rev:text
| - The room is pretty, with the banquettes on the south wall looking really fun. We sat in the back area at a table for six. The service is great: friendly, helpful and well-informed. The food is competent. Not terrible, and not overpriced for Toronto, but also not special. The cheeseburger is mostly bun - when Barbara asked for it without the bun, the sad little patty was maybe 5-6 ounces. ($18) The pork secreto was a nice option -- not a cut you see most places. But it should have been simply seared on cast iron and seasoned: the thick brown sauce with onions it overwhelmed the natural gaminess of this lean cut. The other diners seemed to quite like their fish and chips and fried chicken, but weren't raving about it.
The drinks list and martinis were good, and the wine list is pleasantly deep and not overpriced: a 2005 red Bordeaux for $65 was good value and matched well with the food. So why only two stars?
Noise. It was better at the bar and the front of the room, but the tile walls, hard floors and ceiling and fairly loud music meant that (at a guess) the ambient noise level in our area was 90 dB most of the time, with stretches at 100-105 dB. Not only was it extremely difficult to hear our dining companions, but our ears actually hurt.
I am sure it would be much better at brunch, or not on a Saturday night. But for a Thu-Sat night dinner, I can't recommend the Saint, despite all the things it does well.
|