Hello, everyone. We’ll be in Toronto at the end of the month and have one free evening. Where oh where do we want to go?
Some guidelines:
One vegetarian but otherwise anything goes.
Not super loud.
Nothing stuffy or formal.
I love reading the posts on this board and, so far, Lake Inez sounds the most interesting. Do you have other recommendations in that vein? I’m on a waitlist for a table there.
Otherwise, maybe George? I see a lot of love for that restaurant on this board and they have a vegetarian menu.
I should add that I know this is a wildly open-ended question and for that I apologize. I guess what I really want to know is what your absolute favorites are (within the parameters above) and why.
George is a much more formal restaurant than Lake Inez. I went twice, a long time ago. it’s excellent… but tasting menus are not currently my jam.
I don’t go out for upscale food too often. I realize you’re coming from Mtl and probably don’t want Italian food. That said, the nicest recent meal I have had was an Italian meal at Viaggio on Dundas W. They have vegetarian options.
What night of the week will you be dining out at the resto? That could impact how loud the resto is.
Maybe also consider Alma or Mhel.
Soos on Ossington is also fun, and it has lots of vegan options.
This thread is a few years old, but might give you some ideas
I’m totally with you on the tasting menus. I mentioned George only because it keeps coming up and fits my criteria.
The restaurant doesn’t need to be extremely quiet, but I’d like to be able to hold a conversation without screaming. I’m too old for that kind of thing. We’d be going out on a Friday fwiw.
Also, I neglected to specify that I’m on a wait list for Mystery Patio, not Lake Inez proper. What are your thoughts on the non-mystery patio dining?
Viaggio wasn’t on my radar and looks promising - thank you for that. Mhel looks too fish-forward for me, but Alma and Soos could be good bets.
Don’t hold your breath for the ‘Mystery patio’ - they recently had to cancel because of a chef mishap, and those who were ‘abruptly cancelled’ (including me) get top priority for any openings. The ‘regular downstairs’ menu is worthwhile, but the ambiance is ‘very loud and boisterous’ (probably even more so on a Friday!).
As you are “too old for that kind of thing” - my suggestion is Scaramouche. Not a place I’d recommend for “much younger” but, although ‘old school’ they are back in excellent form (after a rough patch) and it’s a quiet room, with many vegetarian options. Reservation essential.
I agree that the food and service are very good at Scaramouche, and the sound levels allow people to chat.
It draws a somewhat older crowd. I’m 52. I would think the median age might be 55 most nights. The atmosphere is nice. It feels a bit of like an upscale 1980s time capsule. Tables are far apart by Toronto standards. It is located on the ground floor of an upscale condominium in an affluent part of town, a fine minute drive north of Yorkville off Avenue Road.
I went to Scaramouche with my friends once a year when I was in my mid 30s, and despite being somewhat younger than most patrons, we always had a lot of fun and delicious food. It also has one of the nicest city views. The coconut cream pie is famous.
I’m not a coconut cream pie person. Everyone I know who likes coconut cream pie has loved that pie.
Scaramouche and the Benvenuto Place condominium are located on the site where this building was located.
Jamie Bradburn is a former Chowhound who used to attend our Toronto CH meet-ups, which were running monthly for several years.
If Lake Inez is on your radar, I don’t know that the classical cooking style of Scaramouche or it’s armosphere will work for you. I’m just stunned that someone not even from Toronto found that gold.
Anyway, if volume is really important, you can go a la carte at George. I’ve done it with friends when time was a factor. It’s quite enjoyable.
Not wanting to put words into Jeepyland mouth, but Lake Inez ‘experience’ is generally “VERY loud” (although out-of-towners may not be aware of this). On our last visit it was too loud (between courses) to even hear the music (although while eating it was clear - and an important part of the ‘experience’ as the soundtrack is linked to each course and adds to the enjoyment. I can only think of one other restaurant that ‘curates’ its soundtrack DIRECTLY to the course being served (and that’s now closed).
Lake Inez Secret patio is definitely one-of-a-kind and worthwhile.
I can’t speak to George current menu - I do like the Courtyard - although probably too cold for that right now.
I haven’t been to Lake Inez , not because I don’t want to try the food , but because I’m stil avoiding tight spaces that are crowded and/or loud. I haven’t been to a few other places along Danforth for the same reason. A lot of the more innovative restaurants have tight margins understandably, and that often means tables are close together.
I haven’t been is inside Lake Inez, so I haven’t checked out the table situation or ventilation situation myself.
Closer to home, along Dundas W or College St, I will peek inside a resto in the evening, to see if it’s too crowded for my comfort level. Of course, it’s not easy to do this when you have a limited amount of time in Toronto.
I know my original post was rather vague. I’m now starting to think that I should’ve asked where you take your visitors and why. Something reliably good yet interesting and/or representative of Toronto would be ideal. The description of Mystery Patio sounds so cool to me, but I guess it is not meant to be this time around.
Volume is a consideration, mainly because I want to be able to chat over dinner. If Lake Inez is deafeningly loud, I’ll take that off the list. I have to admit that Scaramouche is not calling my name, probably because I get plenty of French cuisine here in Montreal. I mean, I do like coconut cream pie, but maybe not enough to make a special trip for it.
I’ve got a dinner reservation at Soos one night, will aim for La Cubana for lunch one day, and now I just need that elusive second dinner. You guys seem to have consistently positive things to say about George so that’s the front runner at this point (à la carte), with Alma as a close second. Does that sound reasonable?
Depanneur looks cool but the scheduling doesn’t work. So, next time for that one, too, if you think it’s worth a try.
Depanneur has communal tables. Great for meeting new people; not suitable for ‘private’ discussions.
For a quieter evening with friends I often choose Ngogo - food is pretty good, but the attraction (for me) is their ‘customer-friendly’ corkage charge. If you’re a wine enthusiast then it’s my favourite BYOB.
{Oops - edited to add limited vegetarian options at Ngogo]
Since you’re from Montreal, I’m going to say Asian cuisine since Toronto beats Montreal on Asian but not necessarily on Euro. The OP never mentioned cost so I’ll assume that’s not an issue. For uniqueness, on the Japanese front, there’s Kappo Sato or Yukashi; for Thai, there’s Kiin; for Korean, there’s OneFiveSix for Korean fusion; and for Chinese, Mott 32 at the Shangri-La or Lai Wah Heen at Double Tree Hilton may be a try assuming you don’t want to traverse all the way up to the burbs into York Region.
Pulling from that discussion, here are a few thoughts about places we take people from out of town:
Grey Gardens - lots of good wine selections, great food ranging from nice crudos through fun vegetable dishes and fun pastas that all shift with seasonal and local availability.
Actinolite - very seasonal and locally focused, including foraged ingredients.
Canoe - a great view, a focus on pan-Canadian ingredients.
Thanks, Stevey. That sounds reasonable. I was looking at Pai (instead of Kiin, which seems to be dinner only) for lunch one day, but you’ve given me much more to think about.
I’m pretty sure Isaan Der is also open at lunch. Same kind of prices as Pai. I think I like Isaan Der in the Junction more than the downtown Pai, but the atmosphere at Isaan Der is less hip and more ordinary. Isaan Der is also not downtown like Pai and the Koh Lipe location on Baldwin.
This thread is mostly about a different location of Isaan Der. Still relevant
