Where else do ladies who lunch lunch?

[phoenikia]

Besides Holt's Cafe, Caffe Doria, the Studio Cafe, Avenue, the Windsor Arms, Patachou, and the Oliver and Bonacini up at Bayview Village, where else do the ladies who lunch lunch?

Do Prego della Piazza, Il Posto Nuovo or Spice Room/ Manyata Cafe fill up at lunch time? What about Celestin or Didier?

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Celestin
623 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4S 2M9, CA

Spice Room
55 Avenue Road, Unit #127, Toronto, ON M5R 3L2, CA

Didier
1496 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4T1Z6, CA

Patachou
1120 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W, CA

Cafe Doria
1094 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W2L6, CA

Holt's Cafe
50 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M4W, CA

Oliver & Bonacini
2901 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M2K 1E6, CA

Il Posto
148 Yorkville Ave, Toronto, ON M5R1C2, CA

Prego Della Piazza - duplicate
150 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

Windsor Arms
18 St Thomas St, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[prima]

Lunching with some ladies at Holt's in the near future.

Has anyone ordered anything off the new menu? http://www.holtrenfrew.com/holts/imag...

[estufarian]

That was nearly a panic! All of my 'old' favourites are still there, including the tartines. I alternate between those and the daily special.

Oops - the Bread Pudding has disappeared - wonder what they do now with the leftover Poilane bread.

[prima]

Maybe they can top the truffled mac & cheese with buttered Poilane breadcrumbs.

[prima]

Where have the chowladies been lunching lately?

My most recent "ladies who brunch" brunch was at Simple Bistro on Mt Pleasant.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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Simple Bistro
619 Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S2M5, CA

[miranda]

And Cafe I'Expresse on the U of T campus.....Miranda

[Dean Tudor]

Gallery Grill (Hart House)
Osgoode Hall (Law Courts, Queen St West)

Eaton's Round Room will never be replaced, but you could try Arcadian Court at Simpson's HBC

[J. Kates]

Dean is right, the Simpson's tower at Bay and Queen is a great place for lunch. Great Cooks on Eight is the restaurant now. It has a great view over City Hall.

[phoenikia]

I do love the Coffee Mill, esp. their goulash. I knew it was popular with the older crowd, but didn't realize it was also an older ladies who lunch spot. Thanks for adding it to the list, TorontoJo!

[Squeakycheese]

Seems my prior post has been deleted, apologies if anyone was insulted.

Celestin seems to fit in with your research project :). Quite a few "ladies who lunch", and not many laddies (i.e. relatively quiet). Maybe the Cornerhouse Restaurant too. Back to Celestin, its very good for lunch/brunch at the weekend... the mushroom vol-au-vent is to die for!

[phoenikia]

Thanks for letting me know about the vol-au-vent at Celestin- I've been meaning to try their brunch;)

[Splendid Wine Snob]

Yes, both the mushroom and lobster vol-au-vent are fabulous. Can't go wrong there. The rabbit ravioli, any of the quiches (particularly the leek), fish soup (VERY "fishy" which is how I like it), crab soup and eggs benny are awesome too...come to think of it, everything there rocks my sensory world!

SWS

[Squeakycheese]

Also, the Jacques Bistro suggestion is spot on. Some real fossils in there :) but beautifully preserved.

[phoenikia]

I was at Jacques for lunch in Dec, but the crowd was mostly older couples, rather than ladies lunching. Might depend on the month or day of the week.

[millygirl]

LOL!!! Love it!!! The 'real fossils' line, I mean.

[Googs]

Shall we change this to "Fossils Who Feast"?

[phoenikia]

Research;) Have been alternating between 'Boho' lunch spots and 'Ladies who lunch' lunch spots with a friend, so I thought I'd consult CH to see which spots I'd missed.

[TorontoJo]

Just had lunch at the Coffee Mill in Yorkville today. If you are looking for a spot where the older, Jewish ladies who lunch lunch, this is a gold mine. Love that place (though I am neither older, nor Jewish). The chocolate banana cake there is sooooo yummy. Old fashioned, moist chocolate bundt cake with a classic fudgey frosting. The banana flavour is negligible, but I imagine the bananas add some of the moistness.

[Splendid Wine Snob]

Love the Coffee Mill too TJo!

[fickle]

We like the Boulevard Cafe and Pearl Harbourfront.

[phoenikia]

Thanks for all the additional restaurants you've mentioned;)

Has anyone been to Prego Della Piazza or Il Posto lately for lunch?

I understand Prego della Piazza was sold last year- has anyone tried their lunch since the change in ownership? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/391521

I haven't been to Il Posto for about a decade, but they used to serve a good version of linguine with clam sauce.

Which one would you visit for lunch, if you wanted an Italian Ladies who Lunch type of lunch?

[likescrab]

Coquine, Quince, One, Chimichanga's, Lai Toh Heed. To name a few...

[phoenikia]

Chimichanga's? Really? I'm surprised to hear that one.

[TorontoJo]

You took my post right out of my mouth! Chimichanga's does not strike me as a ladies who lunch destination in the least. Mexican food served by 20 year-old servers in a pseudo-grunge setting. One, yes. Coquine, yes. Quince, probably. Chimichanga's, not so much.

[phoenikia]

Guess we're on the same wavelength there, TorontoJo. The list reminded me of "One of these is not like the other" ;)

[likescrab]

nah, you gotta have an open mind. i trained for a year under a mexican chef and i know what i'm talking about. i'm saying if you like good, authentic mexican food, chimi's is the place to go. who cares about decor? it's all about the mole poblano, carnitas and guac. and the atmosphere is not grungy at all. have you even been?

[Wahooty]

Who cares about decor? I'd say Ladies Who Lunch do.

[TorontoJo]

I have been there and like it. I didn't say the place was grungy, I said the decor was pseudo grunge -- brick walls, industrial furniture, etc. It's most definitely not a destination for "ladies who lunch", which was the OP's request.

[phoenikia]

I agree with TorontoJo that it isn't a Ladies who Lunch kind of destination. Chimichanga's is pretty good for a Mexican fix in Toronto (I like El Trompo better, haven't been to Frida's yet), but their Baja fish tacos were not authentic or good. In Baja & Southern CA, Baja Fish tacos come with crema, lime, shredded cabbage, cilantro, and lightly battered fish. Chimichanga's uses breaded fish and cheese.
I'll remember to try their carnitas and guac on another visit.

[TorontoJo]

The carnitas and guac are good there, btw! :)

[millygirl]

Great thread phoenikia! You've pretty much covered all of my spots. The only other one I can think of is Jacques Bistro du Parc and Cafe Nervosa both in Yorkville.

[Ginsugirl]

Anywhere in Forest Hill Villiage (the little strip of salons, restos and banks on Spadina Rd at Lonsdale, a couple of blocks north of St. Clair). Hope Street Cafe, Southside, Mashu Mashu, Sotto in the Villiage and Edo-ko. Mashu has the best deals, and the only real vegetarian and Kosher options. Hope St. is the warmest and comfiest, and has the nicest waiters.

There is also the stretch of Eglinton Ave. West between Spadina and Avenue Rd. No shortages of lunch spots, but the wood-fired oven pizzas at Ferraro (502 Eglinton W.) are the real highlight.

[food face]

I was just going to say about the same thing Ginsugirl. You nailed it. The "Villiage" is the place for ladies who lunch. I actually don't think Mahsu is Kosher just Isreali owned. Also is that new overpriced French Bakery place near Ferraro on Eglinton (I forget the name of it). Phipps on Eglinton is a good spot to see some work out queens with time on their hands due to the Low Fat Salad Bar options. I have often observed that ladies who lunch stick to their local neighborhood lunch spots rather than drive downtown. Patachou in Rosedale....by the droves. There are even some hard core regulars that are there all the time. It's sort of like the weirdo's that hang out in a coffee time all day except they are filthy rich.

[estufarian]

Lakes and Brownes Bistro.