COLETTE GRAND CAFE AND BAKERY

If there was one new restaurant I wanted to try in Toronto, Colette Grand Cafe and Bakery would be it. In most cases, the pictures of the food is what draws people into the restaurant, but in this instance it was the pictures of the decor that sparked my interest in what may be the most beautiful looking restaurant in the entire city.  Colette Grand Cafe opened its doors just a few months ago in June and is the newest addition to the Chase Hospitality Group most famous for one of the iconic luxury restaurants in Toronto, The Chase.

This restaurant exudes a French luxury from the white marble tables, long stretched royal blue Victorian couches, barrel vaulted ceilings, majestic white and beige drapery, down to the customized Colette plates their dishes are served on. The restaurant screams out sophistication and authenticity at its finest. Coming to this restaurant was perfect timing for me as I just came back from my first trip to Paris and was often times reminiscing on the Parisian lifestyle I was once in just over a month ago. Colette Grand Cafe and Bakery seemed like the perfect remedy.

Don’t let the name fool you though. When I think of a “cafe” I think of a small simple place serving the basic sandwiches, pastries, teas, and coffees. Colette is actually quite the opposite. It is a full on luxury restaurant from lunch to dinner filled with your choice of colourful modern French cuisine right down to your favourite alcoholic beverages conveniently made at their in-house bar. During the day however the Colette bakery attached to the restaurant will indeed serve you those sandwiches, baguettes, buttery pastries, and of course macarons that can be enjoyed in their covered terrace or their outdoor pavilion that runs alongside a courtyard pool.

As many of my restaurant adventures are decided on the spur of the moment, I decided to call the restaurant an hour before we would hopefully arrive to see if I could make a reservation as I expected it to be packed on a Sunday night. Luckily it didn’t seem like it was a problem at all and I got the exact time I wanted to come in at 6PM. I understood why when we arrived as to my surprise the restaurant was very empty and we were one of the first tables there for the dinner service.

I think since we were one of the first people there, we were given one of the more spacious spots in the restaurant which was a corner table with the long Victorian couches as our seat scattered with these big square cushions. It was very comfortable. The waiter was very nice and we chatted about how the restaurant came to life and the inspirations that helped mold the foundation of its food and decor. We started off with an order of lemonade and even though it wasn’t listed on the actual menu, the waiter said the bar would still make it for us. Now that is called great service.

The first dish we ordered was the Tartare De Veau (Veal Tartare) as the appetizer. I was a little hesitant at first eating another raw dish since I had some really bad stomach pains the last time I ordered a Steak Tartare at Origins (read my review here) but this dish caused no problems at all. This tartare dish also has a very unique twist of a hard boiled egg on top as it is almost unrecognizable in taste and in look. I personally put pieces of the veal tartare on the sourdough and ate it together which I believe is how it was meant to be eaten.

Veal Tartare, Fresh Herb Pistou, Horseradish, Hard Boiled Egg, Grilled Seeded Sourdough. Cost - $15

Everyday Colette has a daily special on their menu and as we were trying to decide on which main course to get, the waiter was raving about the Sunday special which was the Dimanche - Le Roti De Porc (Roast of Pork). For people also more on a budget, Sunday’s special is the cheapest at $19. The next cheapest special will cost you $24 on Monday and a whopping $60 on their Saturday. The pork was extremely tender and the peaches gave the dish a nice sweetness to it.

Roast of Pork, Rosti Potato, Caramelized Onions, Glazed Peaches. Cost - $19

I did also manage to eat something new that day, Swordfish. I have never eaten swordfish before so when I saw it on their menu I jumped at the chance to try it. To me the swordfish had the texture somewhere in between a grilled salmon and a halibut. It is a little tough in its texture but still very moist on the inside. It almost tastes like another slab of meat in all honesty. My favourite part of this dish was the fact that the swordfish was placed on top of this broth that complimented the fish so well with its mixture of all its flavours. The broth tied everything in together so nicely.

Swordfish glazed with Garlic & Lemon, Grilled Endives, Tomato Beurre Monte. Cost - $28

The first dessert that graced our table was the Souffle Aux Framboises (Raspberry Souffle). We got warned right away that this dessert will take at least 15 minutes to make so be mindful of this if you are in a rush to leave. The aroma of this dish when it is brought out to you is amazing and is what I remember most. You can tell it came fresh straight out of the oven with the decadent scent of raspberry emanating throughout the air. When the waiter comes out with this, he/she will also ask you if you wish to have any of their custard poured inside. You tell them when to stop pouring and I would recommend that you only pour a little inside as I found that the more custard you pour in it, the soggier it got. However I’m still dreaming about the scent of this dish! It smelled and tasted so good and the colour red just immediately captures your attention.

Raspberry Souffle, Grand Marnier Creme Anglaise. Cost - $14

After eating their Vanilla Ice Cream Profiterole it became one of my favourite desserts of all time at any restaurant. If you do not know what a profiterole is, think along the lines of an ice cream sandwich. It is a French dessert pastry filled with whipped cream, custard, or ice cream in the middle. Many of us North Americans also know a variation of this called the cream puff. The profiterole here was garnished with warm chocolate sauce and toasted coconuts. The chocolate sauce will also get poured in front of you when they bring the dessert out and just like the raspberry souffle you tell the waiter when to stop pouring the chocolate drizzle. In this case though I found the more chocolate sauce the better!

Vanilla Ice Cream Profiterole, Caramel Cream, Warm Chocolate Sauce, Toasted Coconuts. Cost $12

All in all I was thoroughly impressed with Colette Grand Cafe from start to finish. The food was delicious, the service was great, and the decor was probably one of the best I have ever seen. The only downside is that the price is a little more hefty than most restaurants here in the city (especially the desserts), but I believe every once in a while it doesn’t hurt to treat yourself in some of the more finer things in life. Just for a few hours when you’re here, you’ll get a little taste of the Parisian life and oh what a life that is.

Colette Grand Cafe

550 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 2V5

(647) 348 7000

Hours:

Monday to Friday (11:30AM to Close), Saturday (11AM to Close); Sunday (10AM to Close).

Bakery (Open Daily from 7AM to 6PM)

The Everyday Foodie Report Card

Atmosphere: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Food: 9.5/10

Presentation: 10/10

Value: 7/10

Overall: 93% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction

FABBRICA

Celebrity chef Mark McEwan has a culinary empire in the city of Toronto with many established, fine dining restaurants that includes Bymark, North 44, One Restaurant, and now his latest restaurant endeavor Fabbrica. The restaurant’s mission is to create the most authentic Italian cuisine from fresh ingredients, many that are sourced directly out of Italy. Located at the trendy Shops of Don Mills, Fabbrica has become the subject of my next restaurant review. In the past I’ve been to one of his other restaurants, Bymark. It didn’t live up to all the hype in my opinion at the time so I’m hoping that Fabbrica could help change the perception I already have on the Mark McEwan Group.

Fabbrica was chosen randomly when me and my friend arrived at the Shops so a reservation was not made. The hostess told us that the only spot available at the time without a reservation was at the bar. That was completely fine by us since you still can get the full restaurant service when sitting there. The atmosphere of the restaurant has a very casual feel. Unlike many of Mark’s other fine dining restaurants which is very formal, you could wear shorts and a t-shirt here and not feel out of place.

I knew that coming into this restaurant I wanted to try one of their pizzas. I had read before that they are baked in a wood-burning brick pizza oven from Naples, so I feel it adds a little bit more authenticity to the cuisine. Fabbrica offers 6 different types of pizzas and as I do quite often now I will ask the waiter for a recommendation. Since we sat at the bar, our bartender was also our waiter as well and took down our orders. He recommended to me their Fungi Pizza because he said it’s something you can’t really find anywhere else. Why? No tomato sauce is used. What is used as the sauce is Truffle Cream. I’m always willing to try out something different and unique so the Fungi Pizza was an easy sell to me. However, sometimes trying new things and taking food risks pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. This time the risk did not pay off and I ended up ordering something I couldn’t even finish eating, and no it was not because I was full.

The truffle cream was so incredibly rich, oily, and salty that it was extremely hard to stomach. Since the truffle cream replaced the tomato sauce it was lathered throughout the whole pizza so because there was so much of it, the richness of it was too overbearing and it felt like I was eating a block of butter at times. I have always been able to finish the food in front of me in its entirety at restaurants, but it wasn’t until here where I could only finish 75% of it and had to doggy bag the rest home. Again it wasn’t because I was full but because I knew that if I continued on, my stomach would not like me very much the next morning. In their defense, this pizza was probably meant to be shared so in small portions it probably wouldn’t have tasted the way I experienced it. I did manage to learn and take away one thing from this experience though. Always tomato sauce. Always, always always.

Truffle Cream, Mozzarella, Mushroom - Cost $20

The second main dish was much, much better than the pizza and it’s their Salmon. Although I believe Salmon is one of the easiest fish to cook, this salmon was cooked to perfection. The skin was beautifully seared with a crisp glowing skin and the fish itself was extremely moist and tender. The sauce and caponata vegetables on the side complimented the salmon well and elevated the dish in its presentation. My only gripe with this dish was the portion size relative to its price. It was a fairly small piece of salmon priced at a hefty $28 that came with no sides. We actually ordered a side of potatoes to go along with this salmon that came with a cost of an extra $10.

Seared Filet, Winter Caponata, Pine Nuts, Preserved Lemon - Cost $28

It was time for dessert and the first one that was ordered was the Tiramisu Bombolone. We originally thought that this was going to be the popular coffee flavoured Italian dessert in its cake form, but our waiter quickly pointed out that it was a spin on that in the form of their homemade doughnuts (a.k.a bombolone in Italy). Again we were quick to try out this new take on Tiramisu but unfortunately again we were extremely disappointed in the result. The doughnuts were very bland. The espresso sauce drizzled on top was not enough to bring out any sort of sweetness to the dessert as it was overpowered by the tastelessness of the doughnut. There was barely any filling inside (if any) which might have made the doughnuts more flavourful and interesting if there had been more of it. To me I didn’t feel like there were any tiramisu elements in this dessert (taste, look, or texture wise) besides the espresso sauce so having Tiramisu in its name is a little misleading.

Espresso Sauce, Marsala Cream, Cocoa - Cost $11

The last dessert we ordered was the Fabbrica Sundae and it was ginormous to say the least. On the bottom of the sundae is a half baked cookie, then there is a scoop of vanilla gelato, some strawberries, toffee crunch, whipped cream, and caramel sauce. The best part of the sundae was the vanilla gelato and the strawberries, everything else I could have lived without. The cookie felt like it was unbreakable. It was so hard and doughy that it was very difficult to cut through with my spoon to eat it along with the gelato. The toffee crunch was a little too sweet for me and I would have preferred as I said more of the gelato and less of the whipped cream that seemed to have taken up half of the sundae. Out of all the many ingredients in this sundae, the cookie was definitely the worst part of it.

Vanilla Gelato, Half Baked Cookie, Chocolate, Toffee Crunch, Caramel, Strawberry - Cost $14

One cool thing worth mentioning here is their doggy bag system. I’m not sure if this is the same in all of the McEwan Group restaurants but when you pack any food to go as left overs, you are given this “claim check” ticket at your table. When you have paid and are ready to leave, you bring the ticket stub to the hostess at the front and she would then provide you with your take out box with the left over food before you walk out the door.

Something I do want to warn people here are with their refills on soft drinks. I ordered a coke in the beginning and the whiskey glass they serve it in is not very big at all. Half of the glass is filled with ice so finishing it takes no time at all. This may be a bit naive of me, but most places I’ve been to lately offer free refills on your soft drinks. I’m sure you know where I’m taking this now, but at the end of the night my cup was refilled 4 times. In hindsight I shouldn’t have assumed that the refills would have been free because had I known I would have just stuck with the first one. It turned out that they charged me 4 times at $3 a glass each so what probably was only one can of pop poured out 4 times in a small whiskey glass ended up costing me $12. Second thing I learned here. Always ask if a refill will cost more money, or your sip of coke will cost you a staggering $12 or more.

Unfortunately again I was left with a bad impression on another restaurant owned by Mark McEwan as did my friend. Albeit it was not the worst restaurant I’ve been to, not by a long shot even, but when you put a stamp on it saying it’s part of the Mark McEwan Group my expectations heighten. It may be the fact that I picked all the wrong dishes to try, but I expected much more coming from such a renowned chef such as Mark. If you do venture into this restaurant one day, I would highly suggest to avoid all the dishes above (besides the Salmon) and maybe a more enjoyable experience will be in the cards for you.

Fabbrica

49 Karl Fraser Rd, Toronto, ON, M3C 0E5

(416) 391 0307

Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 11:30AM to 10PM

Friday & Saturday: 11:30AM to 11PM

The Everyday Foodie Report Card

Atmosphere: 9/10

Service: 9.5/10

Food: 5/10

Presentation: 7.5/10

Value: 5/10

Overall: 72% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction

MILDRED'S TEMPLE KITCHEN

I’ve been searching for a new breakfast/brunch type of restaurant for quite some time now as I’ve been getting sick of eating at breakfast chains all the time, so I was very excited to try out Mildred’s Temple Kitchen which seemed very promising. I first learned about this place through my Instagram community and just seeing some pictures of its dishes that some other people posted had me sold. As I’ve said before, I eat with my eyes first and if you’re able to present a visually pleasing dish to me I’ll be the first person at the door.

Mildred’s Temple Kitchen is located within Liberty Village in downtown Toronto. Lots of new condos, high end shops and restaurants are starting to be built here so I’m sure in around 5 to 10 years this area will be one of the hottest spots in the city.

I visited them for their brunch menu on the weekend which runs from 10am to 3pm. They do not accept reservations on the weekend for brunch which is probably their most busiest time of the week so it is a first come first serve basis. My friend and I arrived just before 1:30 at the restaurant and by the time we got there we were told it was going to be about an hour wait. I was determined to eat here since I didn’t drive all the way from Scarborough for nothing so I still provided them with my name and waited.

A tip for anyone who comes here by car is to get dropped off at the entrance to leave your name with the hostess before parking in the plaza. I say this because parking will cost you $2 for two hours at their parking lot. Not knowing that the wait time would be so long, I already paid the $2 for parking and because of the wait time for our table, 1 hour was already killed off before we even got the chance to sit down. I ended up paying for more time at the parking lot to compensate for the lost time we had waiting to get seated.

We finally got our table after about 75 minutes of waiting, shortly before the brunch service ended all together at 3pm. Unlike most new restaurants I go to where it takes a while for me to choose a dish, I came prepared and knew exactly what to order. I started off with a coffee and then ordered two of their most famous dishes.

The first brunch item off of their menu we got was the Veda’s Choice. It is their classic poached eggs on a flaky croissant with a choice of smoked salmon or rosemary bacon. It is then topped off with bearnaise sauce and served with a side of mixed greens. I chose the smoked salmon version to try. The mixed greens it came with was nothing out of the ordinary and more of an after thought compared to the main star of the dish. The croissant was extremely light and flaky which adds a nice texture to the two poached eggs sandwiched in between. The runny yolk came flowing through once you got your knife to cut it open and the already layered bearnaise sauce mixed together came drenching over the salmon and croissant. With all the pieces coming together the outcome was remarkable and it tasted heavenly. This is a beautifully crafted dish.

Poached Eggs, Salmon, Croissant, Mixed Greens, Bearnaise Sauce - Cost $14.50

The second dish and must have in my opinion at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen is probably their most famous dish of all which is called Mrs. Biederhof’s Legendary Light & Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes. It is called legendary for a reason because it truly is. The term “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die” made popular by the movie Despicable Me has been re-created in the form of a pancake. Fresh blueberries are topped off on the oh so fluffy i’m gonna die pancakes served with Lanark County maple syrup and whipped cream. A funny story to this was a little boy who looked like he was about 5 stopped literally at our table out of nowhere and just stared at this pancake with his eyes and mouth wide open for about 5 seconds before his mom and a waitress came over to grab him. We all started laughing and it was the highlight of my day. I can’t say I could blame that little boy though. I mean just look at the pancakes, I think anyone could understand.

Blueberries, Pancakes, Maple Syrup, Whip Cream - Cost $14.00

The restaurant itself was very spacious inside and because of the large windows that outlines the back of this restaurant there is lots of natural sunlight that seeps in which I love. Although I didn’t sit close to the kitchen this time, this is also another restaurant that has an open concept kitchen for everyone to see. Service was top notch and our waitress was never shy from having a conversation with us. Out of the two dishesI got to try here, those pancakes would have to be my favourite. Was this restaurant worth the over one hour wait? Yes, it definitely was. My recommendation though, come to this place for brunch on the weekend only when you are not in a rush to go anywhere else after. If you like good food and you don’t mind a high chance of waiting for a table than you will not be disappointed here.

MILDRED’S TEMPLE KITCHEN

85 Hanna Avenue, Suite 104 Toronto, ON, M6K 3S3

(416) 588 5695

Hours:

Brunch: Monday - Friday: 11 am to 3 pm; Saturday & Sunday: 10 am to 3 pm

Bar (Snack Menu Available): Monday – Saturday 3 pm –to 5:30 pm

Dinner: Monday – Saturday: 5:30 pm to 10 pm

The Everyday Foodie Report Card

Atmosphere: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Food: 9.5/10

Presentation: 9/10

Value: 8.5/10

Overall: 94% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction

DON DON IZAKAYA

A few weeks ago I’ve had the opportunity to try out another Japanese Tapa style restaurant located about a 5 minute walk from Dundas Square in Toronto. It’s situated right beside Chatime which has blown up in this city over the past year or so. The more famous and well known Japanese Tapa style restaurant in Toronto is Guu (which I reviewed here) so naturally this was going to be a restaurant where in my mind I would be comparing it to the high standards that was already placed by its competitor.

Like most restaurants downtown, if you are not taking public transit you will have to find public parking nearby. My friend and I found a Green P underground parking lot with a $8 weekend flat rate after 6PM nearby on Victoria Street. The restaurant is located at the top of the building so there will be a flight of stairs you will have to climb before you reach it at the top. A reservation was made before hand but it didn’t seem like we needed it even though it was a Sunday night since there were quite a few empty tables throughout the restaurant.

For anyone who has read my review about Guu or been there themselves, you will know that when you first walk into the restaurant you are immediately greeted by loud cheers and applause by the staff and patrons. Much to the same effect, instead of loud cheers and applause here you are greeted with a bang of the drum (pictured below) when you walk towards your table. Something is also said in Japanese by the host when the drum is gonged but the level of enthusiasm I found was minimal. Unlike Guu where you could clearly see the staff having fun with the guests from the shouting and claps and enthusiasm, here it just seemed like it was more forced and less genuine. However, this could be the preferred method for many as well for anyone who finds Guu to be over the top and too loud for their liking.

We got seated at the table over looking the kitchen and was given their menu to look at. It is a BIG menu. There are many food and drink options to choose from and they also have a smaller menu for their specialty dishes of the day that are not on the fixed menu. It definitely can be a little over whelming looking at all the choices but what was helpful was their “popular items” and “recommended” stickers laid throughout the menu to point you in the right direction.

While walking up the stairs to the restaurant we saw their poster advertisement of their new arrival “Polar Beer.” A creamy smooth frozen foam made of beer is put over the Sapporo which apparently helps keep the beer cold for 20 minutes. It’s not something you find everywhere so we just had to try!

Sapporo topped with a beer flavoured frozen foam - Cost $7.95

The first tapa we got was the Tako Wasabi. It’s chopped up octopus with a wasabi flavour to it. With not having much experience with eating octopus I must say I did enjoy this dish quite a lot. It’s served cold and the octopus has a tough texture to it but it was refreshing to say the least. It sits in a cold liquid base and the wasabi flavour really shines through.

Octopus, Wasabi - Cost $4.20

One of their recommended tapas was their Stir Fried Seafood Noodle. On top of the noodles are the bonito flakes which is a staple in Japanese cuisine. Bonito flakes (a.k.a. Katsuobushi) are dried flakes of fermented and smoked skipjack tuna. They are kept as dry as possible to not loose any of their flavour and when it’s served on top of a hot steaming dish, it begins to absorb moisture quickly where it will then begin to curl and shrink giving an impression that it is moving on its own. The fish is not alive and completely dead so no need to worry about that. Besides the very cool food illusion of the bonito flakes, I found the noodles to be ordinary at best.

Seafood, Garlic, Bonito Flakes - Cost $8.90

My favourite tapa of the night came in the form of the DONDON Special Black Croquette. There is minced up shrimp inside their special outer shell of black breadcrumbs, which is then fried and served with ketchup. Although the look of it screams out that’s burned to a crisp, it really isn’t as it seems to have been the second food illusion of the night created by their black bread crumbs. The shrimp filling inside was warm and delicious and was easily my favourite dish that evening. It’s labelled as their popular item and I can see why. Comfort food at its best.

Bread crumbs, Shrimp, Ketchup - Cost $7.00

Some much needed meat was needed in our meal so we opted to get their 5 Skewers Combo which consisted of chicken, beef, pork with green onion, asparagus bacon, and king oyster mushroom bacon skewers. There were two sauces for us to choose from, salt and teriyaki and the one we went with was salt. The skewers were grilled right in front of our eyes. I found the chicken skewer the worst as it was completely dry. Albeit not as dry as the chicken, the beef and pork were not that much better. The meat did not have a lot of seasoning on them making them taste quite bland. The best skewers in my opinion were the ones with the vegetables wrapped in bacon.

Chicken, Beef, Pork with Green Onion, Asparagus Bacon, and King Oyster Mushroom Bacon - Cost $8.00

We ordered one of the tapas off of the Chef’s Special menu. Unfortunately the name of this dish slips my mind and I forgot to copy it down but if I had to name it something it would be “One of the most unappetizing and unpleasant dishes I’ve ever had in my life.” The tapa is basically grilled squid and it became one of the worst things I had ever eaten, and I’ve tasted a lot! I don’t think there was any seasoning on this so it was left completely tasteless and dry. The texture was incredibly tough and chewy to the point you would need a good 15 seconds to get it down. With the combination of the above it is a dish surely to avoid.

Chef’s Special: Grilled Squid - Cost $4.80

The last tapa we got was their Ginger Fried Chicken, another popular item off the menu. At Guu we had their dish called the karrage which is almost the identical version of this so I knew going into it what to expect. This is another dish that under delivered. Calling it fried was an understatement as the chicken was very damp and soggy. The crisp and crunchy skin was not to be found and the store bought mayonnaise left much to be desired in a dipping sauce.

White Chicken, Garlic, Ginger, Mayonnaise - Cost $8.00

I knew that going to a restaurant like Don Don Izakaya would have me compare it to one of the best Japanese Tapa style restaurants in the city since they operate in such a similar fashion and serve the same type of food. Out of the 6 dishes we ordered I really only enjoyed two of them. Some of them were just mediocre at best and there is that one dish I wish to completely erase from my memory. I also wished that they put in a little bit more time and effort into their sauces and not just rely on store bought condiments. We’re not just eating some McDonald french fries here but some high end Japanese tapas.

In almost every aspect Guu is the clear winner for a Japanese tapa dining experience in Toronto. Both restaurants are similarly priced so if you just want to try a new Japanese tapa restaurant, Don Don Izakaya may be the place to go. After you have already gone once though, I’d say after that just stick to Guu.

DON DON IZAKAYA

130 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M7A 2C7

(416) 492 - 5292

Hours:

Monday to Thursday (11:30am to 12:00am)

Friday (11:30am to 1:00am)

Saturday (5:00pm to 1:00am)

Sunday (5:00pm to 12:00am)

The Everyday Foodie Report Card

Atmosphere: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Food: 5.5/10

Presentation: 6/10

Value: 7/10

Overall: 69% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction

ORIGIN

Being a huge fan of the cooking competition Masterchef, I found out about this restaurant through watching the Canadian version of it which is airing right now every Monday night on CTV. One of the judges on Masterchef Canada is Claudio Aprile who is the owner of Origin. What originally caught my eye about this restaurant was seeing the pictures of their food on its website and while looking through the gallery of pictures I thought the presentation of their food was just impeccable. I tend to always eat with my eyes first so this restaurant immediately caught my attention and was added to my “must try” list I keep in my head.

So I thought what better day to try this restaurant than on my birthday. There are two locations of Origin. The first one opened in downtown Toronto in 2010 which was also the location I visited. The second location appropriately called Origin North is located north of the city in Bayview Village which opened its doors in 2012. Origin brands itself by emphasizing that it’s a high energy global food bar that celebrates the diverse cuisines of the world.

Upon arriving at our 7:15PM reservation we were seated at the exposed kitchen bar which is beginning to be a very common trend in high end restaurants. It’s my favourite area to be seated as I love watching the cooks do their culinary magic right in front of my eyes.

The first dish that we got was their Bay Scallop Ceviche which was off of their “Raw Bar” portion of the menu. The scallop ceviche is kept very cold throughout as it’s served within a bowl of ice. I loved the four plantain chips which was extremely crunchy and complimented the soft texture of the ceviche well when eaten both together. The plaintain chips also elevated the presentation of this dish to a whole new level which I loved and without it the dish just wouldn’t be the same. The scallop ceviche was mixed within this mango puree which was different than most of the ceviches I tried in the past since normally the ceviche is paired with more of a cirtus flavour. The mango brought out a more creamier side to this ceviche instead.

Lime, Mango Puree, Coconut, Plantain Chips - Cost $17

The second dish that was ordered was also from their “Raw Bar” which was the Steak Tartare. A runny egg yolk is served over it so when you break the yolk it oozes all over the steak acting as its sauce. There’s also an Asian flare to it with its side of rice chips (which I wasn’t crazy for) and it’s also accompanied by a very tasty truffle salad. Although this dish did taste great, me and my friend had stomach problems literally at the exact same time after leaving the restaurant and my guess would definitely have to be because of eating this. It could be the fact that our stomachs were not used to digesting what literally is raw meat so I would definitely be cautious when ordering this dish as your stomach may not be able to handle it.

Truffle, Horseradish, Parmesan, Egg Yolk, Puffed Rice Chips - Cost $19

The below dish was their special of the night as introduced to us by our waiter. He called it the Pretzel so how I thought this dish would look like was completely different than what we received. It’s definitely more like a croissant than a pretzel and to me it was the most underwhelming food of the night. Its taste and look wasn’t anything special since the bread could have been store bought for all we know. It’s served underneath this layer of what tasted to me like cream cheese.

Pretzel served underneath a layer of cream cheese - Cost $5

The Butternut Squash Risotto was my favourite of the night. It was cooked perfectly al dente and the creaminess in the flavour of the butternut squash tasted amazing. Having such a creamy texture in the risotto, I loved mixing in some of the crunch offered by the side of the fried up pumpkin chips which was also seasoned to perfection. If someone is stumped at the menu and can’t really decide on what to order, I would definitely offer this dish as my top recommendation.

Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, Marscapone - Cost $17

There is always room for dessert for me and the below two were our waiter’s top 2 personal favourites. I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted so I normally ask for a recommendation when my mind is being all indecisive on me. The first dessert was their Glazed Banana. It also comes with vanilla custard, hazelnut cereal, and chocolate sorbet. The portion size of this was huge. The banana has a caramel glaze on top of it which reminded me of a creme brulee. The custard was delicious and the hazelnut cereal tasted like hazelnut flavoured rice crispies.

Banana, Caramel, Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Sorbet, Hazelnut - Cost $10

The second recommended dessert was the Dulce de Leche. The dessert is served in this glass cone which allows you to see the beautiful layers from the bottom up. The first layer is their lemon sponge cake, the middle layer is the dulce de leche mix of custard and yogurt, and then it has these bright red raspberries to top it all off. It’s a dessert that tastes just as good as it looks.

Lemon Sponge, Raspberries, Yogurt - Cost $10

Origin is a very trendy restaurant located near the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto where food culture is running rapid. It’s backed by a great chef in Claudio so it already brings some instant credibility to the restaurant. I thought the service was really good as well. Our waiter was nice and professional, gave us our space and was always mindful when our glasses of water was empty so we never had to ask for a refill which is always nice (I drink a lot of water!). The food came out extremely fast especially the raw dishes which literally was around 4 minutes after we placed the order. 

The biggest miss of the night was their so called pretzel which was less than ordinary and of course my stomach problem that was most likely caused by me not used to eating raw meat. The price of some of the dishes were also a little bit more expensive than some other similar restaurants I’ve been to before. With all that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Origin and would definitely go back when I have the chance. Luckily their second location Origin North is much closer to my home so I’m sure my second stop here is just around the corner.

ORIGIN

107 King St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1G6

(416) 603-8009

Hours:

Monday to Friday (11:30am to 3:00pm); Saturday to Sunday (11:00am to 3:00pm) - Lunch

Monday to Sunday (5pm to close) - Dinner

The Everyday Foodie Report Card

Atmosphere: 10/10

Service: 8.5/10

Food: 8/10

Presentation: 10/10

Value: 7/10

Overall: 87% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction