Good Dining In Toronto (Berr Too)
 

"Berr" should obviously be "Beer"!

We'll be in Toronto 4 nights/3 days later this month - and would appreciate some restaurant suggestions.

Our hotel - Park Hyatt - is in Yorkville. We'll probably be spending 2 days in the general "downtown" area seeing the usual tourist stuff (Art Gallery of Ontario - Distillery District - etc.). Also 1 day at the zoo or the Ontario Science Center.

Our big meal of the day is usually lunch. I've made one big deal dinner reservation (Shoto) - but otherwise haven't made reservations. We have the world's worst Chinese food where we live - so we'd really like a decent Chinese meal or two (maybe dim sum lunch?). We eat almost everything. Except I don't eat Thai food (problems with fish sauce) - and we're not big beef eaters (so no steak houses). We always like to explore places that specialize in local ingredients/cuisines. And I love great desserts (have a big sweet tooth :)).

So lunch recommendations in the "downtown tourist areas" and dinner recommendations in the Yorkville area (perhaps within walking distance of the hotel or a short cab ride away) would be appreciated.

Money really isn't an object (but we don't insist on spending a lot of money either ;)). We do like restaurants with full bars at dinner. My husband and I are in our 60's - well-traveled - experienced diners. We're not stuffy - but a restaurant that plays super loud indie music isn't our idea of a good time either. We'd like to experience some good flavors of Toronto :). Also - my husband likes to explore local beers (he's a "hop head"). So if there's a place with decent food and excellent local brews - that would be a place we would try. Robyn

No local brew but my favourite Dim Sum downtown is Lai Wah Heen at the Metropolitan Hotel on Chestnut. Excellent high end dim sum but no beer. Good dinner as well. About 2kms from Pk Hyatt. You can take TTC Subway from Museum stop south for two stop to St Patrick and it is one block east and half a block south. Taxi should be about $10.

If you had rental car there are other recommendations for Chinese in the burbs.

(I have Dim Sum lunch twice a week in Toronto, more when I am in Hong Kong)

Should you decide on dinner one evening, my favourite Italian upscale place is less than a minute away from the Park Hyatt, Fieramosca Trattoria. www.fieramoscatoronto.com

Ask to be seated in Giancarlo's section and tell him his Edmonton golfing buddy recommended him and the restaurant!

I can't help as much on the food front. Beer on the other hand, I'm all over. It is also worth noting that if a place you want to go to in on the Subway line it will be at most about 30 minutes from Bay where you are staying.

For beer, try:

Bar Volo (Yonge and Dundonald), half a block from Wellesley station. Great local micro selection and very cheap pints on Tuesday nights.
C'est What? (Front near Church), a couple of blocks from King or Union station. Tons of Ontario micros on tap and cask. Really good.
Beer Bistro (King near Yonge), best bet for beer and food. A little pricey but a nice collection of beers from around the world and solid food.
Against the Grain Urban Tavern (Chorus Quay), great patio next to Sugar Beach. Good bear selection and decent food but go for the nice outdoor atmosphere on the lake.
Bellwoods Brewery (Ossington between Dundas and Queen), probably Toronto's most exciting brewery. Great patio and even better beer. Take the Dundas or Queen car to Ossington then walk a couple of blocks.


In terms of food things. I always need to get a Peameal Bacon Roll from Carousel Bakery at the St Lawrence Market. I enjoyed Globe Bistro (near Broadway station) on my last visit. For Chinese there are some great options. Haven't done Dim Sum on my last few visits so I'll leave that to others but I do enjoy the northern Chinese at Traditional Chinese Bun (Dundas and Kensington). Shoto should be good. I also enjoyed the Noodle Bar if you feel that way inclined.

Lai Wah Heen used to be excellent, but has recently changed hands. I haven't been there since, so I don't know if the quality has been affected.

There are two good places for dim sum close to your hotel: Dynasty, which is on Yorkville (and next door to my apartment building), and Crown Princess, which is a couple of blocks south on Bay St.

I'm a regular at C'est What, and the beer selection is very good - almost entirely Ontario micros. Plenty of hoppy beers available, and many of the staff are quite knowledgable. If you have mobility issues though, you should note though that it's in a basement, and you'll have to walk down stairs to get to it.

Thanks for all these suggestions :).

Peameal bacon - that's a new one for me. Looked it up - sounds tasty.

http://peamealbackbacon.com/

When it comes to dim sum - I assume all of these places are "lunch only" for dim sum (couldn't tell one way or the other after reading some reviews). Also seems like Dynasty is perhaps the only dim sum place with carts (hard to tell whether it has carts now after its move). Does anyone know whether it has carts? It's been so long since we've had dim sum that I'd prefer a place with carts (since I've forgotten the names of some of the things I like).

Note that my husband does have some mobility issues (he walks with a big leg brace and a cane). But he can get up and down stairs as long as there's a handrail or similar. Robyn

None of the 3 dim sum places mentioned has carts - you tick off what you want on a menu. Dynasty stops serving dim sum at around 3pm, but I'm not certain about the others.

The stairs at C'est What have sturdy handrails. If you're there before 4pm, say hi to Joan - she's been working there since it opened, 25 years ago this year.

Cart has gone by the wayside with some of the smaller sqft'age premises due to cart is aisle takes up room which can be use for additional tables.

My non-cart preference is by the time the cart gets to you the dim sum is no longer "steaming" hot. BUT I have to agree with the charm of the carts and the WYSIWYG experience.

Some of the suburb Dim Sum places still have carts.

+1. Joan is fantastic even if she can be a little acerbic (when you deserve it). Just repeat after me - "I'll have a pint of Hop Addict on cask thanks". :D

You should make a reservation for dinner at Le Paradis on Bedford Road, which is about twenty minutes on foot from your hotel. Excellent food and service in a place you would not know about. Very French in a way that is not pretentious. Always busy so don't plan on dropping in - and it's a nice walk. Dim sum places are competitive on Spadina but the real Chinese area has moved north to Markham and the food followed. The best variety can be found at Rol San but I'd prefer a regular meal at Asian Legend or New Sky.