new restaurants - yonge sheppard area

[murphcansurf]

Has anyone tried Flame bar/grill or Viet deli (I think that's what it's called)?

[kerwintoronto]

Bump...just wondering if anyone had tried Flame yet.

[oishiBear]

I would like to try it out... is it closed down already?

[Pizza Lover]

I believe it closed down a couple of months ago - a pho restaurant is taking its place.

And wouldn't you know it - last night it was featured on Restaurant Makeover. It sure didn't last long - every time I passed by the place would be dead empty and the poor owners just sitting at the bar that my friends and I wagered it wouldn't last out the year.

[Charles Yu]

Wow!! Thats incredible!! I was just watching it on Restaurant makeover yesterday!! Apart from Rosedale Dinner, looks like none of the makeover participants survive long!! Wonder why?

[mikeb]

Oh, there are still quite a few around. Phils, PJ Obrien, St. Clair Village Cafe, Bagel World, Grapefruit Moon, Tara Inn, Mendoza, Monkey Bar and Reliable come to mind. I'm sure there's more. I think the ones that tank quickly are the ones where the owners appear to have no idea how to either cook or run a business, especially a restaurant business.

[oishiBear]

Adding Citron on Yonge.. and Quattro4Ragazze on Danforth

[mikeb]

Yep, it sat empty all the time. Not a surprise, I'm sure, but the fish and chips weren't very good at the Seashell either. When they did the makeover, I could have swore they worked on it for longer than a week.

[Pizza Lover]

I also remember that the makeover was much longer than one week - more like a couple of months where I would see them (and it was not the Restaurant Makeover crew) working on the inside.

[oishiBear]

Poor couples. I wonder how they are doing now. On the show they mentioned they are on load for everything... including buying the business from his brother.. and the cost for the makeover.

[Ben Reiner]

We had a power outage last night so we gave Deli Viet a shot. We had the following items:
* Crispy shrimp spring rolls - nicely done
* Shrimp pancake - ok, but not a recommend (to quote the rabbit)
* Clams w/ black bean sauce - highlight of the night
* Lemongrass short rib - flavour was very lacking, no lemongrass detectable whatsoever
We each had the mango shakes which were tasty. Service was inattentive.

[Corrie]

I tried the Viet Deli (or whatever it's called) for lunch one day. Had a lemongrass chicken with rice, it was pretty good, better I'd say that Thuyen which is a few doors down. Lunch menu was limited as opposed to the regular menu and service was spotty but that was right when they opened so hopefully they've ironed out the kinks! I'm definitely going back for another try.