What's good between Summerhill and St. Claire?

[bluedog]

Folks, I'm changing jobs and will shortly be working in a building located between Summerhill and St. Claire Stations on the Yonge/University Line.

I do not know this area very well, and while I know Cava is at St. Claire, I am more interested in interesting, or at least half-decent places, to grab lunch from time to time. So recos for any decent takeout/sushi/asian/middle eastern/sandwich lunch type places would be helpful.

[Charles Yu]

Pastis, across from the LCBO. Great French bistro food, reasonable price. The calve's liver and the fish soup are uber delicious!

[millygirl]

Totally agree on Pastis, everything there is excellent but unfortunately, they aren't open for lunch.

[bluedog]

I've been at the new job for about two months now, and have had a chance to sniff out the neighbourhood a bit, so I thought I'd report back. This list is hardly extensive, and represents what I gravitate to for lunch while at work. Having said that, my overall impression is that the neighbourhood is slightly overpriced and I find I can't get away with much less than $8 for lunch. This is in contrast to working near the Eaton Centre, where Noodle King and that little Curry place between the Sheraton and Richmond got me a nice cheap chowhound meal at about $4-$5. Nothing like that around here. So with that:

Golden House Restaurant (Woodlawn and Yonge): unremarkable chinese, tending towards greasy (avoid anything with pork in it), most noted for being close to the office, and $5 lunch specials.

Skippy Food Fair: don't laugh! Decent, if standard sandwiches for about $3. They offer a wierd indian (persian?) lunch buffet which I admit I haven't tried, but it smells good. Also close to the office.

Sprout: I don't get it. Inexplicable great reviews posted all over the place. My opinion: overpriced vietnamese, dumbed down for the canadian palate. I'm a regular at Mimi's, Pho 88, etc., and this place is just a wee bit insulting.

Takara: probably eat here most often, but that just reflects a preference for japanese. Reasonable value with $8 lunch specials. Again, nothing remarkable, but consistent. Have had the teriyaki/teppanyaki lunch specials (almost the same thing), and they use chicken breast, which is nice. Nabe Yaki Udon is standard fair, but surpised me with a huge plump mussel in the bottom of the bowl, and the egg was fried but nice and runny. I wierdly enjoy their avocado/cucumber rolls-the avocado is usually very creamy in contrast to the crunch of the cuke. Overall, a reasonable neighbourhood sushi place.

Boccone: probably the jewel in the crown for this neighbourhood (for a budget minded lunch-of course I'm leaving Didier and Cava out of this). Always a fast moving lineup with fantastic pasta and sandwiches. A little over priced ($11 for a smallish veal sandwich and a drink?), but good food. I LOVE the warren that is their seating area! The back room, the patio, the cellar/basement. It just seems to go on and on! Nice place to grab a quick authentic espresso as well. One complaint: desserts are all from "Otis Spunkmeyer" (??).

Mediterranean (I think that's it, the NON organic place): good, but again unremarkable, mid-eastern place. Nice greek-style potatoes. Nothing really stood out though. I liked the selection of mid-east drinks (e.g. mango juice/nectar).

Citron: high prices, small portions, totally forgettable, lousy sprinroll included with boring Thai curries. In fact boiring pretty much nails it. I'd rather eat at the Golden Horse.

Terroni: It's Terroni.

Abbot on the Hill: I'm surprised no one mentioned this place. FANTASTIC pub! Great selection of beer ( they currently have a belgian rasperry (or strawberry) beer on tap). Great pub food, a nice pulled pork, oysters most nights. A little more upscale than the above (except Terroni), so not here too often, but have immensely enjoyed each visit. They famously do beer matching menu evenings, which sell out fast.

As for the other suggestions, haven't a chance to hit anything else, but thanks again.

[aser]

I stopped by AOTH for some oysters and belgium beer after experiencing summerhill lcbo's tasting room (talisker 25/port ellan 25/caol ila 25!!!). Glowing recommendation, staff is extremely knowledgeable about their selection of beers. I will be back.

[estufarian]

Thanks for the feedback.
Agree with Boccone as #1 - and love their Patio.
Indeed Sprout has gone downhill - and their erratic opening hours don't help.
AOTH used to be pretty bad. Ate there twice and had no plans to return. And still has same ownership - although a year back they were trying to turn the place into more of a wine bar. Perhaps I'll give them another try - seems as if they've now got their act together.

[millygirl]

I'm surprised that Cafe Doria has not come up. Excellent salads, panini's and thin crust pizza's. Wonderful lattes too! Service was a lot better last year, but still okay. Weekend brunch is packed. We go at least once a month. Love the spring salad - arugula, avacado, cucumber and pine nuts....very simple and great light lemon vinegarette.

[bluedog]

Sounds great, but a bit outside the area I was originally looking at.

[estufarian]

and almost twice as expensive as Boccone.

[bogie]

I find their food to be of excellent quality, but theire paninis are woefully underfilled for the price.

[bluedog]

And went to Wylie's for lunch today, just because revisiting this thread reminded me to go try the Thai food...

Very much a pub, with a pub atmosphere and the standard selection of higher end brews on tap (AOTH has them beat though). Service a little rough, but firendly, with one guy working bar and tables.

I had the Pad Thai, while not stellar (a little too ketchupy for my taste), was hands down better than any other asian food I've had around here! Better at Salad King, but I was impressed with large amount of shrimp and chickien. I had asked for spicy but not too spicy, and the heat was non-existent. Next time I'll just ask them to go for it. Everything is about $10+ on the Thai menu.

Some of the lunch specials looked reasonable, and I'll go back to try'em in due course.

[LemonLauren]

i LOVE the abbot. such nice atmostphere and never crowded!

[chiujason]

Thx for the notes on Citron. My wife and I have often walked by on the way to Takara and decided against going in. Too bad about the restaurant makeover thing too, it seems to be an all-too often pattern for restaurants that go under the knife to come out worse than they were before.

[5andman]

Across from Terroni, I think its called Carappaccio?
I was actually pretty impressed. Had seafood linguine olio which was done perfectly (pasta & seafood).

[mikeb]

Most worthwhile places have been covered--Black Camel, Boccone, and Terroni. I would add that the Rebel House pub has the best pub food in the neighbourhood and a great little patio.

[magic]

I like Boccone for a lunch spot too btw. Delish housemade Foccacia.

[magic]

Black Camel, dude. Black Camel.

[peppermint pate]

Lots of good rec's so far - the shwarma places are good (Mediterranean is the name of one of the places) as is Boccone. I've never found Sprout to be so amazing but it's not bad. Unfortunately, To Go isn't open for during the week anymore and Pastis doesn't open for lunch.

A few other options - if you're willing to venture a bit further south, Black Camel has great flank steak/pulled pork/brisket sandwiches. It's on Crescent, opposite the Rosedale subway station. Olliffe, the butcher shop, also makes good basic smoked meat sandwiches on kaisers at lunch. There's a new place that's opened called Citron - it's meant to be a Thai bistro (sign in the window says "featured on Restaurant Makeover" but it's funny that they still have the old restaurant sign on the outside) - haven't tried it yet. If you're willing to travel a bit further north, Maroli (great Indian) is on Balliol, just south of Davisville. And of course, there's always Terroni for a thin crust pizza, great salad, etc. Enjoy the 'hood!

[bogie]

I second the shawarma place that I think you are referring too. It is called Mediterranean Gardens and is 1 block south of St. Clair on the West side of Yonge. It is owned by a very hospitable Mom and Pop, although the son can be a little surly at times. The chicken and beef used is 100% organic and the falafels are light and airy. They have an excellent selection of salads too and sell them in sm. and lg. containers for $5.99 and $8.99 respectively.

[Sharky]

Between Summerhill and St. Clair...are you working at 1303 Yonge by any chance? It's the Cineplex building...

Regardless, for sushi - I would recommend Takara, which is just past St Clair, across the street from the Shoppers Drug Mart. Great lunchtime bento box specials!

There are two middle eastern places, but I can never remember their names (one serves all organic meat and the other doesn't, if that kind of thing matters to you). Both have great shwarma though.

Sprout, which is just around the corner on Yonge street has lovely fresh Vietnamese, and is family run. It's definitely the closest place in midtown to get a pho hit, when the craving strikes. The food portions aren't quite as large and well spiced as that of the standard haunts I frequent in Chinatown East, but it's proximity allows me to overlook that.

I second the Boccone recommendation - there are inevitably lineups out the door at lunchtime, but their grilled focaccia sandwiches in particular are worth the wait. The one with prosciutto, goat cheese and mushrooms is my particular favourite.

Finally, believe it or not, for decent thai food - try Wylie's pub. I believe they have a thai chef, as half their menu is based on standard thai favourites...which is definitely an unexpected find in a pub!

[pearlD]

Depending on how far you want to walk I would suggest Boccone...think a small version of Grano...tables are hard to come by at lunchtime but there are lots of places to to sit and eat (Ramsden Park) on your way back to your office.
Boccone is on the west side of Yonge(traffic light) just north of Balmoral. There are loads of restaurants in that area ---Terroni, Browne's Bistro, Wylies, Seniors etc. You will have a great time experiencing all that is available in this area.

[mtampoya]

Just a little south of summerhill is the rosedale diner that makes a great burger, Pastis Express has some good french...a little more south to rosedale and you have a few more options.

[bluedog]

I'll be across the street from that, actually...