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Downtown Toronto Dining

helenjp

By helenjp
in Ontario: Dining

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Jake

Jake

Posted
Posted

well, you're right; I can name 1 good Chinese restaurant in the downtown Chinatown area.  I guess I was remembering the dim sum thread where I said that there are no good options in the downtown Chinatown (which I stand by, although Lai Wah Heen is downtown if not in Chinatown).  But downtown still pales in comparison to Richmond Hill, enough so that I wouldn't recommend a special trip at all.

Hmmm... that's a wide condemnation of some fine restaurants in the downtown Chinatown. When Susur Lee and family dine out, they go to the same Chinese seafood place that my family has been frequenting every time we hit Hogtown. I would say that's a pretty good recommendation.

Sounds good - can you share the name and location with the rest of us? As well as any dishes you particularly recommend? Thanks! :smile:

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

rgruby

rgruby

Posted
Posted

well, you're right; I can name 1 good Chinese restaurant in the downtown Chinatown area. I guess I was remembering the dim sum thread where I said that there are no good options in the downtown Chinatown (which I stand by, although Lai Wah Heen is downtown if not in Chinatown). But downtown still pales in comparison to Richmond Hill, enough so that I wouldn't recommend a special trip at all.

creativeingredients

creativeingredients

Posted
Posted

Could anyone help me out with a restaurant suggestion?

It is for a business dinner (3-4 people), all foodies. I was thinking about Perigee. I haven't been there, but it doesn't seem to be a good place for conversation. Are all the tables facing the open kitchen?

Looking for upscale food. Decor doesn't matter - it's all about the food food food.

Thank you.

sadistick

sadistick

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you want something more quiet or secluded, and cost isnt an issue...I would chose either Splendido (good atmosphere, fairly quiet place to take clients/business partners) or Scaramouche...recently had another fantastic meal there and its a great location for a business dinner.

I would also consider Mistura...I'd go back just for their beet risotto!

Edited by sadistick (log)
Wine_Dad

Wine_Dad

Posted
Posted

There are indeed tables that are not adjacent to the stadium kitchen. They even have a small room. I'm sure they can accomodate a four top off to the side by the windows.

If your clients are foodies, Perigee's the place to be.

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?

Lisa: No.

Homer: Ham?

Lisa: No.

Homer: Pork chops?

Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.

Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal. (The Simpsons)

mkjr

mkjr

Posted
Posted
Could anyone help me out with a restaurant suggestion?

It is for a business dinner (3-4 people), all foodies.  I was thinking about Perigee.  I haven't been there, but it doesn't seem to be a good place for conversation.  Are all the tables facing the open kitchen?

Looking for upscale food.  Decor doesn't matter - it's all about the food food food.

Thank you.

There are a few threads that you should look at for peoples views as to places that might work. I will defer to my previous comments in these threads.

officially left egullet....

creativeingredients

creativeingredients

Posted
Posted

Thank you for all the great suggestions.

I decided to go to Susur because it should be quieter for conversation than Perigee.

Is it now a tasting-only menu? They didn't mention that on the phone, but I am fine with it. Looks like it will be hard to decide between the vegetarian and the carnivorous menu.

philadining

philadining

Posted
Posted

Actually, Susur is all tasting-menu now (June 2006), there does not seem to be a printed a la carte menu at all any more. That said, they're very accommodating. I asked about that just out of curiosity, and they said they'd be happy to configure a smaller menu from the selections available that night, so if you want to do three courses, or whatever, they'd adjust. Might be worth mentioning at the time of reservation if you think that most people would want to go off the map and customize, but the restaurant seems pretty flexible about it...

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

jenc

jenc

Posted
Posted (edited)

They went all tasting?

Oh drat, I didn't know - my bad. Sorry about that, creativeingredients.

Good to know though! I'm glad they're being accomodating though. Sometimes, you're just not in the mood to have a 6-8 courser and maybe something other than piles of foie gras.

Well, okay, I'll always take some foie gras!

edit: creativeingredients, you may also want to check out George on Queen E. Atmosphere can run more into business-feel than Susur IMO. They have tasting and a la carte available (uh.. as of about 8 mos ago or so).

Edited by jenc (log)

foodpr0n.com 11/01/17: A map of macarons in Toronto // For free or for a fee - bring your bottle! corkagetoronto.com

creativeingredients

creativeingredients

Posted
Posted

I will try George next time. The Susur dinner is tonight. I checked with my guests and they are fine with the all tasting menu. Since we are in the dessert business, we usually order all the desserts for ummm "research." I will report back on the meal.

Thank you!

jenc

jenc

Posted
Posted

Ohhhh desserts... I'm the kind of gal that looks at the dessert menu first so that I can determine how much room to leave and if my entree will go well with it.. *g*

Let us know how Susur went! It's usually a treat to go.

foodpr0n.com 11/01/17: A map of macarons in Toronto // For free or for a fee - bring your bottle! corkagetoronto.com

mkjr

mkjr

Posted
Posted

Please do let us know. Another good review would tempt me to go back.

officially left egullet....

creativeingredients

creativeingredients

Posted
Posted

Overall, a fabulous meal.

The bison with vanilla sauce, was absolutely amazing. The only change we made to the tasting menu - nobody was a foie gras fan so we asked for a vegetarian course instead.

Service effort was fantastic, but wine did significantly lag behind each course.

The only disappointment was the seafood course, which was soooo salty. Good thing dessert was next.

Would definitely go again.

  • 1 year later...
MinhD

MinhD

Posted
Posted

Hi;

Another "where to eat" question... I have searched the forums already and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so here goes:

I'll be staying in downtown TO (3 minute walk to Eaton Center) and I'm looking for a decent, mid-range restaurant that's within walking distance or at most a very quick cab ride. By mid-range, I'm thinking something price wise like the Keg or Milestones, along those lines, but something not part of a franchise/chain. Open to any type of cuisine.

Susur, Scaramouche and those guys are too high end for what I'm hoping for.

Thanks in advance!

GordonCooks

GordonCooks

Posted
Posted

Head over to Chinatown - Also check out

Jules on Spadina/Queen for some decent Bistro style cooking.

Jamie Kennedy Wine bar has the best QPR for your dining dollar in the city.

Pizzas at Terroni on Yonge.

MinhD

MinhD

Posted
Posted
Head over to Chinatown - Also check out

Jules on Spadina/Queen for some decent Bistro style cooking.

Jamie Kennedy Wine bar has the best QPR for your dining dollar in the city.

Pizzas at Terroni on Yonge.

QPR?

jenc

jenc

Posted
Posted

Using Yonge/Dundas as the centre point:

Omi is reasonable at lunch, can get very pricey if you go omakase at dinner. Great Japanese though. Not all sushi. (10 min walk)

Salad King is a great Thai food place. Especially if you like spice. (2 min walk)

Japango is great Sushi. Love the chirashi. [2 min walk]

Crystal Sports bar is jerk chicken. Clocks in just under $10 for the large. (2 min walk)

Terroni for Italian. Reknowned for their pizza. I always go for the pastas though. (5 min walk)

JK Wine Bar is lovely, though I'd think it'll be on the upper ends of moderate. Depends what you eat. Nice treat though. (15 min walk)

okay, well that's my quicklist anyway. Too lazy to find addresses, but if you hit my flickr and search, you'll find photos for all these places, and 90% of the time, the address and number.

And there's always NOW's resto guide. Usually can find some non-mainstream places. http://www.nowtoronto.com/restaurant/

We should just google map and sticky a thread with all these places, the number of times this comes up :) Like a "suggested places to go" sticky where we can edit our posts to update our current picks. Follow a standard format for ease and then people can peruse at their leisure.

foodpr0n.com 11/01/17: A map of macarons in Toronto // For free or for a fee - bring your bottle! corkagetoronto.com

mkjr

mkjr

Posted
Posted
Head over to Chinatown - Also check out

Jules on Spadina/Queen for some decent Bistro style cooking.

Jamie Kennedy Wine bar has the best QPR for your dining dollar in the city.

Pizzas at Terroni on Yonge.

Gordon...do you post on Ebob...QPR seems to be a classic call sign for those who do.

EmaTei at 30 Saint Patrick Street is about 5 minutes or so. I agree with the others noted. The One a little further up, almost at Yonge and Gerrard for Thai is also pretty good and cheap and also Golden Thai www.goldenthai.ca is pretty close.

officially left egullet....

GordonCooks

GordonCooks

Posted
Posted (edited)
Head over to Chinatown - Also check out

Jules on Spadina/Queen for some decent Bistro style cooking.

Jamie Kennedy Wine bar has the best QPR for your dining dollar in the city.

Pizzas at Terroni on Yonge.

QPR?

Quality in comparison to Price Ratio

Edited by GordonCooks (log)
GordonCooks

GordonCooks

Posted
Posted
Head over to Chinatown - Also check out

Jules on Spadina/Queen for some decent Bistro style cooking.

Jamie Kennedy Wine bar has the best QPR for your dining dollar in the city.

Pizzas at Terroni on Yonge.

Gordon...do you post on Ebob...QPR seems to be a classic call sign for those who do.

EmaTei at 30 Saint Patrick Street is about 5 minutes or so. I agree with the others noted. The One a little further up, almost at Yonge and Gerrard for Thai is also pretty good and cheap and also Golden Thai www.goldenthai.ca is pretty close.

Hardly post on EBob but I consider myself a bit of a wino.

estufarian

estufarian

Posted
Posted
Using Yonge/Dundas as the centre point:

Salad King is a great Thai food place. Especially if you like spice. (2 min walk)

Salad king is the cheap student hangout version - shared tables.

Upstairs is Linda - more elegant - dining (as opposed to eating) - much more sophisticated food and still within your price range.

toweringpine

toweringpine

Posted
Posted

We just came back from another great dinner at the Kim Moon Bakery ( 438 Dundas W ). It may be a little more than three minutes walk but not by much. They have fantastic dim sum and friendly service. Two of us can dine for less than twenty dollars. I live almost at the border of Mississauga and the only times I head downtown are when we crave dim sum from there.

Librarian_chef

Librarian_chef

Posted
Posted
We just came back from another great dinner at the Kim Moon Bakery ( 438 Dundas W ). It may be a little more than three minutes walk but not by much. They have fantastic dim sum and friendly service. Two of us can dine for less than twenty dollars. I live almost at the border of Mississauga and the only times I head downtown are when we crave dim sum from there.

I haven't eaten at the Kim moon bakery in years, didn't realize it was still there as i think the Melewa is gone. How are the buns these days? What dim sum do they do well?

Mark

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