Thinking of going to Splendido for Thursday dinner ... still good?

[RCC]

We're coming in from NYC. It's been years since our last visit at Splendido but the wife and I enjoyed our dinner then. How is it these days?

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Splendido
88 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1G5, CA

[wherejessate]

Was just here over the weekend and had a fantastic time. Although the menu prices have dropped, this certainly hasn't translated to the service. The service is top notch and the food was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the lamb shoulder, which was just fall-apart tender.

[akhorasanee]

My husband and I were here tonight and the shrimp appetizer, linguini app and lamb shoulder were simply fantastic! Since my neither of us eat pork they were wonderfully accommodating and substituted all pork items with larger helpings of the non-pork items....I truly loved my dinner and experience here!!!

[RCC]

Thanks to all that responded here. Great info.

[pantone]

I was just there last week and can't recommend it enough. In particular during August they have a tomato tasting menu ($99) with optional wine pairings ($45 -- I think that is great value for the wines included) that was out of this world. The service, the food, the attention to detail...we were delighted by the experience and had a really lovely night. Also for the month of August I think they are waiving the corkage fee. Oh and a tip—ask for a table at the window in the bar area, I personally prefer it to the main dining area—it's beautifully designed, I like the action around the bar and the view out to the street is fun as well.

[jlunar]

Echoing everyone else. Still really excellent. Had a super meal about two weeks back now. The pork belly + Shrimp dish on their tasting menu sooooo good.

[justpete]

I had that the other day too. Fantastic!

[estufarian]

A little less formal than it used to be - but still one of the best places in town.
On second thoughts, probably THE best!

[justpete]

I would enthusiastically agree with that sentiment - THE best.

[atomeyes]

Its funny...I've been putting it off for years for 2 reasons:
1. its menu never seems to wow me
2. it ain't cheap.

Thanks to DiningDateNight, I've booked a reservation (at 30% off!) for Tuesday night!

[jlunar]

that site's awesome, eh?

[hounding4chow]

Are there any catches to DDN? Just signed up for it and don't fully know how it works. You have to make your reservation on their site, pay $10, and then get 30% of your entire bill (alcohol included)?

[TorontoJo]

No catches. It really is that awesome. 30% off entire bill, including alcohol.

[atomeyes]

just wondering if the Free Corkage also applies to DDN. anyone know?

[waydowntown]

Awesome indeed, and so is DDN's help/support.

In the process of cancelling a reservation because of an emergency, I ran into a technical problem (caused by the tech at my end, not at DDN's). Jeff, DDN's support person, communicated with me promptly, courteously, and extremely helpfully. Plus he followed up to make sure that all problems were resolved. If that level of attention and reliability is indicative of the DDN plan as a whole, I'm all for it.

I will definitely be rebooking through them as soon as possible. What a great opportunity to try out some venues that I too have been putting off because of the prices.

[justpete]

I don't think Splendido is significantly more expensive than other good restaurants in Toronto - maybe 25% or so. It's not unusual for my SO and I to go to Splendido and spend less than $150 before tip - for 2-4 glasses of wine, a cocktail perhaps, an app and a main each, and dessert each.

Take away the wine and the cocktails, and you're at somewhere just over $100. It really just depends what you order, and if there's alcohol involved.

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Splendido
88 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1G5, CA

[RCC]

Whether Splendido is cheap or not cheap, 30% off is still 30% OFF.
I'm interested in knowing if I can use the DiningDateNight for our dinner on Thursday. I googled the site and just got to "$10 for 30% off" login page. What's the catch?

[justpete]

I'm not contesting that. Relax. I'm merely stating that it's not much more expensive than other restaurants in Toronto - re: "It ain't cheap" - and, I might add, in some cases, Ie George, H60, it's less expensive.

There doesn't appear to be any catches - that question was already posed.

[jlunar]

There's no real catch - but you do need to make your reservation via their site somehow. I assume that's how they know/acknowledge that you've got the DDN discount since there's no print-out coupon or anything. You just mention it to the server/host when you arrive.

[TorontoJo]

You have to book your reservation through DDN itself, and most of the restaurants only offer early (6pm) and later (9pm) times through the site. That's the only "catch".

[bluefirefly]

I was just writing this up when you posted. You could technically say that there IS a catch - in that there are restrictions as to the dates that you can use the discount; some restaurants have availability during the weekdays only, others include weekends. Also, there is a certain time period that you need to make and use your booking - usually within the 2-3 weeks that the restaurant deal is offered, so it's not like you can book and use it 6 months down the road.

[RCC]

Appreciate the repllies and the additional information. That's defnitely a "catch" for us, and it wasn't mentioned/posed before, as we want to start dinner between 6 and 9.

[akhorasanee]

for splendido most times are available with the exception of 8-9 so 6-7 and 7-8 are available. I just made a reservation for tomorrow through DDN

[RCC]

So I logged in to DDN. Why am I not seeing anytime between 5:30 and 9:00 pm that you say you are seeing? The available times that are offered for Aug 18 are 5, 530, 9, and 930.

[TorontoJo]

I just looked, too, and I also don't see any reservations between 6 and 9.

[akhorasanee]

My apologies, I realize I booked for 9, I seem to have gotten confused with my booking for simple

[JennaBean]

The only thing I've found with DDN is that the nights are limited and you can't book too far in advance.

[justpete]

It's not "still good", it's better. It's just lost a bit of it's 'stuffy-ness'.

[CocoaChanel]

I agree. Still excellent, now with "less stuffy"

:)

[justpete]

hahaha. Brilliant.

[foodyDudey]

It is still one of the top restaurants in Toronto but the previous chef and partner (David Lee) is now at Nota Bene.