 2/4 pieces and feel that having the whole dish to yourself may cause a heart attack…

Beef Cheek Pierogies - I really enjoyed these. Potatoes, beef, and sour cream made this a great combo. This came highly recommended by both servers and I’m glad we took them up on it.

Teas

There’s an unusually large tea selection, so naturally we had a bit of a tea party…a nice touch to enjoy with dessert.

We sampled Rooibos tea and Herbal tea (below). Quite a change from what we were drinking on Thursday nights last year…

Dessert

Apple Cake - Filled with raisins and spices that remind you of Fall. It was topped with cheddar ice cream, which was odd on its own but fantastic with the cake. On top of that was bacon brittle or caramel-covered bacon. Overall, this was a great dessert that blended sweet and salty well

Chocolate brownie (left) and Apple Cake (right). Teas everywhere.

Flourless Chocolate Cake - This decadent and rich brownie-looking cake was served with roasted pear and caramel sauce. Delicious, but sadly overshadowed by the Apple Cake, which was frankly a lot more exciting.

The Reco?

Overall, Veritas was a surprise. I would definitely go again. It was slightly expensive, but the food was very rich and satisfying, and it’s an great place for sharing.

Tip 1: Their menu online is not accurate, as it changes each season so don’t rely on it. Tip 2: If you’re driving, Green P parking is two blocks around the corner off Richmond. It will save you a lot of money so you can spend more on food :)

Other reviews:
Toronto Life

 Posted by: Sam, Visited Nov 17, 2011