Saturday
Actinolite
971 Ossington, at Hallam, 416-962-8943, actinoliterestaurant.com. If it’s worrisome foams, unorthodox tacos or autumnal tableaux fashioned from root vegetables and a few bits of bark you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong cantina. But if a comfortable candlelit room slightly off the beaten path with a reasonably priced ingredient-driven carte checks all your boxes, welcome home. Best: to start, chef Justin Cournoyer’s warm rustic bread followed by confit chicken leg with pickled onion and mustardy yogurt sauce apple salad tossed with endive, shredded cheddar, walnuts and minimal kale mains like house-made ravioli stuffed with squash and dressed with truffled tapenade and toasted pine nuts grilled Angus skirt smeared with blue cheese, sided with roasted Brussels sprouts and pomme purée steamed English pudding with Earl Grey ice cream. Complete dinners for $60 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $24. Open for dinner Saturday 6 to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: two steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Batifole
744 Gerrard E, at Howland, 416-462-9965, batifole.ca. Though this unconventional bistro bills itself as the best French restaurant in Chinatown East, owner/chef Jean-Jacques Texier’s modish south Riverdale room – pale taupe walls with a large, sweeping bar down one side, tables topped with brown kraft paper, moulded plywood chairs, Carla Bruni on the CD player – is easily one of the best bistros in town. Bonus: all starters are priced at $8, mains $18 and à la carte sides $6! Deep wine cellar, too. Best: from a regularly changing card, to begin, escargot fricassee from a secret family recipe smooth chicken liver brûlé with black grape and Armagnac preserves entrees like pan-fried Provimi veal liver with green olives, roasted garlic, capers and lemony brown butter white bean cassoulet with duck confit, sausage and crispy pork belly hand-chopped horse sirloin tartare seared veal flank steak with roasted shallots on the side, chunky pommes frites with tarragon mayo simple green salads to finish, pecan crepes flambéed in Jack Daniels crème brûlée tarte tatin. Complete dinners for $50 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $18. Open for dinner Saturday 6 to 10:30 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Museum Tavern
208 Bloor W, at Avenue Rd, 416-920-0110, museumtavern.ca. Alert the Glitter Girls – the 80s are back with a vengeance! With a lineage that goes back to such celebrated boîtes as Bemelmans, Bistro 990 and the Bellair Café, this bustling brasserie has a much more inventive and cosmopolitan carte than most Yorkville hot spots. For best results, make a meal of L’Unita chef Stephen Gouzopoulos’s multiculti starters. Best: crisply battered boneless Buffalo-style chicken wings stuffed with double-smoked bacon and blue cheese whitefish tostadas dressed with pickled cabbage, adobo mayo and crema fresca steamed Chinese buns piled with shredded duck confit and pickled veggies from the mains, the house double cheeseburger, 7 cooked-to-order ounces of prime beef on a house-baked egg bun with local aged cheddar, lettuce, onion and a sauce appropriated from the Big Apple’s legendary Shake Shack (aka ketchup ‘n’ mayo), perfectly skinny fries and Asian slaw on the side. Complete dinners for $65 per person (lunches $40), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $28/$18. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 11 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Sunday
Bellwoods Brewery
124 Ossington, at Argyle, 416-535-4586, bellwoodsbrewery.com. As you’d expect from the name, the focus at Mike Clark and Luke Pestl’s bustling west-side pub is the artisanal suds they brew on the premises, specialty ales with names like Muggleweisse and Witchshark Imperial IPA. To go with them, former Bar Mozza chef Fab DeCicco has created a short, shareable carte that ventures beyond pickled eggs ‘n’ pork scratchin’s. Knowlegable servers steer newbies to the good stuff. Best: grilled izakaya-style duck hearts drizzled with charred jalapeño oil generous platters of black Kalamata olives, pickled beets, buttery lima beans, spicy peanuts and whipped anise butter served with porous Woodlot sourdough made from leftover malt barbecued house-stuffed pork sausages on ciabatta buns spread with Dijon-spiked mayonnaise, porter-braised sauerkraut on the side for dessert, chocolate ice cream sandwiches. Complete meals for $35 per person, including tax, tip and a pint. Average main $12. Open Sunday 2 to 11 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Camp
244 Jane, at Horshaw, 647-346-2267. The Beaver Café’s Megan Whiten returns with a compact family-friendly spot in the wilds of Baby Point. Though its more leisurely during the week for lunch and breakfast – and comfort food dinner Friday night – the cozy 26-seat room’s a zoo come Saturday and Sunday brunch. Deservedly so. And here’s a rarity in a restaurant: interesting art, some of it created by celebrated sculptor and Megan’s mom Colette Whiten. Best: the Canadiana breakfast sandwich on grilled ciabatta layered with thinly sliced peameal, cheddar, tomato and fluffy scrambled eggs steamed Italian-style on an espresso machine those same fab eggs sided with beefy Butcher Shoppe sausage and retro scalloped potatoes quiche du jour with shredded brisket, sharp Havarti and caramelized onions, house organic greens in a honey vinaigrette on the side to finish, gluten-free chocolate brownies. Complete brunches for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a steamed hot apple cider. Average main $10. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. Closed some holidays. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, one step to washrooms. Rating: NNNN
Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder
699 St Clair W, at Christie, 416-658-9666, thestockyards.ca. Though it’s not in the same league as the superb snout-to-tale brunches at the now-defunct Hoof Café (what is?), NOW’s 2009 resto of the year more than holds its own. Limited counter seating and the inevitable lineups mean that groups larger than two might be more comfortable somewhere else. Best: to start, warm croissant-like buttermilk biscuits spread with house-made blackberry jam and citrus butter dress them with house-cured Cajun sausage, buttery shrimp and a pair of perfectly poached then deep-fried eggs in nippy hollandaise sided with oven-baked home fries in porchetta jus (Eggs Tommy) dense pastrami hash finished with chive-laced sour cream and more of those terrific deep-fried eggs a casserole of shirred eggs with smoked lardons, creamy collard greens and aged cheddar to gnaw, jerky-like candied trout belly to finish, sugar-dusted dulce de leche beignets. Complete brunches for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a cup of coffee. Average main $10. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. Reservations not accepted. Unlicensed. Access: steep ramp at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNNN
