Saturday
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
Richmond Station
1 Richmond W, at Yonge, 647-748-1444, richmondstation.ca. After winning season two of Top Chef Canada last February, ex-Marben toque Carl Heinrich returns with an upscale farm-to-table bistro in the financial district. A timeless room, informed friendly service and Heinrich’s inimitable way with comfort food classics make reservations near-essential. Best: from the all-day menu, start with co-owner Ryan Donovan’s exceptional charcuterie, spicy beef heart salami with juniper-scented lamb terrine, deep-fried headcheese and shredded duck rillettes, say polenta fries with smoky bomba mayonnaise and marinara sauce the Station burger stuffed with juicy shredded short rib on a house-baked bun dressed with aged local cheddar and sweet beet relish, skinny fries and a roasted radish salad on the side Perth County wild boar ragu over house-made orecchiette tossed with sautéed mushrooms and Monforte Dairy Toscano to finish, pastry chef Farzan Fallah’s deconstructed pumpkin pie topped with whipped butterscotch mousse and walnut brittle. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $35), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $24/$20. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10:30 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, eight steps to washrooms. Rating: NNNNN
Le Sélect
432 Wellington W, at Spadina, 416-596-6405, leselect.ca. After nearly three decades on Queen West, Jean-Jacques Quinsac and Frederic Geisweller’s intimate French bistro relocates to more spacious digs four blocks south. Almost every detail, from the original’s art nouveau facade to the welcoming zinc bar and the posters plastered to its pale faux-nicotine-stained walls, has been duplicated. But who forgot those legendary hanging bread baskets? Best: to begin, an assortment of Alsatian charcuterie or puff pastry vol-au-vents with escargots mains like the house bavette – an aged 8-ounce flat-iron – topped with shallots and sided with fabulously skinny house frites braised white bean cassoulet with lamb, pork belly, Toulouse sausage and duck confit daily specials like oxtail ravioli with salsify, sweetbreads braised in Madeira, or lamb shank and marrow bone in risotto mussels steamed in Quebec Maudite ale with smoked pork belly and frites gently beer-braised Tripes à la Tripelle oreille de cochon, strips of crispy sow’s ears sided with lentils du Puy and watercress crêtes de coq, braised cockscombs with mushrooms, pine nuts and artichoke-stuffed tortellino $19.95 two-course steak frites prix fixe. Complete prix fixe dinners for $35 per person (à la carte $55/lunches or brunches $30), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $21/$13. Open for dinner Saturday 5 pm to midnight. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Sunday
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
Hoof Cafe @ Hoof Raw Bar
926 Dundas W, at Gore Vale, 647-346-9356, theblackhoof.com. Famously shuttered in 2011 when the offshoot of the Black Hoof became too damned popular, Jennifer Agg’s nose-to-tail brunch spot returns with a room twice the size of the original across the street in her Hoof Raw Bar. Yes, the lineups are as legendary as ever on the weekend but, any other time, the new Cafe’s actually quite relaxed. When better to savour chef Amancio dos Santo’s mix ‘n’ match menu of familiar classics and new favourites? Best: the absurdly tender beef tongue Benny dressed with textbook hollandaise and a pair of 62.5°C eggs slow-poached in an immersion cooker, an arugula salad on the side for those in a hurry, deconstructed Egg McMuffins made with house-made blood sausage and over-easy eggs cornmeal-crusted octopus over spinach-laced grits, tatsoi greens and pureed piquillo pepper a breakfast cassoulet with navy beans, pork hock, sausage and lardons finished pickled cippolini onions and dry-roasted kale southern-fried sweetbreads with maple-glazed waffles and jalapeno compound butter nutty Challah French toast dressed with whipped cream, pickled pears and an entire lobe of sweetly seared foie gras to drink, pink peppercorn Ceasars spiked with Marmite. Complete brunches for $35 per person, including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average main $14. Open Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: two steps at door, three steps to washroom. Rating: NNNNN
Karelia Kitchen
1194 Bloor W, at Brock, 647-748-1194, kareliakitchen.com. Leif Kravis and Donna Ashley bring a touch of Nordic cool to sleepy Bloordale. Anyone old enough to remember the Copenhagen Room in the Colonnade will be in heaven. Best: to share, the Smokehouse Platter with house-smoked salmon, organic chicken, trout and cured pork tenderloin with sweet ‘n’ sour pickles, grainy mustard, fig preserves and Ryvita flatbread crisp potato rosti dressed with beet-cured gravlax, smoked trout and slow-poached eggs scrambled ducks’ eggs sided with smoked salmon and home fries smoky bacon ‘n’ potato hash with over-easy eggs massive blueberry griddle cakes with whipped maple butter, green-apple compote and dehydrated pear chips open-faced sandwiches to finish, gluten-free chocolate cake house-baked lemon-lime shortbread cookies and black-pepper ginger snaps. Complete brunches for $35 per person, including tax, tip and an Akvavit Sour. Average main $14. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Closed Monday, holidays. No reservations. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN
