Midtown for Mommy

[airsey]

It's my moms birthday and I am planning on taking her out for dinner. Unfortunately, she's so old she can no longer make it south of St. Clair so I have to travel up north for the occasion.

I'm looking for recs anywhere north of St. Clair and south of Sheppard between Bayview and Bathurst. Something reasonably priced and of pretty linear cuisine. Linear being... something of the european/north american ilk. Mom is a foodie (bro and sis are not) and likes a fun, hip environment even though I know that is basically impossible to find north of St. Clair.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,.

[ksapd]

Perhaps Lolo on Yonge Street north of Eg (formerly on Mt. Pleasant).

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Lolo Restaurant
2590 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4P2J3, CA

[airsey]

Thanks so much everyone!

I've went with mom to Cava and we really enjoyed it.

I've also been wanting to try Simple Bistro for awhile so that's a good rec. I completely forgot that Five Doors North reopened up there. Is it as good as it used to be? or as good as Gio Ranas on Queen/Leslie?

Tabule could also work. I forgot to include middle eastern in my "linear" definition.

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Five Doors North
2088 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A3, CA

Tabule
2009 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4S 1Z8, CA

Gio Rana's
1220 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M1L7, CA

Cava
1560 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 2S9, CA

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

[torontofoodiegirl]

I just went to 5 Doors North the other night for the first time in a while. I'd classify it under the heading good, but not great (though their involtini is pretty great). It's definitely fun, but IMHO is way too loud....we were a group of thirty-somethings (ie. no hearning problems) and we could barely hear one another...my throat was hoarse by the end of the evening from yelling.

[airsey]

Went to 5 Doors North last night. It was completely dead but the food and service were great! I had the rack of venison with kale. Cooked perfectly. The involtini was typically great though we were less enthused by the avocado bruschetta and king crab cake (both not my choice).

[Googs]

That's 5 Doors North. Good food, though not mindlbowing, boisterous, friendly, enjoyable. I smile just thinking about it. A perfect Girls Night Out Loud place. Always been, may always be.

[blinknoodle]

You have lots of great options to pick from. Another to consider for Italian is Zucca's. Otherwise, can't go wrong with Quince, Coquine, Mogette, etc.

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Zucca
2150 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4S 2A8, CA

Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

Mogette
581 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[torontofoodiegirl]

I third the recommendation of Quince. Great food, good value and, though it's not uber-hip/fun, it's also not stodgy or anything.

[Rabbit]

Quince was my first thought too.

Perhaps Cava (if tapas isn't too adventurous)?

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Cava
1560 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 2S9, CA

[TorontoJo]

Gosh, you have lots of options appropriate for mom in that zone!

Along Mt. Pleasant:
- Zee Grill for excellent seafood
- Positano for casual, good quality Italian
- Simple Bistro (I haven't been, but it's been getting some love on the board)

Along Yonge:
- Quince, bistro-ish cuisine, nice atmosphere
- Coquine, classic bistro, hip, bustling atmosphere (but food is only ok)
- Sapori, for more upscale Italian (great whole oven roasted fish and an excellent veal chop)

And if you don't mind being in a mall, my "go to" mother-in-law restaurant is Oliver and Bonacini at Bayview Village Mall.

There are lots more, but that's what hit me off the top of my head.

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

Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

Zee Grill
641 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[juno]

Can't say I blame your Mom for not wanting to venture below St. Clair Ave. I feel the same way, only rarely driving south of St. Clair to dine out. The parking, the traffic, the construction, the overall aggravation. Besides, as TorontoJo (who clearly knows her uptown eateries) has pointed out above, there's lots to select from up here. If my son were taking me out for my birthday, and I didn't want to bankrupt him, I'd probably pick Quince, on Yonge St. south of Eglinton. Well-run, good food, reasonably lively atmosphere, about $125 a couple, inc. a half-litre of house wine, tax and tip (more if you insist on dessert as well). In the same price range are two French bistros on the same block of Mt. Pleasant, the aforementioned Simple Bistro, and the one I prefer slightly more, Mogette. Both are of Quince's quality, but rather small, and can be noisy with mainly middle-aged revelers who know good value. If Mom absolutely insists on fun and hip (I don't), then it's Coquine, almost diagonally across the street from Quince. Coquine is very, very noisy when full with the youngish crowd, as it often is, and though some dishes there are quite good (the salade Nicoise, for example), most are little more than acceptable. About $100 a couple, if you can stay away from some stiff wine markups. Zee Grill, also mentioned above, on Mt. Pleasant just north of the two bistros, seems the most accomplished of the bunch, and at about $150-$175 a couple, Mom had better like seafood. More serene atmosphere, though, compared to Coquine. Of the Italian restos mentioned above, I can't comment. It sometimes seems that half the restos in Toronto are Italian, and I'm weary of them, at least for the next long, long while.

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

Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

Zee Grill
641 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

Mogette
581 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[TorontoJo]

Oh juno, I hear you on the Italian restaurant situation. I can't bring myself to try any more of them on my own. A friend was treating the other night and picked Positano, and it was very nice, but I never would have gone in on my own. There's a newish one along the Yonge/Lawrence corridor and I had no interest in trying it. It's really a shame. Have you tried Milagro yet? If you go, don't get the lamb barbacoa -- it's a big snooze. But the pork dishes are great -- both the cochinita pibil and the carnitas (the former being a more piquant). Make sure you ask them for a sampling of their various salsas, which only seem to come with specific dishes otherwise.

[andreas]

We had dinner at Mogette with friends and thought it was mediocre at best.

[phoenikia]

Out of the restaurants mentioned so far, my favourite is Zee. I really liked my last meal there, and found the desserts surprisingly good for a restaurant that is mostly known for its seafood. They also have steak frites and duck on the dinner menu, in addition to the seafood options. http://www.zeegrill.com/menu.html

For a fun, hip environment & Italian food north of St.Clair, 5 Doors North might be another option.

And although you mention European/North American food in your definition of linear, I thought I might also recommend Tabule. If your family is comfortable with Mediterranean food, I'd imagine Tabule wouldn't be too exotic. I've always enjoyed my meals at Tabule,and the atmosphere can be fun.

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Five Doors North
2088 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A3, CA

Tabule
2009 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4S 1Z8, CA

[Ediblethoughts]

Tried Zee Grill this weekend and while the seafood was fine, I guess: I think a bit over-priced for portion size---two scallops for $25 seems a bit high even if the scallops were large. The clam, corn chowder was OK but not nearly clammy enough to justify the price. The organic lettuce salad mix was quite enjoyable, with fresh date and fresh herbs keeping it interesting. I probably wouldn't go back for the first course though given value for money. But the desserts----wonderful! All made in-house from what I understand, including the ice creams. The pressed chocolate was dark and fabulous chocolate flavour, smooth, beautiful texture and the lemon ice cream with meringue sandwich outsides was great too---such smooth, lovely lemon ice cream. I'd definitely consider going back for dessert!

[TorontoJo]

That lemon meringue ice cream dessert is probably my favourite dessert in the city. If you are looking for a light, refreshing meal on a hot summer's day (which does seem a dream at the moment), go and order a glass of cava, the Hawaiian poke salad (sort of a chopped ceviche salad), then the lemon meringue ice cream sandwich. Perfect.

For mains, my stand by is their take on surf and turf -- a perfect sized filet, one big ass shrimp (prawn?) and a monster onion ring on top. Not too big, very tasty. It's definitely priced at "downtown" prices, but I just try not to look too closely when I pay. :)

[Ediblethoughts]

I'll keep that in mind for the s & t. I find it hard to choose lemon over chocolate but it was a very nice lemon dessert. I'm usually pretty good at ignoring price when I'm inspired---I think if there had been more veggies, I'd have found it easier to do that!