Café
Gabardine
372 Bay, at Richmond W, 647-352-3211, thegabardine.com. The biggest thing to hit Bay Street since the black bloc, Alison Mackenna and Katherine Rodriques’s 50-seat self-styled gastropub has taken the stock market set by storm. An unusually raucous room, a regulation comfort food card and polished if hectic service guarantee repeat customers. Best: the Ploughman’s Lunch – pork ‘n’ sweetbread terrine wrapped in bacon, chicken liver pâté and rabbit rillettes, sided with house-made pickles, grilled baguette and hard-boiled eggs iceberg lettuce wedges doused with buttermilk-blue cheese dressing, crumbled bacon and fried onions macaroni and cheese with country ham 7-ounce naturally raised cheeseburgers garnished with roasted tomatoes and sided with frites burnt marshmallow ice cream sandwiches. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $30), including tax, tip and a pint. Average main $20/$14. Open Monday to Friday 8 am to 10 pm (breakfast to 10:30 am, full menu from 11:30 am). Closed Saturday, Sunday, some holidays. Licensed. Access: one step at door, tight entrance, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
Chicken
Inigo
927 Queen W, at Strachan, 416-645-6707. Operating out of notorious bicycle thief Igor Kenk’s former headquarters, ex-Torito co-owner/chef Carlos Hernandez forgoes tapas for Portuguese-style churrasqueira roast chicken. No days-old rubbery rotisserie birds these! Instead, find plump free-range, naturally raised, grain-fed birds roasted until they’re perfectly à point, paired with low-sodium sides. Best: remarkably moist whole, halved or quartered chickens ready to take home or eat in seriously tender beef cheeks and seasonal root veggie stew mains like dense venison meat loaf finished with apples and currants sweet Moroccan lamb shank with chickpeas and dried apricots vegan ratatouille with grilled Japanese eggplant, roasted tomato and zucchini over buttery brown basmati rice sides of eggy Spanish tortillas lightly dressed salads of squash with Puy lentils al dente green beans and mini-potatoes à la niçoise. Complete dinners for $15 per person (lunches $10), including tax and tip. Average main $7. Open Tuesday to Sunday noon to 7:30 pm. Closed Monday, some holidays. Unlicensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
French
Le Rossignol
686 Queen E, at Broadview, 416-461-9663, lerossignolbistro.com. No longer Pop Bistro, this cozy 22-seat Riverside resto oozes Gallic sophistication, right down to the black-and-white photos of Parisian street scenes on the wall and Edith Piaf on the hi-fi. A moderately priced mainstream card of comfort food classics – escargots, anyone? – keeps the local bourgeouisie amused. Charming Old World service. Warning: extremely dim lighting, so pack a flashlight! Best: to start, crostini of sautéed elephant mushrooms in brandied butter dressed with radish sprouts or rillette-style duck pâté, both on Ace baguette frenched wild boar chops in roasted garlic jus over saffron risotto duck confit and smoky Toulousse sausages over navy bean cassoulet laced with lardons to finish, apple ‘n’ raisin bread pudding drizzled with caramel sauce and edible rose petals. Complete dinners for $55 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $20. Open for dinner nightly 5 to 11 pm. Closed some holidays. Licensed. Access: one step at door, tight tables, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
Korean
Bi Bim Bap
950 Eglinton W, at Rostrevor, 416-787-7423, stonebowl.ca. Bibimbap can be found at most Seoul food restaurants, but only Sam Lee and Janet Yun’s casual Korean cantina is dedicated to this meal-in-one rice casserole. And while Seoul food isn’t generally very veggie-friendly, this often innovative kitchen has much for even vegans to enjoy. Best: seven different versions all told, the traditional a bowl of short-grain white rice garnished with seared sirloin, veggies – raw, wilted or slightly pickled spinach, carrot, cucumber, zucchini, burdock, daikon and seaweed – and a runny fried egg the Seed, a dairy-free take with black sesame, sunflower, pumpkin and poppy seeds and grilled portobello over mirin-marinated brown rice, both in sweet house-made red pepper ‘n’ apple gochujang hot sauce. Complete meals for $18 per person, including tax, tip and a mug of barley tea. Average main $11. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11 am to 10 pm, Sunday 11 am to 8 pm. Closed Monday, some holidays. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Vegetarian
E.L. Ruddy
1371 Dundas W, at Rusholme, 647-351-0423. Helena Kosikova’s cozy 20-seat café on the hip Dundas West strip spotlights a short all-day card that’s often gluten-free as well as vegan and always made from scratch and low in sodium. Best: to start, garlicky cream of tomato soup sweetened with yams and crushed cashews multi-culti sandwiches like Vietnamese banh mi subs with marinated tofu, pickled daikon and fresh coriander on house-baked whole wheat buns mains like buttery dairy-free fennel and baby pea risotto or leek ‘n’ potato pot pie, both sided with house organic greens in classic balsamic vinaigrette spelt Belgian waffles with whipped cream, stewed strawberries and maple syrup to take home, wild blueberry scones and quinoa chocolate chip cookies. Complete meals for $15 per person, including tax, tip and a refilled mug of I Deal coffee. Average main $8. Open Wednesday to Sunday 9 am to 8 pm. Closed Monday, Tuesday, some holidays. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
