Simple Bistro

[ER2]

Tomorrow night (Saturday) we have a dinner reservation at Simple Bistro. This will be our first visit. Any suggestions as to what we might try? TIA

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

[excel]

So back to the OP - I'm going there tonight and looking for a must have or a signature dish.
ER2 maybe you can give a review?

Thanks guys!

[merlot143]

Off-topic but since when has Simple Bistro been a great restaurant? I ate there about 3 years ago. The food was pleasant but not memorable.

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

[Tatai]

I've had three lovely meals at Simple Bistro in the past year. I haven't had many truly memorable meals in the 14 years I've lived in Toronto. Where do you go for memorable food?

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

[syoung]

I was just discussing this with a foodie friend of ours, comparing Toronto to Montreal and Vancouver and we are falling way behind. If there's a restaurant in TO that serves "memorable food" please advise.

Simple Bistro is comfort food. I don't think Graham is going to say they're Per Se or Nobu.

[shekamoo]

I have never been able to comprehend the alleged greatness of simple bistro. good solid food? sure. great and memorable? noooooo

[jlunar]

Agreed.

[Notorious P.I.G.]

I'll third that. Overall, I thought it was good but unremarkable. I thought desserts and apps where better than mains which kind of happens a fair bit to me these days.

[phoenikia]

That's how exactly bistros are supposed to be- good, solid, unremarkable food at reasonable prices. I've never been wowed by the food at any bistros here or in France. That being said, I think Simple is one of the better restaurants in North TO, and I like their brunch a lot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistro

[shekamoo]

I must be hopelessly confused, but I thought La Regalade, Chez L'ami jean, Josephine Chez Dumonet, etc. were all bistros with memorable food, having never checked the wiki definition. I am not of course saying Simple has to deliver on that level to merit praise, just that I have never had great food there, as others seem to have

[erly]

shemenko,
You have just mentioned some of my favorite Paris haunts.
Nothing at any price in Toronto compares.
However Simple delivers good food at a reasonable price.
It is my favorite of this genre in T.O.

[shekamoo]

Is it fair for me to agree with everything you say, including that simple is perhaps one of the best of this genre in Toronto, and still insist that I have not had great or memorable food there, and am therefore baffled when it is praised for having great food? That is all I was trying to say

P.S. now I am craving Paris

[dubchild]

Since I like Simple and have placed in my top ten, I feel I need to defend it. I find it consistently does solid apps, mains, desserts, and brunch; the service is friendly, efficient and knowledgeable; the wine list is small but well chosen with interesting options by the glass, especially for sweet wine; and its reasonably priced. I wouldn't say this qualifies for greatness, but I have yet to have a dud dish or experience. I can't say the same for many restaurants which are making people's top ten lists such as: Nota Bene, Chiado, Stockyards, or even George and Colborne Lane (both which I put in my top ten).
Unfortunately you don't really know a restaurant until after the fact. But the more voices, the better sense we all get where public opinion stands. I welcome that.

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Chiado
864 College Street West, Toronto, ON M6H 1A3, CA

Colborne Lane
45 Colborne Street, Toronto, ON M5E 1P8, CA

Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A1, CA

[Charles Yu]

Agree!!
In fact, ' memorable' does not have to be applied to the 'whole meal'. It can also applies to just one great dish. Casing point, the 'Venison' I had a few weeks ago was better the ones I had at the much more expensive Scaramouche, George or the Old Spendido!! Such wonderful aroma, tender meat and great tasting sauce!!
Lastly, referring to Syoung's posting above. Per Se, yes! But Nobu??!! No way!! My meal at NYC was far from impressive and the meal I had at Hong Kong's Nobu was down right 'horrible'!! for the price they charge!!

[childofthestorm]

Thanks for letting us know. I'll probably get a babysitter and stop by. Warning: I'm gonna want foie.

[Simple Bistro]

Give us 2 days notice, and we can make sure foie gras is available for your visit. That said, this is all about variety.

[childofthestorm]

Apparently they do a $50 tasting menu if you want to try several things.

[Simple Bistro]

The tasting $50 tasting menu starts on January 14th. In the meantime, we continue to offer our $40 prix fixe menu.

[childofthestorm]

Wanna tell us more about it while you're here? How many courses? Any chance of offering a foie gras supplement? Matching wines? Etc.

[Simple Bistro]

The menu will vary in courses according to ingredients. In cases where we're using foie gras, uni, or other premium ingredients, it will be 4 courses; otherwise, it will be 5 courses. We are considering a wine pairing option, but we want to see how the public receives the menu first.

[shekamoo]

will there be a choice between the two menus?

[Simple Bistro]

We'll always have our regular menu. The tasting menu is an add-on to give Masayuki more at his disposal to work with.

[dubchild]

My last visit was a while ago. I found everything I had to be equally good. The only thing I would recommend is leave room for dessert.