Great meal last night at 'The Nose'! The restauarant has a great vibe and equally good food.

My gf and I did some small plate sharing which was an excellent way to go as it allowed us to try multiple veggie friendly dishes.

Will def'n go back, and partake in the Carne section of the menu. BTW - The Sexy Duck is now The Sexier Duck :) Not sure what the difference is, but i do plan on ordering it next visit.

Thank you all! Love the suggestion especially the non-meat ones for my veggie friend. I'm quite the carnivore so it should be fun tonight as I'm open to ordering more meat free dishes....now if only I could convince her that if it doesn't have legs it's veggie friendly....

Going to Gio Rana's tonight for first time. Tried to find their web-site to peruse the menu, but no luck.

Looking for suggestions as to what to order. I eat everything, my friend is a vegetarian.

Thanks!

Barrio sounds excellent! Very much like a number of the places I love in the west end...

Thank you! Going to make a reservation for this Saturday!

We figured it was those 'dreary townhouses' that were the reasoning behind the extremly strict liquor licence. It's somewhat frustrating (and I'm sure more so for the owner) as even with an 'at capacity' patio the noise was very low and IMO not a nuiscanse to neighbouring residences. Having lived in the west end for 10+ years (Annex, Little Italy & Parkdale), it's very common to have restaurants, bars and lounges with patios open late with houses right around the corner.

Went there around 10:30PM on Friday. Beautiful evening for an after dinner patio bevy....just not at Ceili Cottage. Why you ask? Extremely low patio capacity...think empty tables that can't be utilised because of there liquor license. If this was not enough to deter, the 11:00PM (curfew) would suffice.

It should be called Cinderella's Cottage as at the stroke of 11, everyone is ushered inside (or asked to leave) as the patio turns into a pumpkin. That being said, even Cinderella got to have fun until midnight! ;-)

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! After countless atempts to make a reservation at Leslie Jones (phone was never answered), we decided to wing it and ended up at The Real Jerk. Having been there before I knew the food would be good and the atmosphere lively.

Made a huge mistake by attempting to try for after dinner bevvies at Ceili Cottage. It was a beautiful evening and upon arrival around 10:30PM was quite surprised to see open tables, although a little confused by the lack of chairs. As previously mentioned in this post, we were advised by the very nice and apologetic hostess that due to an extremeley low patio capacity they were no longer able to seat anyone else on the patio. We thought since no one was in queue we might wait a bit to see if anyone left. In mentioning this to the hostess she once again passed on some surprising news...the patio closes at 11PM. At that point they usher everyone inside. At this point we leave as even the hostess said 'you can have fun, just not here'. Of course it was 'tongue in cheek', but I'm also thinking that there was a lot of truth to it. I can't even imagine what the queue would have been like inside to get a drink. Hopefully this will get sorted out, as the patio was in a great location (near my house) and the neighbourhood could really use a patio alternative to the Joy Bistro.

Anyways we ended up at 'Lion on the Beach' for a quick pint and then back to the best outdoor space we could think of for great drinks and service....my backyard :)

LOL....Dairy products and Beer not such a good combo.

Thanks for everyone's help in putting a name to the place. Will be checking it out sometime in the future...

Thank you both. I have another 'post' where I was looking for a resto reco for this Friday. As a fairly recent 'East Ender', I'm still figuring out where the good eats and drinks are. Ceili Cottage was mentioned, but it appears that they're still going through some newbie growing pains. I think I'll wait for the issues to hopefully stabalise as there's nothing worse than sitting on a hot sunny paito and waiting 30+ minutes for a cold pint. Ok, maybe there's worse things, but not many.

There appears to be a new pub/bar on Queen East in the Leslieville area. It's on the south side and has a front patio which if I recall correctly had a low wooden fence. The building itslef is set back and appears to be a converted garage or small warehouse? I was going by quickly and seen a 'beer branded' sandwich board and some tables and chairs on the patio. Wasn't able to see any signage or indication that it was actually 'open'.

Anyone have any info on this place?

Ceilid Cottage sounds really interesting...maybe not for this Friday, but most def'n as a place to check out with my BF. We love cask ales and if they have London Pride, they might as well consider us regulars :) Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I can't wait to finally start checking out some of the neighbourhood spots.

BTW - Failed to mention that I also ate at Joy Bistro. Was not a very joyful experience. Had the Steak Frites and it was probably the worst I've ever had.

Thank you!!!!!

Being a fairly recent East-Ender (moved from the College W. area a few months ago), I'm still fairly lost when it comes to having any knowledge of the restaurants in the East End. I've been to EL for brunch (fantastic) and of course had some take out from the Goof but other than that I've been pretty domesticated and doing the whole 'cooking at home thing'.

This Friday I'm taking one of my best GF's out for dinner and rather than head back to my old hood which I spent 10 years eating my way through, I'd like to support a local restaurant in my new hood.

What I'm hoping for is somewhere with consistently good food and fairly reasonable prices. A prix fixe menu would be great but not a must. Ambiance in the way of a nice patio or just an overall good vibe would be welcome as it is a birthday celebration. As for location, looking for restos East of the Viaduct, West of Kingston Rd. and South of Danforth. Hopefully that isn't too limiting! :)

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

I disagree completely on Sous Dal. After just coming back from 2 weeks in NY, in my opinion Sous Dal still serves what I find to be a mighty tasty cocktail. This is not based on one drink....more so based on trying the majority of their cocktails over the period of 8+ years. Just my opinion.

Here's my suggestion svergeg, take the Spadina Streetcar up to Harbord St. This is only a few block and a short trip. Here you will find Harbord Room, which has already been recommended, by many and which is one of my favourite restaurants. The vibe is great, the food is stellar, and the cocktail menu extensive and well executed.

Please do not go to Eat My Martini, although the cocktails may be $1 cheaper than other places the drinks are exactly that...cheap. I second (or is it third?) Sous Dal which is on College St. just south of Harbord. If you go for an apres dinner cocktail, you'll get to walk through Little Italy at night which is always an experience. Thankfully Sous Dal is not as 'sceney' as most places on the College St. Strip and I can attest, having lived in the area for years and spending many an evening and $$$ at Sous Dal that they serve some mighty fine cocktails.

I'd also suggest Julie's which is charming and serves Cuban inspired tasty dishes, and The Roxton.

Pizza doesn't have to be Grimaldi's. I was just getting overwhelmed with all the other posts regarding Pizza, so thought it would be best to just pick one and stick with it! If there are any other suggestions, i'd be happy to have them :) That being said, I realise it's much discussed/debated on this board and I can always refer to the existing posts :)

Thanks again :) It's great to know of some places for next week, as I'll be dining alone most nights.

Thanks FDR!! I think the walking is a great idea as I also plan to go to the little Ice Cream place near Grimaldi's, I don't know the name but it's supposed to be very good.

My BF flew in last night, so I think we'll go to Acqua which sounds right uo our alley :)

Hello All,

Day 5 here and all I can say is TGIF!!!! On a food note though, I've been to Stone St. a few times as it's very close by and the workdays have been long. Popped into Adrienne's last night around 10ish and ordered the 10inch Margurette (sp?) pizza which was a nice light choice. Cooked perfectly with fresh ingredients, it was the perfect choice for a late night dinner. That being said, I'm looking fwd to my trip to Grimaldi's this w/e for what I've heared is too die for pizza. After last night's late dinner I popped into Ulysses (again, sp?, sorry) and was quite impressed with the number of beers on tap. The music and scene was not really to my taste (think bad music and worse drunken dancing but the beer was delish! Planning on doing more exploring this w/e!

Thanks goodness we finally have some sunshine :)

Thank you all for the suggestions! I will try to fit in as many as I can :) Really appreciate your help, and should any of you ever find yourself in Toronto, feel free to message me and I'll hook you up with some great restaurants! :)

I'm in NY for the next two weeks on business, and although I'm staying in the Financial District I'm willing (and happy) to explore outside of it in the hopes of finding some great little restaurants.

At home I tend to enjoy restaurants that have a funky or low key vibe. Not so much for the high-end places, as I tend to like to relax after work and I'll also be dining alone :( I love the restaurants that are under the radar. The one's that when you find them, you're wanting to share but also wanting to keep a secret.

Food-wise I like it all and have no dietary restrictions.

Open to all and any suggestions :)

Cream cheese, and it was topped with strawberries! Mmmmmm. 'As per my BF'.

Thanks JungMann for the link, but not the restaurant. That being said, it may be an option if we can't put a name to the place we're looking for.

Thanks :)

Toronto Chowhounder here, looking for help in finding the name of a restaurant my BF went to in NY a few years ago. It was a restaurant in Greenwich that served amazing stuffed toast and the meal included 1 or 2 cocktails. He really enjoyed it, and seeing how we'll be in NY this upcoming w/e, I'd love to go there (wherever that is) for Sunday Brunch.

If this restaurant sounds familiar, or if anyone knows of a restaurant that serves a similar 'package brunch', I'd love to know the place!

Thanks much!

I'm intrigued by it as well. I've just moved to the East End after 10 years of living and eating my way through the west end. Am really looking forward to discovering some great food in the area.

I am a big fan of the romantic, intimate dinners. I have two suggestions that fit your requirements.

La Pallette

Harbord Room