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| - When I heard about a restaurant opening up in Casa Loma, my ears certainly perked up. And a steakhouse at that. So when my husband ended up taking me here for my birthday, it was was nice surprise.
Upon arriving, the grounds immediately drew me in. It's just so beautiful. The restaurant uses the side entrance of the castle and they have setup a reception area which then leads to two dining rooms, one on the left and one on the right, both just at the opposite end of the conservatory. The left dining room has a gorgeous bar at the back that is truly an eye catcher. We got seated at the right dining room which was just as lovely. We took an early seating so it was not too busy when we arrived but by 6:30 it was full and bustling. The dining room has big windows that lets in lots of light during the day/late afternoon and after the sun went down, they dimmed the lights and created a romantic cozy vibe. The banquette seating was pretty low but the table was pretty high so it was a bit awkward at times while eating. You can't rest your arm on the table like you normally would as the table comes to mid chest and I'm not a short person.
FOOD: I started with a cocktail that was fruity and had a little ice tray with raspberry and blackberry floating on top of my drink. It was unique and the drink was refreshing and fruity which I liked. We then ordered the table side caesar salad for two which is one of my favorite caesar salads to date. I could have used without the whole anchovy sitting in my salad though. It was slimy and off putting. But the bacon bits, the crouton, the freshly made dressing totally made up for it and I loved the salad.
Next, we moved onto the mains. We wanted two different steaks to share so we opted for two different textures. The first was the Nebraska filet and the second was the American Wagyu Ribeye, both medium rare. I found the filet to be very lean but very tender. The medium rare was good for this cut. The ribeye was so juicy but I could have done with a medium for that, just cause I like the fat to be totally melted but it was more medium towards the ends of the steak so really, not a big deal. Very flavourful, totally recommend these two cuts depending on what you like though. We also ordered the scallops to share which my husband really liked. I thought the sauce was excellent but I'm not a scallop person to begin with so I wasn't crazy about the dish. The scallop was well seasoned and cooked though. It wasn't rubbery. I really enjoyed the sauce. It had corn in it and was interesting. I could have lived without the popcorn on top of the dish though. Who puts popcorn on a refined scallop dish? It didn't score any points for taste or presentation, and this is someone who absolutely is crazy about popcorn!! But it has to make sense and this dish did not.
By this time, I was pretty full but my husband wanted dessert so we took a look at the menu. There was about 5 choices and we opted for the caramelized banana crepe for two. It was also made table side but we waited about 15 minutes or more which seemed really long. And this dish I could have lived without the table side assembly. The crepe was pre made, the caramel sauce was made table side, with some bananas thrown in, crepe, and then topped with fresh squeezed orange. The taste was okay but I had better, and parts of our crepe was burned even though the sauce wasn't caramelized yet. So execution wise, it didn't go so well. I think if it was done in the kitchen by the kitchen staff instead of our server it might have been better.
SERVICE: The service was attentive at the beginning but not as consistent once it got busy. There were also water and crumbs on our table after the main meal but no one wiped it like they normally do in a traditional steakhouse. It's still a solid positive experience though.
PRICE: You can expect to pay about 300-500 after tip and tax for two people depending on what you order. The place is not cheap but the value is there for the cocktails, and the steak, both of which I thought were made exceptionally well.
Overall, the food and drink was really enjoyable and the atmosphere is oh-so-romantic! You can also take some really lovely photos inside and outside the restaurant while you are there to capture the experience.
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