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| - 4.0 stars for service, ambiance and oysters, 3.0 to 4.0 for food, and a finger-wag for lack of signage.
There's no name on the place outside. I know, I know, this is code for we're a hip place, but still. We were arriving on bikes (I assume this is respected as actual bikes are used as decor as this place), which, on Bloor, means you shouldn't really spend too much time sign-reading and staring into darkenened windows of places. Riding into parked cars, getting doored, these can put a serious damper on your evening. We had to walk our bikes back 3 blocks when we realized we were straying too far from Lansdowne. Once you arrive on foot, mind, there is a small, angry-seeming scrawl of "The Emerson" written in chalk on the door next to The Emerson's door.
Things got immediately better once we were met at the door, taken to our crazy high big table and got our first round of drinks. Reso for party of 6 and we were the first to arrive. I started with a Toronto cocktail - rye, fernet and chocolate bitters (2.5 oz., $13). I've had the rye-fernet combo with different 3rd ingredients at several other establishments and this one did not disappoint. We tried each other's drinks and my DC got a Toronto on his second round. Friends arrived very shortly and fun ensued for the next several hours. After cocktails, we moved to wine and/or beer (taps were all St. Ambroise; our group was all former Montrealers, so this was familiar - a treat for some and ho-hum for others).
We took advantage of the buck-a-shuck. These were the best I've had in Toronto - many of them were very small, but taste was perfect. I don't often go for the add-ons, but couldn't resist the fresh horseradish, vinegar and even a couple drops of their homemade tomato mix.
I went for the the flat iron steak and the beet-dandelion greens-goat cheese (starter) as a side.
The steak was really good, done perfectly medium rare from edge to edge, was served with a yummy little pile of fried mushrooms and onions and all swimming in a thin, dark, winey gravy. My slight disappointment here was that the steak was more on the cold side than the warm side. I realize that steaks are left to stand to finish them, but there wasn't much of a sense of the grill to this meat, which was otherwise really great. This is a yummy steak at a good price ($21).
The salad ($9) was alright, but too much cheese for my taste, and the beets weren't as dirty and earthy-tasting as I like them (they seemed zapped of color, maybe they were the purple-orangey ones, not the deep deep purples), so I probably wouldn't zoom back to this salad on another visit. I tried my DC's side brussell sprouts and found the same thing - so much cheese.
One of us had a birthday so we sang with dessert, there was a candle and spoons for all. I can't remember the name, but was made to look like a birch log. It was pretty unique - not cake, and also not ice cream, and not meringue... soft and airy, but still with a certain heft. Kind of like a dense Dream Whip log with chunks of stuff? Maybe worth trying if desserts are your thing and you can makes sense of this description. (Might make more sense if I could remember the name.)
Service was consistently good - food came at the same time, drinks were refreshed promptly, all that jazz. The place is spacious, busy, relaxed. A great place for groups. I'd like to try some of the other things on the menu, including the Wellington.
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