SATURDAY
Beast
96 Tecumseth, at Whitaker, 647-352-6000, thebeastrestaurant.com.
Located in the cramped side-street storefront that was once home to Susur Lee’s legendary Lotus, Ex-JKWB vets Scott and Rachelle Vivian’s neighbourhood bistro (beast-ro?) goes the snout-to-tail route. Polished, informed service and a pre-dinner $4 tapas menu and drink specials Wednesday to Friday from 4 to 6 pm make reservations essential.
Best: to start, baskets of house-baked Parker House rolls and burnt-bran mini-baguettes follow with naturally raised Beast burgers with mayo, peameal, aged Quebec cheddar and fried free-range egg, sided with house organic greens in roasted jalapeño vinaigrette and “tater tots” ever-evolving mains like pan-seared elk tenderloin in mole with fried strawberries, wild mushrooms and spaetzle à la carte veggies like green beans with prosciutto and grapefruit to finish, the inevitable sticky toffee pudding $80 Unleash the Beast multi-course tasting menu.
Complete dinners for $75 per person (brunches $30), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $22/$12. Open for dinner Saturday 6 to 11 pm. Reservations recommended. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washroom on same floor. Rating: NNNN
Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen
1262 Danforth, at Greenwood, 416-778-1388.
Jean and Harry Seow (Rasa Sayang, Sawasdee) return from retirement – for the third time! – with their swankiest resto yet. This unexpectedly upscale 30-seat room, all caramel-coloured walls, sleek banquettes and beaming Buddha on the bar, now comes with an exclusively Southeast Asian vegetarian card. Bonus: everything on the menu is available in vegan versions.
Best: to start, tightly wrapped rice-paper rolls deep-fried in canola oil, packed with cellophane noodles, raw carrot threads and crunchy ribbons of cloud ear Golden Baskets, a tiny quintet of brittle pastry shells brimming with garden-fresh peas, corn, carrots and diced organic tofu mains like Pad Kee Mau, a ketchup-free take on pad thai thick with cauliflower and broccoli, basil and convincing faux shrimp sides like Japanese eggplant with sweet peppers bitter mustard greens in garlic to finish, deep-fried bananas in honeyed batter.
Complete dinners for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a pot of jasmine green tea. Average main $9. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10 pm. Reservations recommended. Unlicensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
Tabule
2009 Yonge, at Glebe, 416-483-3747, tabule.ca.
Now in its sixth year, Diana Sideris and Rony Goraichy’s romantic Middle Eastern casbah – mirrored throw pillows on amply padded banquettes lit by pierced tin lanterns – is always packed to the rafters, little wonder when solidly executed stand-bys made with quality ingredients at affordable price points. And, yes, they serve falafel.
Best: to start, a plate of complimentary pickles – crunchy dills, sour purple turnip, unpitted black olives, hellishly hot baby banana peppers follow with garlicky hummus with toasted whole wheat pita grilled haloumi cheese over baby arugula in pomegranate vinaigrette house-made grape leaves stuffed with rice ‘n’ tomato dipped into Lebanese cream cheese smokily grilled skewers of bell pepper, tomato, red onion and zucchini sided with cumin-kissed basmati pilaf laced with brown lentils honey-doused squares of green pistachio baklava.
Complete dinners for $30 per person (lunches $20), including tax, tip and a Stella. Average main $15/$8. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 11 pm. Reservations recommended. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
SUNDAY
Gallery Grill
7 Hart House Circle, at Wellesley, 416-978-2445.
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. Average main $15. Open Sunday 11 am to 2 pm. Reservations required. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN
Henhouse
1532 Dundas W, at Dufferin, 416-534-5939, henhousetoronto.com.
Owned by Katie Sketch and Jenny Smyth of the late Vancouver Morrissey-obsessed combo the Organ, this lesbo musician-friendly bar breaks out the eggs every weekend. Coolest jukebox in town?
Best: scrambled eggs layered with curried organic tofu, zucchini and onion sided with hash browns, mesclun in balsamic and marbled rye toast cheesy frittatas thick with cremini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers sided with house greens sugar-dusted buttermilk pancakes sided with fruit, veggie bacon and more scrambled eggs.
Complete brunches for $18 per person, including tax, tip and a beer. Average main $8. Open Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Licensed. Cash only. Access: bump at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Table 17
782 Queen E, at Boulton, 416-519-1851, table17.ca.
A French country room, affable service and a more than capable kitchen make us wonder why everyone’s lined up at nearby Bonjour Brioche for virtually the same thing. Bonus: no corkage Sundays!
Best: poached Neapolitan-style eggs in Italian-style tomato sauce over thick ciabatta Spanish potato frittata with cherry tomato salsa and house greens.
Open Sunday 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
