Restaurants

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Hot Dining: Perfect Pints at Gastown’s Bitter Tasting Room

Bitter Tasting Room. Photo by KK Law

It’s all about the beer at Bitter Tasting Room. This beautifully restored 1909 Gastown ale emporium offers only the best craft brews on tap and by the bottle, from BC and beyond. Purists hoist freshly poured pints of Driftwood Fat Tug IPA, R&B Milk Stout and Unibroue’s heavy Maudite, while a suitably matched gastropub menu tempts with cassoulet, Scotch eggs and artisan links by master sausage maker Drews Driessen. BC wines are also offered for the less hop-headed.—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: Toronto’s Hunger Game

An elk chop

You don’t have to be a hunter to enjoy the savoury taste of game meats. Nowadays, many Ontario farmers raise non-traditional livestock, and Toronto chefs are happy to use the animals in dishes ranging from elk chops to ostrich burgers. The best local game preparations are reliably found at restaurants specializing in upscale “Canadian” cuisine, such as Canoe, which often offers venison of the finest quality, and Lucien, where red deer has lately been served as a tartar. The French have long made use of duck, rabbit and even horse in their classic dishes; find the latter at both Batifole and La Palette. And for something even more exotic, Byzantium is pleased to put kangaroo on your plate.

Hot Dining: Mideastro is a Medley Maker

Mideastro's lamb and beef kufta

In North America, the term fusion as it pertains to food typically means that the cuisine of one ostensibly “exotic” region—Japan, South America, and heck, even France—has been somehow been reconceived to appeal to familiar, North American tastes. Not so, however, at Mideastro, a restaurant that draws together the flavours of the Middle East—Israel in particular—and Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece and Morocco. Stylish and sophisticated in Yorkville, its menu is thoroughly upper crust, featuring refined takes on lamb and beef kufta ($29), baked snapper with harisa-flavoured risotto ($34) and more. As you might imagine, bland palates need not apply.

Hot Dining: Cool Chinese Cuisine at Chinois

Chinois Restaurant photo by KK Law

Yaletown’s newly minted Chinois, a cozy brick room that brims with funky, vibrant art, blends classic Chinese fare with smartly sourced local ingredients. Faves from the glass-walled kitchen range from barbecued pork, roast duck and kung-pao chicken to steamed sablefish and jumbo prawns with candied walnuts.—Tim Pawsey

30 Things We Love About Toronto this April

4. Koerner Hall (photo by Neill Sturgess)

1 Exploring self-portraits by noted artists such as Alex Colville and Mary Pratt in a new exhibit at Mira Godard Gallery.

2 Checking out the latest kicks from Converse and Red Wing Shoes at Get Outside.

3 Putting on your detective hat to solve a classic “whodunit” at Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre.

4 The near-perfect acoustics of The Royal Conservatory‘s Koerner Hall.

5 A hot lunch from Food Cabbie, a food truck stationed at Queen Street East and Mutual Street. (more…)

Hot Dining: Culinary Art at Diva at the Met

Corned Yarrow Meadows duck with pickled North Arm Farm vegetables, foie gras walnut and quince, at Diva at the Met. Photo by KK Law

Executive chef Hamid Salimian of Diva at the Met crafts modern plates to please both palate and palette. Favourites include Northern Divine caviar on fluffy brioche; bone marrow and veal tongue with pickled local vegetables; and wafer-thin Sunshine Coast sturgeon over salmon roe and side-striped prawn, teased with slices of dill ash–cured scallop. Dishes are paired with well-chosen wines.—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: Sky-High Ambition at Stock

After a few years where scruffy spaces and sharing platters became the gastronomic norm, it seems that top-flight fine dining is slowly making a comeback in Toronto. The latest no-expense-spared dining room rises above the fray, quite literally, on the 31st floor of the new Trump International Hotel and Tower. At Stock, the city’s elite savour the cosmopolitan plates of chef Todd Clarmo—from whole grilled spigala ($35) to beef short ribs ($34)—in a swank dining room dominated by a floor-to-ceiling wine wall that boasts bottles from some of the world’s most celebrated vintners. Though its name may imply otherwise, there’s nothing commonplace about this new haven for epicurean indulgence.

Hot Dining: 5 Spring Flings

Truffles Fine Foods Cafe. Photo by KK Law

Even though it’s not quite patio season, these blooming spots still prime the taste buds.
1 Shaughnessy Restaurant Enjoy bucolic views and West Coast fare in the heart of VanDusen Botanical Garden. Pop by Truffles (pictured) in the dramatic new visitor centre for more casual bites.
2 Seasons in the Park In the tranquil surroundings of Queen Elizabeth Park, savour West Coast cuisine along with downtown and mountain views.
3 The Fish House in Stanley Park Sustainable seafood is on the menu at this quaint house in the heart of the park.
4 Horizons Restaurant Head up Burnaby Mountain for regional cuisine in a stunning, vista-kissed setting bordered by rose gardens.
5 Hart House Restaurant This Tudor-style mansion, nestled among flowering shrubs and manicured lawns in Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park, caters to classic tastes.—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: A Grand (Electric) Ol’ Time

photo by Gizelle Lau

A word of warning: You’ll likely have to wait for a table at Grand Electric. Why? Aside from the fact that it has just 35 seats and doesn’t take reservations, the Parkdale hot spot is owned by two alumni of The Black Hoof, an incredibly popular charcuterie-and-cocktails den that’s become something of a finishing school for Toronto’s coolest young chefs. Now running his own kitchen, chef Colin Tooke doles out eclectic Mexican small plates such as a shrimp tostada, tuna ceviche and a daily selection of tacos. Ever-stuffed with young foodies, the room can get rather boisterous; if you find you’re in need of a social stimulant, the bar is happy to oblige with an impressive selection of premium bourbons.

Hot Dining: Going Green at Trafalgars Bistro

The GreenGood Composter at Trafalgars Bistro. Photo by KK Law

Kermit the Frog said it’s not easy being green, but Trafalgars Bistro and its bakery sibling Sweet Obsession would disagree. Thanks to their new GreenGood Composter (pictured), they no longer send any organic waste to the landfill. Instead, the high-tech composter converts food waste into garden-ready compost in just 24 hours. Of the businesses’ remaining garbage, 98 per cent is recycled. Going green, indeed.—Sheri Radford