＊Restaurants＊Cafes＊Diners＊

23 year old with a passion for good food. Toronto and where ever else life takes me.

[downtowneats]

I recently had lunch with my dad as a late birthday celebration, and we hit up an awesome spot we used to go to all the time when we lived in the west end. 

Yumi- 2384 Bloor Street W, Toronto 

Hana Bento- Assorted Shrimp + Veggie Tempura, Salmon + Tuna Sushi, California Roll, Gyoza + Agedashi Tofu and California roll 

I always enjoy the food here, I have since I was 9 when I would only eat the yakitori and cucumber rolls while turning my nose up at my “gross” parents eating raw fish. Now I have come to appreciate the joy of sushi and was impressed with how good their salmon sushi was. I’m not a huge salmon girl, I don’t like it cooked, and can usually only tolerate it in a roll that has enough ingredients to hide its fishiness. These sushi barely had that telltale salmon fishiness and i was actually able to eat them without dying! The tuna was also great but i never have a bone to pick with red tuna, its my favourite. Everything else is your standard fare, delicious and simple. The house dressing they have for the salad is unreal I could eat 10 portions of just salad!

[downtowneats]

A little throwback to my moms bridal shower at the Ritz-Carlton. We went for the “Classic”  afternoon tea service which comes out at $54 per person, which includes your tea, the variety of snacks as well as a glass of prosecco. 

Ritz-Carlton: 181 Wellington St W, Toronto 

Top Left: Mini Lobster Caviar Burger

Top Center: Spinach + Feta Quiche

Top Right: Cured Meat with Camenbert 

Middle Left: Curried Chicken + Apple Cone

Middle Center: Menu for the afternoon

Middle Right: Veggie Wrap

Lower Left: Raspberry Vanilla Macarons + Red Velvet Cupcakes

Lower Right: Passionfruit Panna Cotta                                                                     

C o n t i n u e   R e a d i n g 

I love little finger foods. Something about being able to have so many different items without being super full is just SO appealing to me. While everything was delicious, the real standouts were the quiche, the curried chicken cones and panna cotta. I had to stop myself after two quiches to try and save room for the rest of the food that was coming, but they were so light and flakey, I wanted to die. Food that looks like other food is amazing, so I thought these “icecream cones” of curried chicken, apple and smokey mayo were amazing before I even tried them, and after trying them I was hooked and I am planning on making these for the next potluck I go to! Finally the panna cotta. At this point i was so stuffed and looking at all the little cakes seemed way to decadent until they brought out these little martini glasses full of fruity heaven. Light, just sweet enough and super instagramable, I would come back just for these!

[downtowneats]

A bit over a week ago we had a surprise engagement party for my mom and her fiancé at the Corktown Kitchen. This a a favourite spot of theirs, so much so that they go almost every week and I definitely see why. Both the food and staff are so amazing and it's always a good experience. For the party they did a series of shareable snacks, and here are a few of my favourites!

Corktown Kitchen 354 King Street East, Toronto

Top Left: Sesame Tuna w/Cilantro 

Top Centre: Oysters 

Top Right: Beet Salad w/ Green Onion purée 

Bottom Left: Galbi w/ Kimchi 

Bottom Right: Veggie Cold Rolls 

C o n t i n u e   R e a d i n g  

Ooooh boy, I rolled myself home after this party. Red tuna is one of the few fish I'll actually eat and enjoy and I honestly had at least 5 of those spoons they were that amazing. So fresh with a nice little kick near the end.  The oysters were great, though I'm not super familiar with them so I can;t give a super intense review. Fun tip: Chew them, I appreciate them so much more than when I used to just slam them like a shot .

Even though I detest beets, these little spoons were really bright and fresh so I need to give kudos there. The galbi was probably my second favourite dish, the sauce was perfectly sweet, and the kimchi surprisingly had a decent level of spice and that's coming from someone that puts hot sauce on almost everything. Finally, the fresh rolls which were everything you would hope for, fresh crisp veggies and plenty of sriratcha and hoisin for dipping. Can't wait to come back for dinner soon!

[downtowneats]

This is the little gem is the popular bar for the students at Humber Colleges' lakeshore campus.  

Refinery Public House-3039 Lakeshore Blvd W, Etobicoke 

Top Left- Jalapeño Grilled Cheese sandwich with added brisket +fries 

Top Right- Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese Dip 

Bottom- Chicken and Waffles with Maple Bourbon Gravy 

 Beer- Sawdust City, Pointless Marketing 

C o n t i n u e   R e a d i n g 

First off everything on the menu is $6.95 which is a steal but you have to be careful with that, you can get an order of Crispy Pickle Spears or a Turkey Guac Sandwich with includes a side of fries for the same price. 

Pretzel bites were decent, and the beer dip was good but it had started to separate a little. Since this outing the have disappeared and I don't really mind. 

Brisket Grilled cheese was bomb, but the jalapeños were so spicy my boyfriend had to take the rest of my dinner and leave me with the rest of the sandwich. These were some serious jalapeños and I have a fairly high heat tolerance. 

 The star of the show was the chicken and waffles. At first I wasn't sure about the maple bourbon gravy, as I'm not a fan of bourbon, but after a few bites I was sold. Both the waffles and chicken were super crispy. Most of the flavour came from the graveyard but I'm okay with that. NOW SOMEHOW a few weeks later the swapped the maple bourbon gravy for your regular run of the mill stuff which broke my heart, BUT NOT AS MUCH as coming back about a month after that and it being gone from the menu entirely! 

However the new menu boasts some pretty fantastic editions and it still one of my favourite places for cheap eats after a long day of class!

[downtowneats]

As a girl who thrives on red meat, the fact that I was super stoked to hit up this vegan restaurant may be surprising, but when I heard they had a take on the Big Mac I had to try it out. 

 
Doomie’s- 1263 Queen Street West, Toronto 


Big D Burger- All your usual Big Mac fixings with a side of buffalo fries

C o n t i n u e    R e a d i n g 

Okay here’s the deal. This was good food and I was full without finishing all of the burger or fries so that’s impressive because I always think vegan=grass so how full can you really get. The fries were bomb I don’t know what the “creamy” dressing was made out of but I’m sold.

However though reminiscent of a Big Mac, you can’t really compare the two. The vegan counterpart is missing that grease factor that makes a Big Mac so damn satisfying and slightly regrettable. 
The last thing that’s gotta be mentioned is the horrifying bill. I totally understand that there’s a lot more work going into creating vegan versions of existing animal saturated foods and I did get upgraded fries. I think from now on if I want a pricy burger I’ll be hitting up Burger Priest or Woody’s.

[downtowneats]

Over winter break I was lucky enough to ditch the cold for sand and sun in Florida, where of course we had to make a quick stop at Disney World.

California Grill- Disney's Contemporary Resort 

Top Left- Tuna Three Ways, Sashimi over Watermelon, Tuna Tartar and Wasabi Tuna Maki 

Top Right- Rare Ostrich with Fig, Royal Trumpet Mushrooms and Crispy Potato Croquets 

Bottom Left: S'mores Creme Brûlée 

Bottom Right: Peppermint Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake 

C o n t i n u e   R e a d i n g

This meal was unreal, and I truly wish I had taken pictures of the other food we had- shout out to the Crispy Rock Shrimp salad! To start, I'm obsessed with red tuna, so this app was a dream. The fish was so fresh and the section paired with the watermelon was so refreshing and this is coming from a girl that's can't stand any melon. 

This was my first time having ostrich and it definitely won't be my last. It was so tender and paired with the figs and wine reduction it was so warm and satisfying. Also DEEP FRIED POTATOES, need I say more? 

Finally the deserts. The creme brûlée was very sweet but I swear you could taste the campfire, and the mousse cake was light but extremely rich, so needless to say we all rolled back to the hotel that night!

[downtowneats]

We had an amazing time sampling beer from 20 different Ontario craft brewers at Muskoka Brewery's 20th anniversary party. We hit up the food truck to get some well needed provisions to get us through the night.

Evergreen Brickworks- Fidel Gastro Food truck

Top- Brisket Sandwich

Middle- Pad Thai Fries w/ bean sprouts and cilantro 

Bottom- Two AMAZING craft beer samples

C o n t i n u e   R e a d i n g 

The brisket sandwich was to die for, so flavourful and peppery but the star of the show was  pad thai fries. Bean sprouts on fries has never even crossed my mind but it is such a winning combo. It adds that extra crunch that you didn't even know you were looking for.

I meant to keep track of what beers those were, all I know is that they were delicious.

[downtowneats]

Much needed father + daughter brunch!

CAMP Restaurant 244 Jane St Toronto, ON

Top Left- Breakfast Special- Sweet Italian Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Scalloped Potato

Top Right- Breakfast Panini with Scrambled Eggs, Ham, Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes, Mayo

Lower Left- Broccoli Soup with Fennel and Sesame

C o n t i n e   R e a d i n g

Breakfast was delicious, coffee was warm and strong, and the homey decor and friendly staff made it an awesome experience. My breakfast panini was simple but so what i was looking for. Though it is such an overused concept I will always love when restaurants use mason jars as cups.