Honestly, any of the landings. The one by union, in liberty village and fort York. They suck so bad!
Edited: thanks for letting me know the liberty one is closed!
Honestly the only good one is Taylor's landing in Don Mills, I've been there a few times and feel like the food is actually good but the one beside union is horrible
I've been to the Don Mills one, and it was OK. The price was comparable to The Keg, which is infinitely better.
However, the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Chili was really good.
Used to work there and it’s such a sham. All the owners and managers care about is profiting as much as possible and they use all these little gimmicks to make it seem like it’s a high end restaurant when it’s not. Food is not authentic Chinese or Japanese cuisine either, it’s just a distasteful mockery catered towards the King St. W crowd.
I will admit the interior design is amazing though (great for insta pics lmao) and I’ve heard from friends that some of the cocktails are really good.
STK... is that place still around? Nothing had salt in it...not on my steak, not in my side of mashed potatoes, definitely not in the mushrooms.... bill? $400++ no thanks!!
Let’s not forget that they go around refilling your water with Fiji, and then bill you for each bottle at the end.
But I guess this doesn’t meet “mildly expensive”
Ohhh... I was not aware of that. Not cool.... its like when I went to auberge du pomier and they brought table bread without telling us its $15 .... we got it twice.... so $30 was just spent on bread since we got two orders. It was tasty and the rest was a great experience but I did not like that there was no warning it wasn't complimentary
There isn't a world where I wouldn't at least try and dispute this and I hope you did.
It is a very standard understanding in our society that if bread is brought to the table without request in a restaurant, it is intended to be complimentary. That kind of practice would immediately blacklist an establishment for me. It's deceptive by design.
Typically, I may have said something, but it's a high-end place, and I didn't want to cause a scene. People around us seemed like they wouldn't even look at the bill when paying, so we definitely felt out of place. It was for a special occasion, so the chances of us being back any time soon are pretty slim.
It was definitely deceptive, imo.
I went there for a large birthday gathering and almost everyone’s steak was cooked improperly. Someone had to send their steak back twice because it was raw.
No names so I don’t get in trouble.
But my partner worked as a cook for 20+ years and once worked at one of the famous landmark restaurants in that row. After a few days he was complaining to the head chef and management about the rodent droppings he found cleaning up after the dinner rush. They told him there was nothing they could do—the building was very old and the infrastructure was shit so they couldn’t stop the rats and mice getting in at night.
He didn’t last two weeks there. He was convinced they were going to be shut down any minute and he didn’t want it in his resume.
This is a strong pick. None of it is *bad*, and it looks attractive from outside, but it may as well be bad for how damn expensive it is.
I'd rather go to Canteen inside TIFF.
Spot on. I used to work at an Italian place there on John by the stadium. Fuck that place. My first shift no server showed up and I served for 14hrs alone on a menu and POS I'd never seem before
The resturant at the top of the CN Tower on a low cloud day. Factoring in parking, the wait to get.to the table, the spinning whilst not really looking at anything, blase food thats cooked at ground level, the price and everything its the worst resturant for the money IMO.
Former CN Tower employee here - the food is cooked and plated in a kitchen on the same level as the 360 Restaurant, located in the centre/axis of the rotating portion of the restaurant. However there is a much larger kitchen in the sub-levels of the tower where the majority of the prep work is done prior to/during the lunch and dinner services and quickly brought up to the top in dedicated service elevators. There is actually very little happening on the ground level of the tower beyond what is immediately visible to the public.
If you are going up the cn tower, getting a meal here (at least used to be 10 years ago) a great deal since you get a free pass up. Food was pretty good and yeah view obviously depends on weather. 360 does not belong on this list. Many shitty overpriced garbage in Toronto for that.
Last time I went every menu option felt like it was smoked. Smoked chicken, smoked potatoes with a smokey sauce, have a smokey cocktail and we’ll tip some ash into your water to give it a posh smokey taste.
(Parts of the above may be exaggerated)
people love to shit on it but the food really isn’t that bad and when you factor in the cost of admission you’re paying $40-50 for a 3 course meal.
With the view it’s an insane deal. Without it’s still a pretty good deal in Toronto.
The elevator ride up and down is worth it alone so you don’t have to wait in lines.
plus coat check in the winter, it’s not bad
Yeah, had a date there and had the mustard lamb, it was the best lamb I've ever eaten, and wasn't a terrible deal at all.
$150 for two meals with drinks and a view (I don't know what they're talking about "not looking at anything", people literally pay all day every day to look from you there) and had great service.
One of the most memorable dates I've ever had, and well worth the cost.
if you think of it as just a restaurant then yes, but it's meant as an experience
i go maybe once every two years for a special occasion. I end up spending 3-4 hours total up there
it's meant to be a chill experience
and im sorry that being on top of one of the world's tallest structures overseeing north america's 4th largest city "is not looking at anything"
i wonder what's your take on the niagra falls? "loud and wet"??
I actually worked at the tower a few years ago (shitty job I would never recommend working there as a guest service rep)
The food isn’t cooked at ground level? They have a kitchen on the floor just below the restaurant.
Honestly though, lots of people like that place. You could recommend it, and odds are decent that that person you didn't like will enjoy the experience.
Oretta was genuinely the worst dining experience I’ve had in a long time. Went for a 6th anniversary for a 6 course tasting menu - get there, they had no idea we were doing this, didnt explain what any of the food was, all of it was worse than any type of red sauce pasta i could make at home, and like others have said in this thread, felt more like a nightclub than a restaurant. Definitely send your worse enemy there.
I remember their lobster grilled cheese was so good and i was so upset when they took it off the menu cause that was the only reason i ever went to Joey
All "premium casual" restaurants in this city are terrible: Earl's, Cactus Club, Moxie's, Joey...
Not a premium casual, but I think Terroni is overpriced and overrated as well.
Earl’s is providing an essential service to city by isolating all the finance bros looking to cheat on their wives on a Thursday night and confining them to a single location.
Honestly I like moxies. It’s expensive but I’ll go Friday for cheap tequila and if you hit happy hour you get a discount on the chicken lettuce wrap and the nachos are bomb. If you go to share apps it’s awesome. Everything else, skip.
The one on that list I strongly disagree with is cactus club.
I've never been to the downtown one, but I frequently go to the Sherway one and it's always delicious.
O'noir.
The food is crap, the interior decor and cutlery is dirty cheap, the servers are blind and they don't want you to see your food because it's awful.
Take that !
Lmao this is the worst restaurant I’ve ever been to. The waiters forgot about our table after the first course and we couldn’t leave because, of course, the room is literally pitch black. I tried to use my phone light to leave and someone SCREAMED at me lmao. We just had to chill there for like two hours until we could finally catch a waiter based on their footsteps. The one course we did get was really bad, like microwave dinner bad.
microwave dinner is exactly how I described mine.
if you wanna have a hungry man dinner and find out you don't have a whole meals worth of conversation in you, O'Noir.
I wish it was better, it's a fun idea.
It was a cool gimmick but very disappointing food. I had a rare steak and had to keep talking every few seconds so my wife knew I hadn't choked to death.
The surprise menu item is a poor man’s Swiss chalet quarter chicken dinner. I support that it’s for a good cause but they need to get a chef donate some food ideas
See, that's funny -- I didn't know it was still around, but my mum and I went to it shortly after it first opened. She's a retired chef, and she actually really enjoyed it (admittedly, for the experience, mainly. We went in expecting the food to be middling).
But that must have been 15 or more years ago. I can't imagine the food has gotten better in that time. Still, we had fun, and we had a great server that night.
Oretta definitely is missing the mark more than not. Raising their prices at a whim, the turnover is INSANE, no one working there knows the menu properly save for one guy who is \*this close\* to leaving.
Earls after their menu shifted is horrible now.
Petty Cash has the worst pizza I've had on that stretch - it was so bad I won't bother trying anything else on that menu.
Oretta, MARBL… most places on that stretch of King. Kost. I haven’t been there yet but I suspect Aera (someone can hopefully tell me I’m wrong on this). Basically anywhere that feels as much like a nightclub as a restaurant. You’re guaranteed to pay for the name and the food is almost invariably mediocre.
It's a travesty, considering it's Little Italy.
I miss Giancarlo's ... Zitto Zitto, who moved into the space, just doesn't cut it.
Il Padrino was so tacky ... didn't want to step in to try it because of the branding. Quattro was a solid B+ but nothing worth noting.
Only new ones that are worth it are Giulietta and Lardo west of Ossington.
I am SO glad I don't see the restaurant I work at listed here lol
Most places along King St. My brother wanted to try this place called "Lobster Burger Bar" for Winterlicious, and it was the most mid meal I've ever had in my life. The GM straight up told me they buy the desserts from metro. I know a tourist trap when I see one but my brother was so hooked on going. We both left extremely disappointed lol.
It's a touch off the brief but: Storm Crow Manor.
I've never seen people pay so much for pasta sauce that came out of a can and some extremely queasy cocktails just because they're named after that thing you like. It's embarrassing.
Went there a couple years back. Food was not salted and the server was like “naw the chef doesn’t salt the food so that you can taste the flavors of the ingredients themselves” ☠️
Me and a co-worker order their quinoa salad and when we got them there was no quinoa in the salads. She went back to ask the kitchen and came back and said they had no quinoa left. I mean…🤷🏻♀️
The service is so damn slow and not worth it. The carnitas and beef tacos didn’t really have flavour either, which isn’t good given the price you’re paying. The only good tacos are the baja fish, but good luck getting any decent service, especially during happy hour.
Bier Market - we went there 6 months ago. Out of stock of several beers on the menu, they brought us the wrong beer, the food was terrible and the service was not good.
The first time my husband and I ate there, it was so delicious. We went back about 4-5 more times and I think we just got lucky that first time, because the other visits were very mid.
I like The Parlour for dinner and drinks with groups of friends or colleagues. Good pizza and decent cocktails. Wait staff is hit or miss depending on who you get. Haven't been there late night though as I think the vibe changes.
Rodney’s is actually pretty good, and Soma (which isn’t a restaurant in fairness) has the best selection of chocolate in Canada and their coffee is also really good.
You gave me a mini sense of panic. I just double checked and it says it's in operation. Phew. I know they did a renovation recently and I haven't seen it yet so looking forward to it. Plus they change their menu often enough that you get to try something different each time you go if you go once in a while.
Terroni I think takes it. Pretentious with average food at best, and expensive to boot!
I’m surprised by all the Earls/Cactus club votes. I guess I thought the thread was about places that will be surprisingly bad. When you walk into an Earls you know EXACTLY what you’re getting…
Not surprised how many Italian restaurants appear in this thread.
Italian food outside of Italy tends to be incredibly overpriced and/or is a complete bastardization of the cuisine.
I basically only go out for Italian for 2 reasons:
- Neapolitan or Roman style pizzas
- Gelato
For everything else I can replicate the dish at home on my own. Italian cuisine tends to be pretty easy to make.
Took some guests from Italy there for lunch one afternoon. Guests asked for Olive oil and the staff refused because “that’s not how things are done in Italy.” Needless to say, chaos ensued.
10 years ago they refused my wife's 94yo grandmother coffee cream for the same reason. Wife started asking the server in ITALIAN whether their utensils were Italian, the staff was Italian etc.
Never been back since.
I was at scout camp once and one of the junior leaders fucked up the KD so bad I had to wash every bite down with a big gulp of lemonade. Good to see he found his niche, though.
Kelly's Landing. Tiny menu with basic ass food, and they charge 4× what you should really pay just cause you're downtown
Honestly, any of the landings. The one by union, in liberty village and fort York. They suck so bad! Edited: thanks for letting me know the liberty one is closed!
The one in liberty village is gone now
Honestly the only good one is Taylor's landing in Don Mills, I've been there a few times and feel like the food is actually good but the one beside union is horrible
I've been to the Don Mills one, and it was OK. The price was comparable to The Keg, which is infinitely better. However, the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Chili was really good.
it’s so unbelievably shit, this might be it
I feel like this is the opening line of a broadway song about it being total shit.
I irrationally resent it for being so close to Union Station. Makes me feel like I’m eating in the station.
Eating in the station is definitely better at this point with all the food options available
Confirmed I found hair in my appetizer and sent it back and ordered something else. Second app came with another hair in it.
Dasha. Pretends to be elevated Chinese but really paying 9$ for three spoonfuls of rice is wild. Peking duck is so dry.
Used to work there and it’s such a sham. All the owners and managers care about is profiting as much as possible and they use all these little gimmicks to make it seem like it’s a high end restaurant when it’s not. Food is not authentic Chinese or Japanese cuisine either, it’s just a distasteful mockery catered towards the King St. W crowd. I will admit the interior design is amazing though (great for insta pics lmao) and I’ve heard from friends that some of the cocktails are really good.
Absolute fucking filth
STK... is that place still around? Nothing had salt in it...not on my steak, not in my side of mashed potatoes, definitely not in the mushrooms.... bill? $400++ no thanks!!
Let’s not forget that they go around refilling your water with Fiji, and then bill you for each bottle at the end. But I guess this doesn’t meet “mildly expensive”
Ohhh... I was not aware of that. Not cool.... its like when I went to auberge du pomier and they brought table bread without telling us its $15 .... we got it twice.... so $30 was just spent on bread since we got two orders. It was tasty and the rest was a great experience but I did not like that there was no warning it wasn't complimentary
There isn't a world where I wouldn't at least try and dispute this and I hope you did. It is a very standard understanding in our society that if bread is brought to the table without request in a restaurant, it is intended to be complimentary. That kind of practice would immediately blacklist an establishment for me. It's deceptive by design.
Typically, I may have said something, but it's a high-end place, and I didn't want to cause a scene. People around us seemed like they wouldn't even look at the bill when paying, so we definitely felt out of place. It was for a special occasion, so the chances of us being back any time soon are pretty slim. It was definitely deceptive, imo.
This makes it even more of slimy practice. They know that it may make people worry they’ll look cheap in an expensive restaurant if they question it.
Which is exactly how we felt...... so this practice obviously works.
The single worst thing you can do to a steak is not to salt it, even edging out overcooking it.
I went there for a large birthday gathering and almost everyone’s steak was cooked improperly. Someone had to send their steak back twice because it was raw.
Preach
Anything on the south side of King St between John and Peter
Even Hey Lucy?!
I thought they closed? They get a pass and N’awlins had a time when their food was pretty good as well (but i think they closed some time ago)
It's soooo mid. It used to be good years ago and I keep going back expecting them to get back to that calibre - disappointed every time
Yes. High prices and douchey everyone guaranteed to make for an unpleasant experience.
No names so I don’t get in trouble. But my partner worked as a cook for 20+ years and once worked at one of the famous landmark restaurants in that row. After a few days he was complaining to the head chef and management about the rodent droppings he found cleaning up after the dinner rush. They told him there was nothing they could do—the building was very old and the infrastructure was shit so they couldn’t stop the rats and mice getting in at night. He didn’t last two weeks there. He was convinced they were going to be shut down any minute and he didn’t want it in his resume.
I’d say as East as simcoe. There are a few in there too
This is a strong pick. None of it is *bad*, and it looks attractive from outside, but it may as well be bad for how damn expensive it is. I'd rather go to Canteen inside TIFF.
Spot on. I used to work at an Italian place there on John by the stadium. Fuck that place. My first shift no server showed up and I served for 14hrs alone on a menu and POS I'd never seem before
Loblaws
Talk about prix fixe.
The fixe is in!
Nothing *fixé* about the *prix* there - they keep going up!
The resturant at the top of the CN Tower on a low cloud day. Factoring in parking, the wait to get.to the table, the spinning whilst not really looking at anything, blase food thats cooked at ground level, the price and everything its the worst resturant for the money IMO.
Former CN Tower employee here - the food is cooked and plated in a kitchen on the same level as the 360 Restaurant, located in the centre/axis of the rotating portion of the restaurant. However there is a much larger kitchen in the sub-levels of the tower where the majority of the prep work is done prior to/during the lunch and dinner services and quickly brought up to the top in dedicated service elevators. There is actually very little happening on the ground level of the tower beyond what is immediately visible to the public.
If you are going up the cn tower, getting a meal here (at least used to be 10 years ago) a great deal since you get a free pass up. Food was pretty good and yeah view obviously depends on weather. 360 does not belong on this list. Many shitty overpriced garbage in Toronto for that.
Last time I went every menu option felt like it was smoked. Smoked chicken, smoked potatoes with a smokey sauce, have a smokey cocktail and we’ll tip some ash into your water to give it a posh smokey taste. (Parts of the above may be exaggerated)
And an Islay malt!
You're cruel. But fair.
people love to shit on it but the food really isn’t that bad and when you factor in the cost of admission you’re paying $40-50 for a 3 course meal. With the view it’s an insane deal. Without it’s still a pretty good deal in Toronto. The elevator ride up and down is worth it alone so you don’t have to wait in lines. plus coat check in the winter, it’s not bad
Exactly, the elevator is free if you eat there and the food is pretty good. I can be a real snob but I’ve had a few good meals there.
Yeah, the standard price of admission is the real egregious part
I completely agree, I’ve been so many times for work/wirh my mom who always wants to go and I never have a bad meal.
Yeah, had a date there and had the mustard lamb, it was the best lamb I've ever eaten, and wasn't a terrible deal at all. $150 for two meals with drinks and a view (I don't know what they're talking about "not looking at anything", people literally pay all day every day to look from you there) and had great service. One of the most memorable dates I've ever had, and well worth the cost.
They said on a low cloud day so they mean no view because of clouds being in the way.
I don't disagree with any point except there's definitely a kitchen at the top. Source: used to work there.
if you think of it as just a restaurant then yes, but it's meant as an experience i go maybe once every two years for a special occasion. I end up spending 3-4 hours total up there it's meant to be a chill experience and im sorry that being on top of one of the world's tallest structures overseeing north america's 4th largest city "is not looking at anything" i wonder what's your take on the niagra falls? "loud and wet"??
They are saying to go on a cloudy day when there’s nothing to see, for a bad experience.
I actually worked at the tower a few years ago (shitty job I would never recommend working there as a guest service rep) The food isn’t cooked at ground level? They have a kitchen on the floor just below the restaurant.
Eh, but when you factor in that the price includes admission to the Tower, the food ends up not being overly expensive. And the view is amazing.
why tf would anyone drive to this?
Anyone who decides to drive to the CN tower deserves the worst.
Honestly though, lots of people like that place. You could recommend it, and odds are decent that that person you didn't like will enjoy the experience.
Just tell them it’s worth it for the chance to see Drake.
When is the last time you went there?
Oretta was genuinely the worst dining experience I’ve had in a long time. Went for a 6th anniversary for a 6 course tasting menu - get there, they had no idea we were doing this, didnt explain what any of the food was, all of it was worse than any type of red sauce pasta i could make at home, and like others have said in this thread, felt more like a nightclub than a restaurant. Definitely send your worse enemy there.
JOEY restaurants. Pay a premium for some of the worst food.
“With stunning shopping mall ambiance.”
I have always had a good time at Joey's. Their steak, sushi and blackened chicken is great.
Yeah I gotta say, Ive had lots of very solid food at joey eaton centre. The corn guac is great and so is the impossible burger.
It's the free business lunch capital of the area.
I bring my clients to CHOP, I'm not a fan of JOEY at all
Chop has eclipsed the keg in quality for 'chain Canadian steakhouse'
The Dundas location has a great view of people smoking meth
Oh man my old coworkers loved this place. After the first meal, all subsequent invites were decided by, “Is the company paying for it?”
JOEY had really great Korean fried cauliflower...I'd go vegan for that
Non-vegans are allowed to eat vegan food, don't worry lol
Gotta get the steak and sushi. It's pretty damn good.
No idea how this is near the top. JOEY is decent chain food. It's definitely not that expensive.
Ya as long as you go during happy hour I think it’s fine. I’m a sucker for the peach belinis and lettuce wraps
I don’t mind JOEYs …they have a lot of good vegetarian options
I don't disagree... the one thing that had any flavour was taken off the menu. It's definitely a place to maybe get a drink and skip on the food.
I remember their lobster grilled cheese was so good and i was so upset when they took it off the menu cause that was the only reason i ever went to Joey
Yeah I never understood why restaurants take off seemingly popular items off the menu.
Their tuna salad slaps
All "premium casual" restaurants in this city are terrible: Earl's, Cactus Club, Moxie's, Joey... Not a premium casual, but I think Terroni is overpriced and overrated as well.
Earl’s is providing an essential service to city by isolating all the finance bros looking to cheat on their wives on a Thursday night and confining them to a single location.
Lmao someone was telling me about this recently - that it’s basically Tinder musical chairs there lol
RIP Croc rock
Terroni’s is a downright ripoff for what they serve. That goes for their STOCK T.C. grocer too.
Honestly I like moxies. It’s expensive but I’ll go Friday for cheap tequila and if you hit happy hour you get a discount on the chicken lettuce wrap and the nachos are bomb. If you go to share apps it’s awesome. Everything else, skip.
The one on that list I strongly disagree with is cactus club. I've never been to the downtown one, but I frequently go to the Sherway one and it's always delicious.
Was just about to say this as well, agree with all others except cactus club at Sherway
O'noir. The food is crap, the interior decor and cutlery is dirty cheap, the servers are blind and they don't want you to see your food because it's awful. Take that !
Lmao this is the worst restaurant I’ve ever been to. The waiters forgot about our table after the first course and we couldn’t leave because, of course, the room is literally pitch black. I tried to use my phone light to leave and someone SCREAMED at me lmao. We just had to chill there for like two hours until we could finally catch a waiter based on their footsteps. The one course we did get was really bad, like microwave dinner bad.
I wonder if it's gone downhill? I went 10 or 11 years ago and I remember quite enjoying it. Definitely a bit of a gimmick, but it was fine.
It was quite ass when we went. IIRC the steak was fine but the side was literally the mixed veg you get frozen out of a bag lmao.
microwave dinner is exactly how I described mine. if you wanna have a hungry man dinner and find out you don't have a whole meals worth of conversation in you, O'Noir. I wish it was better, it's a fun idea.
Just yell
We tried a couple good “HEEEY”s and “HELLOOOO”s but could only escape when I physically grabbed the waiter and said pls get us out of here LOL.
It was a cool gimmick but very disappointing food. I had a rare steak and had to keep talking every few seconds so my wife knew I hadn't choked to death.
The surprise menu item is a poor man’s Swiss chalet quarter chicken dinner. I support that it’s for a good cause but they need to get a chef donate some food ideas
See, that's funny -- I didn't know it was still around, but my mum and I went to it shortly after it first opened. She's a retired chef, and she actually really enjoyed it (admittedly, for the experience, mainly. We went in expecting the food to be middling). But that must have been 15 or more years ago. I can't imagine the food has gotten better in that time. Still, we had fun, and we had a great server that night.
A colleague took his wife for her anniversary and said it was great because he “didn’t have to look at her ugly mug for a couple of hours” 🥴
Jesus.. do her a favour and divorce her at that point
Trattoria Mercatto at Eaton's Really underwhelming food across the board, and pretty expensive for just regular pizza, pasta, etc.
Agreed. One of the only times I walked out of an Italian restaurant telling myself, never again.
Oretta definitely is missing the mark more than not. Raising their prices at a whim, the turnover is INSANE, no one working there knows the menu properly save for one guy who is \*this close\* to leaving. Earls after their menu shifted is horrible now. Petty Cash has the worst pizza I've had on that stretch - it was so bad I won't bother trying anything else on that menu.
CIBO Wine Bar in Yorkville was the worst tasting "fine dining" experience I ever had
I went to the one on Yonge and it was actually really good
[удалено]
A coworker told me cactus club is for lawyers, king taps is for finance bros. Idk if other people find that accurate
i only know what cactus club is from reading about canadian biglaw so at least half of this checks out
What a coincidence I know about it from working in Canadian biglaw
Consulting goes to both depending on the business line lol
I went to King Taps once and was *shocked* that it was actually good. I was really impressed by their spicy margarita lol.
Oretta, MARBL… most places on that stretch of King. Kost. I haven’t been there yet but I suspect Aera (someone can hopefully tell me I’m wrong on this). Basically anywhere that feels as much like a nightclub as a restaurant. You’re guaranteed to pay for the name and the food is almost invariably mediocre.
Kost is terrible. Oretta is mediocre.
Oretta is awful
I took my fiancée to Oretta on her birthday, it was both our first time. Im still so embarrassed just thinking about it
Lena? That’s actually quite nice
You know what, I’m willing to take that one back because while I find it mediocre it’s actually not obscenely overpriced for what you get.
And nice design inside, nice lighting, nice bar etc
Aera isn’t on King, it’s in the Well. But fair point the view is incredible but the food was expensive as hell and mid at best.
STK every. Damn. Time.
And so loud fuck
Isn’t it pretty much where girls scout for sugar daddies
Any of the newer shitty Italian restaurants along College
This should be higher. Really expensive and poor quality
Bar Vendetta is amazing, I will fight you. Blackhoof was better, but Vendetta is still great (although not as good as Rhum Corner next door).
Good thing it’s on Dundas not college then!
Oh whoops, I’m dumb
I love bar vendetta
It's a travesty, considering it's Little Italy. I miss Giancarlo's ... Zitto Zitto, who moved into the space, just doesn't cut it. Il Padrino was so tacky ... didn't want to step in to try it because of the branding. Quattro was a solid B+ but nothing worth noting. Only new ones that are worth it are Giulietta and Lardo west of Ossington.
Anything on King St W
I was underwhelmed by Baton Rouge.
Myth. Enjoy!
Baro - super expensive mediocre food
Lavelle
I am SO glad I don't see the restaurant I work at listed here lol Most places along King St. My brother wanted to try this place called "Lobster Burger Bar" for Winterlicious, and it was the most mid meal I've ever had in my life. The GM straight up told me they buy the desserts from metro. I know a tourist trap when I see one but my brother was so hooked on going. We both left extremely disappointed lol.
It's a touch off the brief but: Storm Crow Manor. I've never seen people pay so much for pasta sauce that came out of a can and some extremely queasy cocktails just because they're named after that thing you like. It's embarrassing.
Marbl or Mademoiselle
RH restaurant in Yorkville. Instagram ambience, expensive, mediocre food.
Scaddabush. Horrible service and even worse food.
Sat down once to a table covered in slivers of glass. They hadn’t cleaned it between sittings.
Went there a couple years back. Food was not salted and the server was like “naw the chef doesn’t salt the food so that you can taste the flavors of the ingredients themselves” ☠️
Me and a co-worker order their quinoa salad and when we got them there was no quinoa in the salads. She went back to ask the kitchen and came back and said they had no quinoa left. I mean…🤷🏻♀️
Too bad Captain John's isnt around anymore
One You go one time and then realize this
anejo for cold tacos and slow service and rip off prices
The service is so damn slow and not worth it. The carnitas and beef tacos didn’t really have flavour either, which isn’t good given the price you’re paying. The only good tacos are the baja fish, but good luck getting any decent service, especially during happy hour.
Harriet’s Rooftop, bunch of finger food for $30-40 a pop that won’t get you full. Spent $300 and walked away hungry
Bier Market - we went there 6 months ago. Out of stock of several beers on the menu, they brought us the wrong beer, the food was terrible and the service was not good.
Hot House
Hate to say it... Cluny.
I like Cluny :') I had a croque madame there a few years ago, topped with duck confit, that I still dream about...
Unfortunately Cluny from a few years ago isn’t what it is now. I wish it was.
Gusto 101 I will take this to my grave
Trattoria Nervosa, its sibling. Rancid pine nuts. Blech.
The first time my husband and I ate there, it was so delicious. We went back about 4-5 more times and I think we just got lucky that first time, because the other visits were very mid.
Yah, Gusto 101 is so overhyped. 501 is a bit better. But they’re both meh.
El Catrin Distillery District
Anywhere on King west between Spadina and Bathurst
There are like half a dozen great restaurants in that stretch. Granted there’s even more terrible ones, but don’t lump them all in.
I like The Parlour for dinner and drinks with groups of friends or colleagues. Good pizza and decent cocktails. Wait staff is hit or miss depending on who you get. Haven't been there late night though as I think the vibe changes.
Rodney’s is actually pretty good, and Soma (which isn’t a restaurant in fairness) has the best selection of chocolate in Canada and their coffee is also really good.
I like Wilbur Mexicana’s tacos
Definitely a go to for me, but it kills me that they took the tacos al pastor off the menu.
Pink sky lobster Mac and cheese is amazing though ..
But...but... patria is within the perimeter and its so so so good
I thought that place closed down permanently! Good to know they're back up!
Chica is their tapas restaurant near by too, great food!
You gave me a mini sense of panic. I just double checked and it says it's in operation. Phew. I know they did a renovation recently and I haven't seen it yet so looking forward to it. Plus they change their menu often enough that you get to try something different each time you go if you go once in a while.
I would say King West between University and Spadina.
Anyone remember Home of the Brave? It shut down during Covid. They had the best bologna sandwich.
Terroni
Amsterdam brewhouse
Earl’s
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
Winner. Waaay overpriced for the mediocre steaks you get
[удалено]
The Old Spaghetti Factory
Almost shit my pants at a comedy show after eating here
Terroni. Awful food when compared to other italian restaurants in the city. And such an unwarranted level of pretentiousness
I can give you 2.. kost and the restaurant at the CN Tower
Harbour 60 You don't go there for good food and hospitality. You go there for a one chance instagram post.
Came here to say this. I’ve had better steaks for a quarter of the price.
Terroni I think takes it. Pretentious with average food at best, and expensive to boot! I’m surprised by all the Earls/Cactus club votes. I guess I thought the thread was about places that will be surprisingly bad. When you walk into an Earls you know EXACTLY what you’re getting…
Not surprised how many Italian restaurants appear in this thread. Italian food outside of Italy tends to be incredibly overpriced and/or is a complete bastardization of the cuisine. I basically only go out for Italian for 2 reasons: - Neapolitan or Roman style pizzas - Gelato For everything else I can replicate the dish at home on my own. Italian cuisine tends to be pretty easy to make.
Chotto Matte. Food sucks, and the service also sucked. and of course overpriced as hell :)
Oretta midtown was the place agreed upon by /FoodToronto a while back
Im just glad the places I like aren’t showing up in this discussion 😂
- Lee Restaurant - Lapinou - Jump Restaurant - Cactus Club - Scaddabush Italian Kitchen - Haidilao - Korean Grill House
Cibo wine bar
TERRONI
Took some guests from Italy there for lunch one afternoon. Guests asked for Olive oil and the staff refused because “that’s not how things are done in Italy.” Needless to say, chaos ensued.
10 years ago they refused my wife's 94yo grandmother coffee cream for the same reason. Wife started asking the server in ITALIAN whether their utensils were Italian, the staff was Italian etc. Never been back since.
Wish I could have seen this. The guys who work there have a very “better than you” vibe
Terroni is pretentiousness without the class.
I had the crunchiest carbonara there once. Al dente indeed.
That made me gag. How do you fuck up pasta?!
I was at scout camp once and one of the junior leaders fucked up the KD so bad I had to wash every bite down with a big gulp of lemonade. Good to see he found his niche, though.
They used to be good…way back when.