Oliver & Bonacini - you've no doubt heard the name. They own 8 restaurants in the downtown core alone and attract the corporate crowd like moths to a flame. They're also home to one of the hardest-to-get reservations (at Canoe) during Summerlicious and Winterlicious. Yeah, you just keep your finger on the redial button honey.
I was never a die-hard fan of the O&B empire simply because I didn't have a corporate expense account and always found the crowd to be "stuffy." None of their restaurants were places I would go to hang out with friends. Most of my dining experience were Summer/Winterlicious luncheons with fellow co-workers or for special occasions.
But most recently I've been spending a lot of time après work at the bar of Biff's Bistro at Yonge/Front because of the recent launch of their Ménage à Trois, Quatre, Cinq menu where you can enjoy two Sustain wines (a red and a white) from Rosehall Run Winery from Prince Edward County and Mill Street Organic on tap for $3, $4, and $5 respectively from 3-5pm, along with a daily bar snack special from Monday to Fridays for the same prices. The daily snack features are as follows:
Mondays: Vegetarian
Tuesdays: Meat
Wednesdays: Pork
Thursdays: Vegetarian
Fridays: Fish
And if you just so happen to have one of those jobs that don't allow you to clock out before 5pm, you can still take advantage of the buck-a-shuck from 5pm onwards. On weekdays they start the countdown with 500 oysters until they sell-out and 700 on weekends. On the particular Sunday I went, they were serving Read (pronounced reed) Island Gems from British Columbia which were really creamy and delicious! They might just be my new go-to West Coast shuck!
One evening I was flying solo but still had a blast. The crowd is very diverse from nearby theatre-goers to out-of-towners and yes the corporate crowd undoubtedly still find their way in but the atmosphere is fun and inviting. When the weather cooperates, the patio is a great spot to get al fresco with a view of the Sony Centre of Performing Arts through colourful planters and iron gates. It's a great spot to play "fashion police" at the expense of show go-ers and have a good laugh. Parking is also $2 after 5:30p.m.
There are cocktails too of course, but I found mine too syrupy and sweet. Cocktails everywhere are always a hit and miss; but wine and beer seldom let you down.
I am quite infatuated with Amanda Ray's menu at the moment with everything from escargots with gnocchi à la parisienne (pictured above) to crispy pig's ears (pictured below) and a bavarois for dessert.
She's recently done some travelling in Vietnam and on one night featured what I'd call a "fish lettuce wrap" that was inspired from ch cá lã vng, a turmeric and dill fish dish originating from Hanoi. It's nice to see her incorporating dishes from bygone French colonies as well. My mom would've loved it! (Random tidbit: She was born and raised in Vietnam and so I've been exposed to that cuisine since a very young age).
It is also worth noting that they have their regular prix fixe menu for $34.95 that includes an appetizer, main and dessert. For that price - you can't really go wrong. The selection isn't just a sloppily thrown together menu of "cheap" offerings either. Chicken liver parfait and buf bourgignon are just some of the decadent offerings with a gâteau de citron that won't make you feel too guilty to indulge in something sweet.
So allez-y, make a reservation at Biff's Bistro. There's no word on how long the Ménage à Trois, Quatre, Cinq will run for - don't catch yourself having a "zut alors!" moment for missing it ;)