Advertisement

Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: January 25-26

Saturday

Actinolite

971 Ossington, at Hallam, 416-962-8943, actinoliterestaurant.com, @actinolitefood 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. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: two steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

Bent

777 Dundas W, at Markham, 647-352-0092, bentrestaurant.com, @BentRestaurant Don’t come to superstar Susur Lee’s latest resto-lounge expecting salad followed by meat ‘n’ with two veg and dessert. If, however, your taste runs to inventive tapas-style dishes with a preponderance of seafood meant to be shared over exotic cocktails, have we got the boîte for you! Best: sake-cured salmon gravlax over blocks of eggy tamago on a bed of horseradish crème fraîche showered with a julienne of toasted nori, a stack of buckwheat blinis on the side watermelon and tuna ceviche dressed with slivered chilies and lime a spin on Lee’s signature Singapore slaw, duck salad with crackling, kohlrabi and crispy taro ribbons sprinkled with exotic sprouts and edible flowers buttery foie gras and chicken pâté with tapenade-spread brioche, sweet ice-wine syrup and onion marmalade to finish, complimentary shot glasses of lemon curd parfait and chocolate mousse. Complete tapas-style dinners for $60 per person, including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average tapas $16. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 to 10:30 pm. Bar till close. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN

Scarpetta

550 Wellington W, at Portland, 416-601-3590, scottconant.com/restaurants/scarpetta/toronto, @ScarpettaTO New York City celebu-chef and Food TV star Scott Conant brings his unique mix of high-end Italian comfort food to the lobby of the newly minted Thompson Hotel. Superb attention to detail and impossibly polished service give the local dining scene a much-needed kick in the keister. Best: to start, complimentary baskets of signature stromboli (aka folded-over streudel-style pizza dough stuffed with sweetly roasted red pepper) absurdly rich starters like wine-braised beef short ribs over faro risotto thick with summer-fresh asparagus polenta intensified with heavy cream and topped with multi-mushroom fricassee finished with white truffle oil mains like plain $23 spaghetti in simple tomato sauce and parmigiano slow-roasted baby capretto goat with crisply sautéed pancetta, fingerling potatoes and rapini to finish, retro Amedei chocolate pudding cake with burnt orange ‘n’ caramel gelato. Complete dinners for $110 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $33. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 pm to midnight. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

Sunday

Crown Princess

1033 Bay, at Irwin, 416-923-8784, crown-princess.ca Sister of the equally OTT Crown Prince in Scarborough, this opulent Chinese dining room – think Versace does Versailles – offers suburban-style dim sum daily. Servers in French maid costumes and Strauss waltzes on the sound system only add to the luxury. And although the early-bird discount no longer applies, the extravagant spread is still worth the bucks. Best: translucently wrapped dumplings stuffed with roughly chopped scallops the inevitable siu mai upgraded with foie-gras-like goose liver mousse and a sprinkling of black caviar classic shrimp har gow and pan-fried turnip cake with Chinese sausage Chiu Chow dumplings thick with ground pork, chives and crunchy peanuts ridiculously tender octopus tentacles in five-spice powder to finish, perfectly flaky milk custard tarts tweaked with birds’ nest to drink, Iron Buddha oolong tea. Complete dim sum meals for $30 per person, including tax, tip and tea. Average dim sum $4. Open Sunday 9 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN

Gallery Grill

7 Hart House Circle, at Wellesley, 416-978-2445, harthouse.ca/gallery-grill Once a private U of T faculty club, the restaurant in Hart House’s Great Hall still feels exclusive, from its soaring Gothic Revival stonework to its Mission-style furniture and coat-of-arms china. Veteran chef Suzanne Baby’s seasonally shifting card reflects local bounty at its best. Best: to begin, cheesy gougères with house-made almond butter raw zucchini ribbons dusted with toasted panko in preserved lemon vinaigrette locally sourced mains like roasted Georgian Bay whitefish over spicy apple ‘n’ scallion salad in Berkshire bacon vinaigrette house-made lamb merguez sausage in apple cider sauce over lemon ricotta pancakes to finish, Hart House Farm maple syrup crème brûlée to drink, grapefruit spritzers. Complete brunches/lunches for $35 per person, including tax, tip and a sweet sherry. Open Sunday 11 am to 2 pm. Reservations only. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

La Societe

131 Bloor W, at Avenue Rd, 416-551-9929, lasociete.ca, @la_societe Yorkville’s primo patio come summer, Charles Khabouth and partner Danny Soberano’s unusually polished brasserie in the Colonnade is one of the coziest rooms in town when the temperature dips, even if it is a complete rip on New York City’s famed Balthazar, right down to the Munge Leung-designed art nouveau stained glass ceiling. Better yet, grab a corner table in the less-sceney wood-lined bar and feel like you’re in Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris. Best: avoid les oeufs and go for the best moules frites in town, a great steaming bowl of meaty PEI mussels in white wine, saffron-scented cream, caramelized shallots and fresh tarragon sided with chic skinny sea-salted frites with lemony garlic aioli and Thuet’s chewy baguette avec whipped butter the house burger, a substantial 8-ounce patty topped with aged white cheddar and pickle aioli sided with house greens in a lemon vinaigrette and more fab frites to finish, profiteroles stuffed with house-made vanilla ice cream in chocolate sauce. Complete brunches for $65 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of Veuve Cliquot champagne. Average main $19. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.