444980 Wed Sep 26 07:33:08 -0700 2007 2 23 Ontario (including Toronto) 0 2977564 Hello, this is my first time posting in here. I have been following the board for awhile. Thanks for all the suggestions and tips that everyone shares in here. Now I think it is my turn to contribute. :) I went to One Up Restaurant and Lounge for dinner with my family yesterday. One Up was not our first choice, but the experience is better than I expect. Food was good and the room is beautiful. However, we were the only table there. We had a reservation at 7:30. When we arrived, the hostess/server was not there. So we knocked on the door of the kitchen and were ignored by the chef. Then we called the restaurant and finally our server came out from the kitchen. I was not sure why she would not come out when we knocked on the door... Anyway, so we were sat. The background music was Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears and was a bit annoying. Bread was served to us on a plate, which I think is a bit inappropriate for the restaurant. We were given a few pieces of baguette that were not warm and the crust was not crisp. I think the PC baguette from Loblaws tasted better. So I thought the evening might not be enjoyable. But I was wrong. Sister ordered a drink called, Mellonball and she said it was good. The three of us chose to have the City Dine menu and ordered an extra appetizer. The charred seafood salad from the appetizer menu was delicious. The seafood (tiger prawn, calamari and scallop) was chewy, fresh and juicy. The balsamic port reduction was flavourful but not too sweet and the wasabi aioli compliment the seafood well. For first course, I had the potato puree. It was hot and creamy and the best thing was the fried bread came with it. Sister ordered the cherry tomato and Bocconcin cheese salad. She said it was fresh and good, but nothing really special. Cousin ordered the battered calamari. I tried a piece. The batter was thin and not oily. The rose dip was a winner. For main, I got the fillet of sole. The marinara sauce was rich in tomato taste without being sour. The fish was smooth and juicy. The pilaf that served with the fish was not dry and hard. Cousin got the veal rib eye. Strangely, our server didn't ask him how he wanted the meat to be cooked. When it came out, it was cooked to medium well. Nevertheless, it was not tough and taste good. The side of potatoes and mushroom was also delicious. Sis ordered the chicken breast stuffed with ricotta and spinach. The chicken was tender and flavourful and the ricotta spinach stuffing was smooth. The bonus is that everything was presented beautifully. Finally, sis and cousin had chocolate tartufo for dessert. I tried some and suspected that this is store bought. I had the chocolate truffle cake. The cake was moist and the coating was not too sweet. All-in-all, we thought the dinner was good. I will not say it is excellent. But it is a good restaurant to try in the University and Dundas area where is filled by chains and fast food restaurant. Sis and I both thought that it was a much better experience than our summerlicious experience at Annona in Park Hyatt. It's sad that we had the room all to ourselves. There are more workers than customers. They have a huge menu of martinis and we are thinking of going back for drinks and we hope the will play something other than cheesy pop. Wed Sep 26 07:33:08 -0700 2007 130066 tree25 1 2977593 Sounds like most of the food was decent, but these are my comments based on your post: 1. Very odd that there was no one there when you arrived and you had to call them to be let in. 2. I think I'd be hesitant to eat seafood in a restaurant that is that slow (is it just me?) 3. I've never seen marinara sauce served with filet of sole. I'm not sure I want to (again, maybe just me?). 4. If you were the only patrons in the restaurant, why didn't you request that they change the cheesy pop background music? Wed Sep 26 07:39:52 -0700 2007 2977564 23415 pescatarian 2 2981531 I found it really strange as well. I was worried that the food might not be fresh or the food was really bad. Actually this is the first time that we were the only table in a restaurant. I thought of leaving but since we were so hungry that we decided to stay. I never think of not ordering seafood in a slow restaurant. I generally don't go to slow restaurant. I am learning about different cursine and how to be a foodie, so I never knew that marinara sauce was seldom used with fish... Luckily, it didn't taste awful. We don't really mind the cheesy pop since we grew up with those songs. I just thought that pop music doesn't match the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant. Thu Sep 27 08:03:57 -0700 2007 2977593 130066 tree25