Mildred's temple kitchen?
Is Mildred's Temple Kitchen open yet? Has anyone been? And while I am on the topic: anyone been to Oasi?
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Went last night for dinner and, after having such high hopes from everyone's comments, was unfortunately disappointed.
The place itself if nice. Certainly different from anywhere else I've been, so I appreciated that. The vibe is relaxed and I did not find it too loud inside. It was unpretentious, friendly and warm, despite the cold floors and ceiling. It all worked.
The service was friendly and, at first, attentive. We started with carbonated water, which I found very cool that they filter and carbonate themselves. We had the chicken noodle/ginger broth soup and the gnudi. (Note the menu presently online today has changed). The presentation of the soup was great - all the ingredients brought in a bowl, and the soup later brought in a heavy iron kettle and poured out. It was good, but the broth had a unique taste to it. Not necessarily bad, but I wouldn't be pressed to order it again. The gnudi was good. Filled with ricotta in a delicious sauce, with little tomatoes and pork bits. I enjoyed it. My only complaint is that there were garlic shavings in it and they were overdone with a taste of burnt garlic.
For main courses, we had the grilled eggplant (with couscous and stewed tomatoes) and braised veal brisket (with fava beans, kale and raviola). The brisket was quite good, although I can't say I could differentiate the veal from beef. Everything worked in this dish, except the fava beans were too bland for the heavy flavours going on. The brisket, by the way, was huge, probably 12+ oz. It was tender, didn't have too much fat and had a lot of nice jus in the dish. The eggplant dish, on the other hand, didn't work. The couscous looked elegant on the plate, but had virtually no flavour. And the stewed tomatoes had an overwhelming balsamic vinegar flavour that was far too heavy for everything else. We also had a side order of frites, which were spectacular, although I found the accompanying garlic aioli to lack much flavour.
By the time we got our mains, the service was non-existant. Nobody came by. And then we sat with our empty plates for at least 10 mins before someone came by to clear the plates. At this point, the waitress also brough another pitcher or water. We skipped desert and asked for the bill, which took another 10 mins to reach our table. I was surpised to see that we were charge $3 for the second pitcher of water, which we only had one glass from at the end of our meal, especially since nobody asked whether we wanted more or not. But for $3, I was more anxious to leave than to complain and wait a ton of time longer.
I really wanted to love it, but hate to say that I didn't. If I were to return, I think I'd order the burger with frites, but I think I'll use my time to try another restaurant. The food just wasn't memorable.
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re: Yum2MyTum
Went with a friend this past Friday. Had the stilton tart to start, curried cauliflower, and split a fish dish.. I think it was char. The fish was cooked well but bland. Not impressive given the $26 price tag. The stilton tart was so rich and the flavours of the cheese and caramelized plums worked well together. We agreed this was a winner.
The curried cauliflower was tasty and we enjoyed the peeled grapes + sour cream on the side, but the curry lacked punch.We had the profiteroles to finish, which were fine but not very memorable. We shared a lovely tempranillo.
Service was spotty. Our first server didn't notice us trying to get her attention for longer than we thought was okay. The servers that actually brought our various courses (all different servers) were more attentive.
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Mildred's Temple Kitchen
85 Hanna Avenue, Toronto, ON M6K 3S3, CA
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For those concerned their website is now up to date with complete menus and the usual info. enjoy!
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The Chowhound Team
Mar 3, 2009 10:30 AM
We've moved a post by tp24 that was focused on the seating policy at Mildred's to the Not About Food board, at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6008...
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Sad to say that we had a wholly disappointing dinner there last week. Lovely space but the food was stunningly mediocre. Even the much lauded gnudi weren't hot enough and were just okay, as was the burger. They had a seafood stew on special that evening - actually, this was the best dish we had BUT they charged $33 for literally one clam, one shrimp, a bit of scallop, a few small pieces of fish and maybe one other thing. Way, way overpriced.
The space is quite cool - lots of zones including some cool seats in front of the facing kitchen that morphs into the bar area with some additional seats. I would definitely go back for brunch as I used to like the old Mildred's brunch food and I think the space would be great with all that natural light. Maybe they just need some time to get their groove going but it was a heck of a long drive for a pretty blah dinner.
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re: peppermint pate
Went last night and also experienced a perfectly mediocre dinner. Mushroom and gorgonzola arancini had absolutely no taste, crab salad in a mason jar was almost impossible to eat, the chicken biryani was cold and also tasteless and the "very lean" (according to our waiter) lamb saddle had about an inch of fat on it.
I honestly don't understand how this place landed on the Toronto Life best new restaurant list.
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I went today for lunch with a few friends. Note that menu posted within this thread is definitely not correct!
The place is hard to find if you don't know the neighbourhood. The address is 85 Hanna and is on the west side of the complex that has the GoodLife and LCBO. If you walk along the walkway just east of West Elm and head straight back you will find the place. They definitely need a sign or something on Snooker or at least at the beginning of the walkway that points the way!
I ended up doing two apps for my meal. I had the bread soup and the gnudi. The presentation of the bread soup was very interesting. They bring out a bowl with toasted bread cubes and parmesan and then come back later and pour the broth. The soup was a bit too salty for me and had a slight taste of garlic that had been cooked for a little too long. BUT it was pretty good overall. The gnudi was fantastic and had a lot of flavour. The addition of the berkshire pork was a good one.
The menu (particularly the appetizers) sounded delicious and I would love to eat my way through them. I will definitely be making my way over to try a Sunday brunch. Also, speaking with the hostess today they said that they are considering serving brunch on Saturdays as well. Not set in stone but it's a thought.
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re: wontonfm
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re: Squeakycheese
Oh, I know, I saw that beforehand. But it's now YOUR fault... I emailed the restaurant to let them know that Dine.TO should take that down. The hostess was telling me that a lot of people came in yesterday expecting at least some brunch items and LEFT because they didn't have any.
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re: wontonfm
I was also one of the unfortunate ones who went to Temple Kitchen on a Saturday expecting brunch, only to find out that they only serve it on Sundays from 10-3. Boo...We stayed anyways, had a squid salad - very light and citrusy almost, loved the green apple and cucumbers in it; the gundi was also good, the fried sage on top was the highlight; and the pork dish (last item on the lunch menu) was replaced by with a pork belly...that was ok, gotta say, the pork belly at Foxley was far superior - tasted like it wasn't braised/cooked long enough. Oh to finish off, the profiteroles were great, the chocolate ice-cream in the middle was decadent, perfect for sharing. Loved the atmosphere, very trendy and chic.
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re: Rabbit
gregclow
Dec 5, 2008 06:46 AM
When it's busy, it's moderately loud, mainly due to the fact that the floors are concrete and there isn't much in the way of drapery, etc., to dampen the sound.
However, they also have enough empty space in the place that even when it's busy, it's not completely packed, so the noise level remains bearable.
That was our experience at brunch last Sunday, at least.
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The space looks great - reminds me of the cafe at the Tate Modern in London. Is this in the same location where Mildred Pierce was before?
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re: sydandsys
Squeakycheese
Dec 1, 2008 03:45 PM
Went last weekend... unfortunately the menu I posted seems to be wrong... but go definitely, we had a great time. One thing, unless you know the are well phone and get directions, its a bit hard to find. Cheers!
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Are there more pictures of the restaurant?
I'm looking for a resto/lounge with good food place for new years... This might work?›7 Replies-
re: pinkbunni
Venue
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--1.jpg
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--2.jpg
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--12.jpg
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--13.jpggnudi
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--5.jpgpoached grouper
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--7.jpg
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--9.jpgchicken breast biryani
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/mildredpierce_nov2008--10.jpgapple tart
http://www.spotlighttoronto.com/misc/...-
re: Suresh
BodyByCheese
Nov 27, 2008 01:59 PM
Thanks Suresh!
The food looks stunning. That Gnudi dish has me salivating.
The place seems rather empty and baron, though. Except for those two silver vixens in your second 'Venue' photo, you appeared to be the only party there...?
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re: Suresh
Wench Foraday
Nov 27, 2008 08:07 PM
I am so, so glad that they kept the chicken biryani on their menu! Although you're right, I think they used to include more pilau.
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I went there for brunch on saturday.
Venue
Somewhat resembles C5 in a sense that there is a lot of space, plenty of breathing room.
Similiarities end there. They have kept with the loftish feel. Think of flooding a huge space with pickings from the ikea catalogue. That's what we thought anyway.We had ricotta gnudi with berkshire pork bits, fried sage and plenty of caramelized onion, very well done, sweet and starchy. loved it.
roast chicken biryani, i expected a bit more pilau, the chicken was tender and juicy. The crispy skin was slathered in a braised onion sauce. I believe there was also some chutney.
poached grouper was bland, tasteless, in a leek broth i believe, surrounded by delicious organics. Lots of heirloom potatoes, winter greens. I would have loved the stock as asoup, but the fish, was boring.
apple tart finished it off, excellent.
Came to around $80. Fish was $26, Chicken was $25, gnudi was $13
I like the space, the bar, lots of ambient light.
Service is very careful, almost annoying (because of the constant hovering and questioning) but i understand that they're just trying very diligently to please everyone.
Obviously the menu is still being worked on, would return›4 Replies-
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re: Suresh
Squeakycheese
Nov 27, 2008 03:59 AM
Do they still do the burger? Maybe it was only at lunchtime on weekends.
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