First Date with a Foodie

[KippyB]

I've got a first date with a foodie coming up with weekend. He's from out of town so I've got to choose a spot with great atmosphere and food. He's staying in the area of Bathurst/Wellington and I'm in High Park so I'd like something between the two areas. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

[KippyB]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Yes, it is TIFF this weekend so finding a spot that's not uber busy may be a challenge. Between your suggestions here and research I've done on my own, I've got a decent list going. Yum!

[JennaBean]

Keep in mind that you'll need a reso in most of these place. At this point it may be a process of where you can actually get a table over the ideal selection.

[ProFresser]

Guu, at Bathurst and Bloor, is pretty close to equidistant. I've never had anything similar in Ottawa and it's a great spot for an ice-breaker date. As well, the menu at this location has added a lot of my favourite dishes from their establishment on Church. Originally, my complaint with Saka Bar was that the menu was heavily weighted with fried items, but now there are fresher options such as maguro tataki, salmon tataki, and gomai.

[Googs]

I would consider dining outside of the TIFF zone unless you can secure a reservation. Very tough at this time. I further suggest finding out what his fave types of food are and let us know. There are probably a few good places you two can go outside the 'we're ignoring everyone except the celebs' zone.

[num nums]

Beast is very close by to where your friend is staying. Very cozy place. If it's not too cold this weekend, the patio is really nice given it's on a residential street.

[redhead]

second Beast. Iike that it's on a side street and feels relaxed and comfortable but still has an interesting small menu and well executed food.

[childofthestorm]

Black Hoof is more or less halfway for both of you and is about as destination as it gets. Yes, even with Grant gone.

[KippyB]

He's from Ottawa and no, I don't know his fave type of food. I do know that there are no restrictions though. Thanks for the ideas so far!

[JennaBean]

Some options for consideration....

Woodlot - Very warm and inviting. Good food, cozy enviroment and very foofie friendly.

Acadia - Is new but getting lots of love on the board. It too is in the College street area.

Campagnolo - Very cool rustic Italian with a heavy focus on meat. This is on Dundas west of Bathrust

If you want casual Italian I would suggest pizza at Libretto. They dont' take reso so you go give them your name and number and then go have a drink at one of the many places on Osstington.

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Campagnolo
832 Dundas St. W, Toronto, ON , CA

[thepiglover]

Origin - king and church -should be on your to do list - your friend will thank you, I've eaten there five times and each time i can't wait to go back - hope this helps.

[JennaBean]

it doesn't fit the location request and it gets lots of mixed reviews here and elsewhere. there are so many options in the OPs requested area why send s/he off a distance in the opposite direction?

[JennaBean]

Where is he from? Do you know his fav type of food?

[TorontoJo]

Given where he's staying, I would strongly recommend Marben. It's right where he's staying, so it's not half way between you, but it's a great chowhound destination for dinner.

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

[jennjen18]

Marben's doing TIFF this weekend though: http://www.marbenrestaurant.com/calendar
Might get busy?

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

[TorontoJo]

Yeah, totally forgot about TIFF. Sigh.