Suggestions for dinner near Hilton (Queen/University) - cosy, cheap and cheerful?

[BlueGoo]

Hello all,

I'm looking for ideas for a dinner Tues evening. I'm meeting a friend who's attending a conference at the Hilton downtown. The only restaurants I can think of in that area are fairly expensive.

Ideally, I'd like something where we can hear ourselves talk, is comfortable (i.e., not too trendy/dressy) and dinner for 2 is less than $100. No cuisine limitations. Your suggestions are appreciated!

[BlueGoo]

Update - we ended up going to Trimutri as suggested. Very pleasant service - dinner for 2 with a half litre of house white and tip was just under $80 - but we over-ordered! Which is a good thing, as I now have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow night too.

Great onion bhajias - huge tangled mass of onion in chickpea flour batter. We also had the garlic kulcha, chicken pasanda, saag paneer (a little disappointing this - it was stodgy sludge) and dal.

[estufarian]

Thanks for reporting back.

[Yum2MyTum]

Hi BlueGoo - thanks for reporting back. Where is your go-to place for saag paneer?

[BlueGoo]

The Copper Chimney (recently discovered by the famous Charles Yu and reviewed here!) is a fantastic, cosy Indian restaurant. All their dishes are flavourful, the spices really sing, and the service is excellent, warm and welcoming. Saag paneer is just one of the many dishes we've sampled there, but it's creamy with no bitter tones - which sometimes happens with spinach, I've found.

2050 Avenue Road Toronto, ON M5M 4A6 (just south of the 401). Their website is currently under construction: http://www.the-copper-chimney.com/

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Copper Chimney
619 Kingston Rd W, Ajax, ON L1S6L8, CA

[phoenikia]

Idas is the Chowhound who "discovered" The Copper Chimney by attending the Grand Opening. Idas posted a positive review on this Board (original post of Oct 14, 2010), which is the post which triggered most of the initial Chowhound TO following. Charles has certainly discovered dozens and dozens of chowfinds over the years, but Copper Chimney wasn't one of them ;) I do have a feeling that some Chowhounds paid a little more attention to the CC thread once Charles Yu (reply of Nov 21st, 2010, where he thanks the OP for the recommendation) and estufarian (reply of Oct 30,2010) gave their approval. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7406...

[BlueGoo]

I stand corrected! Thanks :-)

[Yum2MyTum]

I second Trimurtri and Queen Mother. As much as I like Yuzu for delicious sushi and fresh fish, I wouldn't call it cheap, or particularly cheerful (very minimalist, modern, bordering on cold design)

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Queen Mother
206 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V1Z2, CA

Yuzu
236 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5H1W7, CA

[phoenikia]

You're absolutely right, Yum2MyTum. My mistake. I realized after I posted that the OP wanted "cheap", in addition to dinner for 2 for less than $100. I was mostly responding to the "where we can hear ourselves talk, is comfortable, dinner for 2 less than $100, no cuisine limitations" part of the query, since one can easily eat at Yuzu for less than $100 for 2, and it's on the quiet side. You're absolutely right that it isn't "cheap". It is reasonably and moderately priced for downtown Toronto.

While I agree Yuzu's space is modern and minimalist, its brightness is cheerful compared to most of the dimly lit restaurants in the area. The servers were also cheerful when I was there. I would consider Yuzu to be moderately priced, modern and cheerful. YMMV.

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Yuzu
236 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5H1W7, CA

[Yum2MyTum]

Yuzu is definitely reasonably and moderately priced for downtown Toronto, agreed, phoenikia. It is also quite bright -- and definitely, the servers are cheerful.

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Yuzu
236 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5H1W7, CA

[BlueGoo]

Thanks to all who responded - much appreciated. I've checked with my friend and it looks like Trimutri is going to be it. I will let you know how it turns out!

[jlunar]

Some unsolicited suggestions: I really like the Boti Kebab, Garlic Kulcha, and Bhindi Masala (though this can go from just-ok to awesome).

[estufarian]

And their Onion Bhajia is almost a meal in itself. I ALWAYS order that, but switch around on the mains.

[jlunar]

Might try that next time. Thanks estufarian!

[phoenikia]

Yuzu is within a 10 minute walk, if you like contemporary Japanese food.

Edit: As Yum2MyTum mentions below, Yuzu is not cheap.Yuzu is moderately priced, and 2 can eat for less than $100.

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Trimurti
265 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V1Z4, CA

Yuzu
236 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5H1W7, CA

[eco987]

I'm not a fan, but lots of people enjoy Korean Grill House and the All-you-can-eat option caps off the costs. On that same mindset, there's all-you-can eat japanese in the scotia plaza at Ninki.

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Ninki
40 King St W, Toronto, ON M5H3Y2, CA

[TorontoJo]

The Queen Mother is cheap and cheerful and right near there. Fun and laid back.

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Queen Mother
206 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V1Z2, CA

[estufarian]

Trimurti for Indian.
Around $60 for two with a couple of beers. You can find cheaper - but probably not better.

[BlueGoo]

Thanks estufarian - I looked up their website and it looks good!