Brunch
Debu’s
552 Mount Pleasant, at Belsize, 416-927-9340. Owner/chef Debu Saha’s Biryani House resurfaces uptown with an Indo fusion card that’s as innovative as ever. Chic contemporary digs, friendly service and a $20 three-course prix fixe brunch and lunch deal make the trek uptown worthwhile. Best: from the prix fixe, deep-fried masala potatoes in chickpea batter with garlic, tamarind and mint sauces five-bean chaat, black-eyed, green and chick peas tossed with kidney beans, edamame, red onion, Roma tomato and papri “crackers” in jaggery dressing ridiculously delicious garlic naan butter chicken in nutty raisin-sweet tomato gravy Goan cod curry in coconut cream dessert du jour platter. Complete prix fixe brunches/lunches for $35 per person (dinners $75), including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $14/$25. Open for brunch Saturday and Sunday 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, lunch Tuesday to Friday 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, dinner Tuesday to Sunday 5:30 to 10 pm. Closed Monday, holidays. Licensed. Delivery. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Café
Red Tea Box
696 Queen W, at Euclid, 416-203-8882. What appears to be an upmarket boutique specializing in pricey estate teas and over-the-top desserts gives way to a secluded rear terrace and coach house equipped with mismatched French-country tables. There, recline on a chaise while supping on terrific Pacific Rim sandwich ‘n’ salad bentos. Vegetarian-friendly! Best: Indo-spiced grilled chicken sandwiches with onion marmalade on raisin sourdough sided with papaya slaw rib-eye salad with balsamic vinaigrette and romesco relish seasonable soups like miso, white bean and toasted brown rice from a monthly changing card, crispy quail with tamarind caramel over Swiss chard and lentils to finish, house-baked organic sour cherry chocolate brownies to sip, 30-some small-farm biodynamic and organic teas. Complete lunches for $30 per person, including all taxes, tip and tea. Average main $17. Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 am to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 7 pm, Sunday and holidays 10 am to 5 pm. Closed Tuesday. No reservations. Unlicensed. Rating: NNNNN
Contemporary
Amuse-Bouche
96 Tecumseth, at Whitaker, 416-913-5830. Located in an obscure west-side side street in a converted row house once home to Susur Lee’s legendary Lotus, owner/chefs Jason Inniss and Bertrand Alépée’s intimate resto features a seasonal contemporary French card as assured as it is spectacularly plated. Reservations essential. Best: to start, 100-km onion soup with roasted bone marrow, sherry jam and Monforte Dairy toasts mains like Everspring Farm roasted duck breast in juniper glaze with Jerusalem artichoke purée and apple confit seared ahi tuna with pickled daikon, bok choi purée and sour ginger caviar to finish, flambéed baked Alaska, chocolate ‘n’ crispy honey parfait and white chocolate financier with chestnut ice cream four-course tasting menu $60, five-course $70, chef’s degustation $95 seven-course dessert degustation $40. Complete à la carte dinners for $85 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $26. Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday 6 to 10:30 pm. Closed Sunday, Monday. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms through kitchen. Rating: NNNN
Silver Spoon
390 Roncesvalles, at Howard Park, 416-516-8112. If you only know chef Rocco Agostino from Pizzeria Libretto, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by his long-running west-side boîte. A quietly formal room, polished service and a sophisticated post-Cal-Ital card make reservations essential. Best: start with wild rice pancakes draped with smoked rainbow trout corn-crusted shrimp with sautéed Asian veggies, roasted garlic aioli and lemon gelato superbly executed mains like Agostino’s signature roasted Ontario rack of lamb in minty pistachio-mango crust sided with organic veg du jour and fingerling potatoes Berretta Farms’ hanger steak in peppercorn Dijon jus with Swiss chard, roasted cippolini onions and apple-turnip purée to finish, flawless warm flourless chocolate cake with crème Anglais. Complete meals for $75 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $26. Open for dinner Tuesday to Thursday 5 to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 pm. Closed Sunday, Monday, some holidays. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Vdara
735 Queen W, at Tecumseth, 416-868-3272. Launched in the former Habitat and original Future Bakery space, this modish supper-club’s initial lineup was the silliest we’ve seen: “Cod Is Dead on a bed of skinny beans, Congo potato gratin, and leek foam,” anyone? But, shorn of lame puns and juvenile double entendres, chef Mani Binelli’s more than confident card proves no joke. Best: warm house-baked sourdoughs and pumpernickels spread with spinach, eggplant and tomato purées empanadas stuffed with both citrus-infused duck and savoury chicken à la tortierre crisp Moulard confit with sour cherry compote, eggy sauerkraut gratin and frisée in light honey-lemon vinaigrette wild boar and bison stew with wild mushrooms, carrot, parsnip and potato. Complete dinners for $40 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $18/$10. Open for lunch Monday to Friday 11 am to 3:30 pm, dinner nightly 5 to 10:30 pm, brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm bar nightly till close. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
French
Batifole
744 Gerrard E, at Howland, 416-462-9965. Not only is former Sassafraz chef Jean-Jacques Texier’s 30-seat east-side boîte the best French resto in Chinatown East, but it’s quite possibly one of the best in town as well. The reason? An informal setting, a surprisingly deep wine cellar, and all starters go for $8, mains $18 and à la carte sides $6! Best: from a seasonal card, escargot fricassee with chef’s father’s secret sauce chicken liver brûlé with sour berry ‘n’ onion preserve entrees like pan-fried Provimi veal liver with caramelized onions deglazed with Banyuls vinegar slow-roasted confit of pork shank with natural jus and Emmenthal white bean cassoulet with duck confit, sausage and crispy pork belly. Complete dinners for $50 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $18. Open for dinner Wednesday to Monday 6 to 10:30 pm. Closed Tuesday. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
La Palette
256 Augusta, at College, 416-929-4900. Shamez Amlani’s much-loved bistro combines no-nonsense café classics with suave and attitude-free service. Best: garlic-butter-drizzled escargots in mushroom caps triple A Black Angus strip loin with Yukon Gold frites, sun-dried tomato and herbed brandy butter chickpea ‘n’ chipotle veggie stew served in roasted squash bowls daily-changing $30 three-course prix fixe specials like the Quack & Track, duck confit with horse tenderloin at brunch, smoked chicken crepe with Black Forest ham and mushrooms in shallot Dijon cream sided with fab frites classic lemon tart. Complete dinners for $55 per person (brunches $25), including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $22/$10. Open for dinner Sunday to Thursday 6 to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 6 to 11 pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: three steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
