3.5-4 stars
My husband and I joined my sis and brother in law for dinner while visiting TO. We started w delicious cocktails (I had the Northman which was similar to an Old fashioned with a festive spice twist). We all the ordered the chefs dinner w wine pairing ($150/person). We shared 3 hors d'oeuvres: a leak dish, pate w toasts and pickles, and these amazing boiled egg halved with a béchamel type sauce and an anchovy on top. The egg was amazing. So simple, retro, and delicious. A real throwback.
This was followed by a seafood tower that was good but not as flavourful as some I've had. It had: lobster, shrimp, mussels, oysters, octopus and hamachi. These were paired w lovely bubbles. I wasn't fan of the oysters since I prefer small oysters and these were a bit too big for my tastes.
We then had a delicious small plate of mushroom and escargot pasta. My husband doesn't like mushrooms or escargot but surprisingly enjoyed this dish. This was paired with a light Cote de Rhones and was a perfect balance.
I was already full but when they brought the Cote de beouf to share which was paired with an amazing full bodied wine (can't recall the name as by then I'd had a few wines!!) I had to make room. It was amazing!
I also magically had room for the dessert we shared a Paris-brest and a chocolatine type dessert w Sauternes pairing. It was overall a decadent experience.
This place should be a 4-4.5 place. But it wasn't. Why? 1) the decor was a bit blah 2) the pacing of the food was off. We kept getting dishes brought before we had time to finish the first and enjoy the pairing fully. 3) Our waiter was not the best. He is wasn't bad per se, but he wasn't friendly or welcoming. Too bad as these little differences really affected our overall dining experience. When your dropping
$200 a person for dinner everything should be perfect, including service. The restaurant needs to brush up on these 3 items if they want to stay at the price point they are at. Or drop the price...