Best Restaurant on Elm Street?

[Medira]

It's been ages since I ate at any of the restaurants on Elm Street, but it looks like I'll be heading in that direction tonight. I have friends in town staying at the Delta Chelsea and Elm Street seems like the best idea for a nice dinner.

So, what is your favourite Elm Street restaurant? What type of cuisine?

[Dimbulb]

Queen & Beaver. Fancy pub vibe, great burger, fish & chips, and cod cheeks & tongues.

[Dimbulb]

D'uh...

[JonasBrand]

Bangkok Garden... no good! AND EXPENSIVE! (at least for what it is). AVOID.

[vorpal]

I haven't been yet (I keep meaning to just to see how it compares to other Toronto "Thai" restaurants), but I agree that from looking at the menu online that it is ridiculously overpriced.

[food for life]

I recommend going to Baldwin st. far more ethnic, if thats what you want.
You can't go wrong with any of the restaurant there.
+ atmosphere

[gregclow]

Sorry, but I'd have to say that you CAN go wrong with quite a few places on Baldwin.

Bocca, which was once a decent pizza & pasta place, was absolutely awful the last time I was there.

John's Italian has been surfing on their past reputation for quite a while now. If it wasn't for the patio, I doubt anyone would go there.

Margarita's is a joke. Absolutely dreadful "Mexican" food.

I've been dragged to the Chinese place on the corner of Baldwin & McCaul several times for lunches with groups from the office (I work nearby), and I've always been disappointed.

Aside from Jodhpur Club, the Indian places along there are lacklustre.

Even when I was a vegetarian, I found Vegetarian Haven to serve pretty bland and unexciting stuff.

[melly mel]

I completely agree that Margarita's is awful. Ugh. I went there once by mistake and will never return.

[vorpal]

I agree with most of your assessment, with the exception of the dismissal of Gateways of India as being lacklustre. I've found it to be slightly better than Jodhpore Club, although they are both quite good.

[gregclow]

To be fair, I've only tried the buffet at Gateways, since I've only been there on office lunch outings. So I'll withdraw my judgement until I have a proper meal there sometime.

[Redshifted]

The best restaurant on Elm St. has to be Oro. A bit pricier than most of the other choices listed but worth it.

http://www.ororestaurant.com/

[ctl98]

I second Oro as well. Very attentive service. And very good food. Adega is excellent too. They have non-seafood dishes as well. I had an excellent seafood risotto there and my colleague had lamb. We both enjoyed our meals very much.

[ace123]

Oro will be my choice. I went to Adega twice in the last 6 months & found their food not as good as before.

[Medira]

Now that is disappointing to hear...

[PDW]

Hmmm. I used to frequent ORO a few years back for their signature tea smoked sea bass, excellent service and great wine list. Was back this week. No tea smoked sea bass - but an advertised whole sea bass served as a meagre fillet with bitter swiss chard, an sad looking carrot halved not peeled and some undercooked, leathery green beans. Okay, the fist was perfectly cooked and the service was good. Not great, good. I ordered a glass of an acceptable pinot to wash it all down and was charged 18.00 for the glass. A castle rock pinot for 18 bucks?

Starving and with a pretty bored pallette I left. 80 dollars poorer and wondering what happened to the ORO.

-----
Oro Restaurant
45 Elm St., Toronto, ON M5G 1H1, CA

[melly mel]

Adega is very good. It is Portuguese, so lots of seafood.

[fickle]

I second Adega. I could eat the sundried olives and portuguese bread all night! Mmmm...

http://www.adegarestaurante.ca/

[Strongbad789]

I love the sardines at Adega, but I had the mushroom risotto recently and it was absolutely tasteless (as well as being overcooked). It was like eating gruel. I ate maybe 1/10 of it. The waiter noticed that I hadn't eaten it and asked if I liked it and I said that that I hadn't because it was too bland, so he took it away without another word (and I still got charged for it). Maybe I should have used the word tasteless?

[Medira]

It sounds great but (I forgot to mention this above), one of the members of our party has a seafood allergy.

What would be your second choice?

[fickle]

Mmm...

Barberian's steakhouse or Senator diner would be my next choice in that area.

http://www.barberians.com/

http://www.thesenator.com/

[Finnegan]

Mata Hari is a little far from the Delta Chelsea..I'm guessing you want to stay near the Yonge Street end of Elm St....what about the Bangkok Garden. Set in a nice old building, nice interior decor, mid range priced thai food. You can order lots of dishes and do some sampling.

[Medira]

This sounds great. Thanks for the suggestion!

[JonasBrand]

Around the block on Baldwin you'll find Matahari (Malaysian)... it is excellent.

[vorpal]

I wholeheartedly second this recommendation. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto.

[Dimbulb]

I think the OP is requesting a recommendation on Elm between Bay and Yonge across from the hotel.

[JamieK]

for a night that took place about three and half years ago....

[Dimbulb]

Just caught that after I hit send :}

[JamieK]

happens all the time... ;->