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| - This is not just the best new restaurant in Toronto. This is THE best restaurant in Toronto. Chef Patrick Kriss has created something very special with Alo. It's a beautiful, modern, metropolitan space, a 3rd floor hidden gem with a gorgeous floating bar and washrooms hidden behind a sliding panel - this an undeniably sleek city restaurant. And yet there is no attitude, it's completely comfortable and unpretentious. I love that the dining room offers plenty of space between tables, and the service here is perfect - seamless, elegant, unobtrusive.
A few words about the food: After eating here, the details seem unimportant. I can tell you that the ingredients were spectacular, the preparation perfectly on point, that even the cocktails and desserts (so often lacking in TO restaurants) are incredible, innovative, and sumptuous. I can tell you that the pacing of our 2.5 hour dinner was exactly right, every dish a work of art, better than the last, full of surprises and delightful pleasures. I can tell you that Alo's $89 pre fixe is a ridiculous deal, a steal really, for what you get. But I think overall, it's the feeling that I want to share here. This food made me smile. This food made me giggle. This food made a woman across the dining room loudly exclaim "OH MY GAAWWWDDD!!!" in the middle of her dinner, to which we all looked over and nodded and smiled. She embarrassingly tried to apologize, but there was no need - all of us in that dining room were genuinely ohh myyyyy gggaawwwddding along with her as we cleaned our plates. We were all there for this experience together. We understood exactly.
As we were exiting the dining room, Patrick Kriss came forward to extend a hand and ask if we enjoyed our meals. I hugged him. Alo is that good. Go NOW.
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