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| - Hands down my favourite meal in Toronto so far. I cannot stop raving about this place.
We were making our way down Elm Street and a man greeted us outside in the cold to bring us in. He was outside the entire evening, welcoming customers. Our main server was very pleasant and attentive. Other servers were happy to ensure that our glasses were always full of water. Great service altogether. The ambiance was also nice. Not too dim so that you can actually look around and see things; and there was soft pop playing in the background.
But most importantly...what about the food? TOO GOOD TO MISS!
We started off with complimentary fresh baguette with housemade hummus. Boyfriend and I ordered 2 appies: the beef carpaccio and grilled calamari + ratatouille. The beef carpaccio was huge, nicely presented and very well flavoured. The real winner (though honestly every dish was a winner) was the calamari. I actually am not a fan of squid or octopus, but this calamari was amazing. When cutting it, the knife slides through like butter. Eating it, it was so soft and far from rubbery. We were blown away and never had anything like this. How on earth was this prepared?! And it was only $10!
For mains, I got the roasted pork chop, which literally could feed a dinosaur. If this was Masterchef, Ramsay would be sure to say that this portion size was ridiculous. But I ain't complaining! The pork, although thick, was juicy and cooked through. Again, how did they treat the pork? Mushrooms and fingerling potatoes were also delicious with the sauce. My boyfriend ordered the Chilean sea bass, with saffran rice. The sea bass flaked off so easily and melted in our mouths like butter. Amazing. Its skin was good as well, and the rice was fragrant.
Given the generous portions, we were both stuffed at the end of the meal and couldn't find any room for dessert.
Go to Elm Tree Restaurant for a wonderful meal in downtown Toronto! You won't be disappointed.
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