Bloor/Bathurst dinner idea

[Nyleve]

I know, I know - there are a zillion places in that area. I've just run out of ideas. Criteria: not too expensive, nor too trendoid. Prefer regular meal to hipster small plates. Must have adequate vegetarian (fish ok, but not shellfish) options. There will be 7 of us, so need to make a reservation.

Seeing a Hot Docs screening at 9:15 so probably starting dinner at 6:30 should do it. My brain is numb. Suggestions are welcome.

[toveggiegirl]

Southern Accent is a good option but the menu is very limited for vegetarians. Next door, he Butler’s Pantry has decent food at reasonable prices as well as plenty of vegetarian options. It's on Markham, behind Honest Eds.
http://www.butlerspantry.ca/

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Butler's Pantry
591 Markham St, Toronto, ON M6G2L7, CA

[Nyleve]

Yeah - I looked at the menu and couldn't find much that would appeal to veg/non-shellfish people. Looks great to me, though - next time.

[aser]

well you are in Korean town, if you're up for that sort of thing. There is vegetarian soondobu options available.

[jamesm]

What's a hipster small plate?

[Nyleve]

Oh you know. Ersatz tapas, meant for sharing but, in truth, I don't really want to share my food. Maybe I'm just antisocial. I prefer a traditional dining format, although the cuisine can be anything.

If I'm in Barcelona, it's a different story.

[hungrystudent257]

excellent use of the word ersatz!

[Splendid Wine Snob]

There's Maroli-which I recently discovered thanks to some great hounds!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/613077

And if you are willing to walk down to Harbord, there are many options; Harbord House (pub), Harbord Room (although its pretty small and you may have difficulty fitting 7 at one table), Messis, Tati, Loire, 93 Harbord etc, etc...

TorontoJo and Wahooty also love Boulevard Cafe although I've never been.

SWS

[acd123]

My wife recently discovered it too after reading about it on CHound. We went last week. Love it. The Malabar chicken was amazing, as was the maroli salad.

[Nyleve]

I've made reservations at Maroli for tonight. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

[acd123]

Careful with the maroli salad if you order it. I loved it but is may have too much bite for some people. Very refreshing. Almost like coleslaw. Shredded cabbage, carrots, peppers and onions in a VERY vinegary dressing with TONS of black pepper. Yum. I took some home and polished it off the next day.

I read on this board that they have best butter chicken in town. We'll try that next time.

[Nyleve]

Dinner at Maroli was good. There were 7 of us, so we just ordered a bunch of different dishes. We started with an order of pakoras which were excellent - crisp, hot and really full of vegetables. Then we had the vegetable biryani (I loved it - really flavourful and layered), Malabar chicken (good - not at all what I was expecting, despite the rather lurid posters on the wall depicting it), Syrian beef (I didn't like it much - kind of dry - but others did), saag paneer (nice), chicken tikka masala (it was my favourite dish - very flavourful and the chicken was tender), and that fish (I can't remember what they call it, but there's only one). I wasn't crazy about the fish and wouldn't order it again.

On the whole it was a good dinner - not excellent, but good. The food is very nicely spiced and the service was absolutely charming. It's a really low-key place with reasonable prices. Thanks for the recommendation - I might go there again if I'm in the area.

[l_izzie]

Thanks for posting your experience, Nyleve. I respect your judgment, so was happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I still dream of the saag paneer, myself.
Just wondering how busy it was.

[Nyleve]

At 6:30(ish) on Friday evening, there were only two other tables occupied. Since there were 7 of us, our arrival sort of filled the front part of the restaurant, and during our meal a few other diners arrived. It was never full, but also never empty.

Thanks for your comments. It was a good place to put on my list!

[Davedigger]

I really like Southern Accent. It should fit your criteria. I love the Blackened Chicken Livers.

http://www.southernaccent.com/

[JennaBean]

I second this a bit of a quirky option and for food that you don't find in many places in the city. There is something really yummy about southern comformt food!