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| - The food is very good overall, but some items are pricer than expected.
Lena is the newest addition to the Oliver & Bonacini empire, and is located at Queen & Yonge, in the Saks Fifth Avenue/HBC building. The restaurant is beautiful and modern, and surprisingly large with a semi-private dining room and a larger dining area upstairs in addition to the front area. The food is South American, which is a welcome addition to the Toronto food scene.
We got the following dishes:
SMALL PLATES:
- Smoked Jamon Croquetas ($12) - delicious little morsels, but you only get three of them.
- Gaucho Empanadas ($13) - tasty beef empanadas
- Salt Cod Fritters ($11) - these were okay, wouldn't get them again. Again very small serving for what you pay.
- Patatas Bravas ($8) - these were great
APPETIZERS:
- Burrata ($19) - did not enjoy this burrata! It was overpriced and too soggy.
- Heirloom tomato salad ($16) - a few tomato slices for $16, way overpriced.
MAINS:
- Chitarra with octopus, malbec, bone marrow, fava beans ($29) - this was quite good
- Rabbit & snail rice ($34) - quite good
- Striploin ($44) - surprisingly this was the standout dish of the night. The steak was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and came with a delicious chimichurri sauce. I honestly think this steak was even better than some fancy steakhouses in Toronto.
Polo Dono Aurora chicken ($27) - another great dish
DESSERT:
Churros with soma chocolate ($12) - delicious
Overall, I would forego the appetizers, get ONLY the jamon croquetas and patatas bravas, and focus on the mains.
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