Please HELP!!! Need recommendations PLEASE

[mlachapelle]

Good evening everyone! I am in desperate need of finding a great restaurant (preferably near the CN tower) that my girlfriend and I can enjoy when we visit Toronto next week. We are looking for great food so it doesnt matter if its a casual restaurant, a midscale or fine dine.. we are just looking to enjoy great food together. We HAD decided on The Fifth Grill, but unfortunately the night we are in town it is privately booked. Oh and the wife is kind of keen on desserts aswell ;) If you have any suggestions we would LOVE your help.

Thanks

Mike

[Dive4Ever]

If steak is your thing, Bardi's on york st. try the rib app. prices are fairly steep but great food

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Bardi's
56 York St., Toronto, ON M5J 1S8, CA

[justpete]

C'mon, Bardi's? That place is horrible. I'd rather go to The Keg.. and I despise the Keg.

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Bardi's
56 York St., Toronto, ON M5J 1S8, CA

[Dive4Ever]

Really? We have not been in two years because of kids, but we used to go at least twice a month for years and never once found it to be anything less than perfect. Has ownership or the chef changed? if so, I would be greatly disappointed.

[justpete]

I'm not certain.. the SO dragged me there a few months ago, and it was terrible. Coincidentally, I even had the rib app, which was actually pretty good - not great, though, but probably the thing I liked most. My steak was over-done, the quality pretty poor, I'm pretty sure whatever vegetables I had were from frozen - I'd rather spend a bit more and go to Jacob's and Co, or any number of the other steakhouses that are in that general vicinity.

[num nums]

If food and desserts are equally important, then Beast is a good option. It's a bit more west of Marben/Le Select.
http://thebeastrestaurant.com/

[bytepusher]

+1 on beast, the wife of the couple that own it is also the pastry chef and I think she is arguably the best pastry chef in the city.

[justpete]

As compared to whom? (not being inflammatory, just curious)

[bytepusher]

Obviously I haven't recently tried the output of every pastry chef in the city to build a comprehendive comparison but of the meals I've had over the recent months her stuff seems to stand out for depth of flavors in particular. One doesn't always get to know the names of the pastry chef but some of the places on the comparison list would be Gilead (I asssume Dawn), Globe & Cowbell. All good stuff to be sure just a notch better at Beast.

That said we don't often order desserts unless they are part of a prix fixe

[atomeyes]

welcome to Toronto. lots of good food.
you'll see the same names popping up, depending on what you want for food.
but closeish to the CN Tower?
Marben (closest)
Black Hoof ($10 cabride)
any place on Ossington is relatively close (30 min walk or $10 cabride).
Origin isn't insanely far either ($15 cabride)
Nota Bene is a 15 minute walk.
lots of options

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Marben
488 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 1E5, CA

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

The Black Hoof
928 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J, CA

[TorontoJo]

Marben or Le Select would be my choices for walking distance. If you're willing to take a cab, your options open up exponentially, since downtown Toronto isn't that big.

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Le Select
432 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5V1E3, CA

Marben
488 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 1E5, CA

[mlachapelle]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. What's your take(s) on Sotto Sotto?

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Sotto Sotto Restaurant
116 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R2H4, CA

[TorontoJo]

Stay away from Sotto Sotto, unless you are rich or famous, or unless you want to be sneered at for not being rich or famous.

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Sotto Sotto Restaurant
116 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R2H4, CA

[justpete]

Sotto Sotto participates in Summerlicious.. I highly doubt it's that pretentious?

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Sotto Sotto Restaurant
116 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R2H4, CA

[Herb]

Oh, it is.