BISTRO RECO FOR TONIGHT: MID TOWN

[shocked]

Help! My manager is in town, and just called to ask where we should meet for dinner tonight. He is staying at the airport, but said its fine to come in to the city for dinner. However, due to Shriners parade, we are thinking mid town is probably better then downtown.

He is a "foodie" from Quebec, who enjoys a great bistro style restaurant, and a great glass of wine.

Where should we go???

THanks for helping

[JamieK]

Let us know where you ended up. And what your guest thought about it!

[shocked]

Thanks so much for all of these suggestions- I am now well armed for his next visit back to the city (fairly regular these days...) We ended up going to Simple Bistro, because I had to confirm back fairly early in the day as to where we were going. The many great recos for Pastis and Globe had not come up by then : )

The good news is, he really liked Simple Bistro, and mentioned a few times that smaller bistros are really his preference. He was so pleased, that I get to pick the restaurant again next time.

Depending on what customers we are visiting that day, I will pick one of the bistros from this list. Thanks so much- you saved my bacon!

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

[Rabbit]

I think Globe is an excellent suggestion. The French bistros like Coquine are probably going to pale compared to the Montreal offerings.

If you're coming from the airport then the West End might be another good area for you... Local Kitchen and Wine Bar, the new Enoteca Social (also a wine bar), or perhaps something like Cowbell might give you some casual-ish and very Toronto options.

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Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

[KitchenVoodoo]

I agree with your comment about Coquine - I felt it was Disneyesque Bistro, the food was in keeping with a tourist trap - all the cliches, churned out to feed the masses. It's also loud. A waiter stood on a diner's seat to reach a window that needed to be adjusted - he didn't attempt to cover the seat first, just got up there with his shoes on!

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Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

[peppermint pate]

I liked the room at Coquine but hated the food. Easily one of the worst steak frites I've ever eaten and everything else was pretty blah as well. Disneyesque bistro is a very good description.

[lamaranthe]

Frites? For me it was mussels with frites. It shows they never went to Belgium or North of France... They were greasy, limp and brown... Very loud and the waitress was rude. The only good thing: tomatoes caprese, but you can get that somewhere else.

[Googs]

For the life of me, I've never understood why anyone rec's Coquine. Food ranges from boring to bad, the room is loud, and the wine selection? Not so much. Shame, shame calling yourself French at all.

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Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

[bluefirefly]

There's also Coquine Restaurant, which is a bit further up around Eglinton. Cute interior (black and white checkered flooring), typical of what one would think of a bistro, and pretty decent food.

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Coquine
2075 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4S2A4, CA

[miketoronto]

Pastis would definitely be great if he wants classic French bistro.
Globe Earth in Rosedale is great, still craving those crispy ewenity cheese curds.
Cava is solid, depending on what's on their menu now.

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

[JamieK]

It's not exactly mid-town but I'd consider Globe Bistro, good food with an emphasis on local ingredients, and a nice wine selection.
http://www.globebistro.com/

[millygirl]

Pastis!! If you can get a reservation this late.

[peppermint pate]

Yup, that was going to be my rec as well.

[jenCH]

Totally out of left field: the road closures are only until 7pm... If he is indeed a foodie from Quebec, he probably won't want to eat until well after that?

[TorontoJo]

On Mt. Pleasant, I'd look at Simple Bistro or Zee Grill (if he likes seafood). On Yonge St., I'd look at Quince or Cava (tapas).

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

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

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

[Googs]

I'll 2nd Simple and Zee. Sadly, my last trip to Cava wasn't a memorable one. They'll have to redeem themselves before I'd rec them again.

[Full tummy]

Third Simple. Simply delicious and excellent service, too. It's a cosy room that's not too noisy, so conversation can happen without difficulty.

http://www.simplebistro.com/home.html