Now THAT I would be interested in, I think I could round up possibly 7 people, but they might not be too keen just at the moment now that the weather has warmed up, more interested in outdoor light dining, thanks for the advice.

Wow, either style of lechon sound great to me - I will seek out!

Table 17 in Leslieville has amazing frites - but I suggest you dine early when they are fresh - and get the aioli to dip them in! - the steak is a bit chewy, I'd suggest getting it just past medium rare.

I would avoid all meat and poultry if you are concerned about antibiotics in the feed used in intensive livestock farming, or the farming practices in general.

How about a Cabernet, followed promptly by that cab :)

Thanks for that tip, I see a Philipino place has opened in Chinatown East so I'll drop in and see what I can find.

Thanks, yes I've often looked at the Chinese bbq pork but I was hoping for something without stuff like 5 spice seasoning. Is it even possible to buy the kind of pork that produces crackling? Everything seems so lean these days and skin is never seen.

I would stay away from Le Select - it's a chain like Disneyesque French bistro - it's all about the décor, and the rudeness, and the food is mediocre.

Recently dined in Dublin at Lgueulton on Fade Street and had an amazing pork dish with great slabs of pork crackling - it was so delicious I didn't wash my teeth for days!. Do any Toronto restaurants offer SERIOUS pork crackling with their pork dishes?
http://www.lgueuleton.com/pages/menus...

Some comments....
Ascari has nice home made pasta but it's a very LOUD place.
Bonjour Brioche for brunch is 1,000 times better than Lady Marmalade, and theirs is one of the best baquettes in town.
Sushi Marche is geared for take out - I don't like the crude way the fish is cut nor the bulky chunks of rice.
For sweet treats try Bonne Journee (Queen just west of Coxwell).

Charles, the first thing I do after checking in to my hotel in London is to go curry hunting! Living next to Little India here in Toronto is so sad, because the food is such a let down compared to London where I lived for 5 years and ate myself silly on amazing curries - I even remember that some places used to garnish their rice dishes with real silver - (this was before the price of silver shot up and made photography and x-rays so much more expensive).

Table 17
Paulette's Fried Chicken
Shore Club

Lunch only May - September only, but well worth it for food, price, service and the wonderful historic room - Osgoode Hall, Queen West at University.

I mean no disrespect to you or any other posters but it really makes me laugh that so much debate is happening, and so much money is being spent on TACOS! All the hundreds of street taco stall guys in Mexico City, where I learned to love the taco because it was so fresh and so CHEAP, must be having a giggle over this, and no doubt plotting some way to get up here before the taco fad fades.

+ 1 Scaramouce
+ 1 Chiado
+ 1 California Sandwiches (only the original Claremount Street location http://www.californiasandwiches.ca/claremont.html
)+ 1 queen Margueirta Pizza
+++ 1 Frida - this place delivers seriously great and interesting Mexican food.

-0 Buster's Sea Cove serves heavy greasy food.

*Try Table 17 in Leslieville. Nice room, great service, excellent food, good wine list, and oysters too!
http://www.table17.ca/

Thanks for the tip about Milo's Pita - can be hard to get to but worth it if it realy has the best falafel!
I must disagree about Frank - took people there for brunch when the Spanish Frida theme menu was on and it was very bad indeed. The classic spanish omlette which should be solid with potatos and garlic and yet silky was a rubbery mess similar to what you'd get in a diner for a tenth the price.

I work at Simcoe and Front and I go to Yuzu on Adelaide for a decent sushi fix.
http://yuzunohana.ca/
If you have the time walk up to Japango on Elizabeth Street (just south of Dundas, half way between University and Bay) it's a tiny place, so you might end up with take out, but I lived on their food for months of lunches when I worked in that area and it was always delicious.

I would vote for Jules or Le Select. Dhaba (having been subected to MANY business lunches there) is not, in my opionion, good, but then I am very picky about quality in Indian food. Have not tried their omelettes. A strange concept in an Indian restaurant.

Nota Bene for sure - I like that you can eat in the bar area for less ceremony and a quicker getaway.
Beer Bistro will blow away any remaining capacity that your ears have for actually hearing anything at RTH! (Although I can't argue about the food)

The Shore Club on Wellington might fit the bill. It's right accross the street from RTH. Service is excellent, room is very comfy and not noisey, food is not spectacular, but competent, do not order the stuffed trout, it seemed to be something that was prepared ages ago and frozen to be whipped out on demand, hotel kitchen style. I liked the oysters, although at 4 bucks each, and they were the tiniest I've ever seen, and at their minimum of 4 per order I think that must be the highest price, ounce for ounce I have ever paid.
A side of mashed spuds would easily feed four people, so don't go crazy ordering expensive sides!
Steaks and seafood are good.

You said it all.
I am also old, and I have lots of money to spend on dining out, and often treat friends who are less well off.
I agree with another poster's comment, I NEVER GO BACK to a place where I had to SCREAM at my dining companions.
Increasingly, my dining dollars end up in my own kitchen where we can speak at the volume that humans are meant to, especially when relaxing over a meal.
Loudness = (overpriced interpretation of cheap ethnic food by skinny ponytailed over tattood George Brown grads wearing ridiculous hats) x (urgency to ignore landlord's demands for rent)
My formula may be off, but I still have full hearing, and intend on keeping it by staying away from ridiculous palces like Grand Electric.
By the way, if you want to try tacos and don't want permanent ear damage, just go to one of the Mexican places on Agusta Ave in Kensington Market.

Can I throw in the question about the origin and quality of the bird? Many of the places mentioned may be using birds raised in disgusting pens, where they are plugged with drugs and growth boosters. This would be the chicken you would be consuming in any restaurant that does not explicitly have a policy of sourcing otherwise. Don't mean to be depressing, but if we could find a place that does wonderful takeout chicken without the guilt - THAT would be great!

I would opt for Biff's because their menu is safe, something for everyone, and you can probably call them in advance to get a deal on a set menu.
The main reason I'd suggest Biff's is that it's the only place downtown I can think of where you won't lose your hearing just by having a meal!

I can vouch for the fact that it is one of the best kept secrets of the Toronto lunch scene. Superb service, excellent food, and what a room! Who needs the Ritz Carlton - we should be celebrating and supporting iconic dining halls like Osgoode.
I will PM you and see if we can meet for lunch there.

I walked in to DEAFENING "music"
Front desk staff were very welcoming and took my coat.
My guests and I decided to head upstairs to our dinner table rather than hang around at the deafening bar where we'd have to YELL at each other.
Lobster Rolls were great, soup of the day was a Thai style thing, it was less than lukewarm, it was very greasy, and it had zero flavour - I sent it back and it was taken off the bill.
Service was well meaning but inept. The main courses came before we had finished our lobster rolls. And get this, the server actually shoved my friend's unfinished appetizer plate across the table with his elbow so that he could put down the main plate. The cutlery went flying. The offer of fresh pepper arrived about ten minutes after we'd started eating.
Lamb Tagine was New Zealand lamb - I was surprised that it wasn't Ontario lamb. The meat was tender, as expected in this treatment, but the dish featured way too much sweetness. There was a red jam like substance smeared on the top. This dish was also served barely lukewarm.
My friends enjoyed their Nova Scotia scalllops and the burger.
Do not order matchstick fries as a side order, they are over cooked, as are the fries which are hideously dark brown.
Overall, way too expensive for what you get, and uncomfortably loud.

I usually find what I'm looking for in Kensingtion Market, there are two stores near each other on Augusta (east side) Perola Supermarket and can't remember the name of the other one, there are a couple of casual Mexican restaurants on the same side of the street as well. Can't comment on what makes Mexican oregano different.
There is also a place in St. Lawerence Market, south building basement, can't remember its name but it's across from the stall that sellls toys and newspapers, on west side of floor, they sell fresh tortillas, mole, lots of dried chillies and spices.

I notice that the menu is practically identical to that of Cinamon Bistro, further west on the same stretch of Queen East in the Beaches. The latter I wasn't impressed by, the curry I ordered lacked the mustard seeds and curry leaves advertised, and every table seemed to have the same lurid orange/red sauce on every dish, so I think the hunt for great Indian food goes on.... (I haven't made it the Copper Chimney yet!)

Has anyone tried this place? Menu sounds very "standard" Indian restaurant fare.

Can you tell us which Indian restaurants in Toronto are better than in London? My oopinion would be the reverse.

Another huge fan of that place, and I've never found anything remotely as good - and believe me I've tried - even trawling around Mississaguga and Scarborough. I used to get the guy to goose mine with fresh green chillies and he'd go next door to buy them. The place was where I had my first ever dosa, what an introduction to an amazing dish. I loved that the potatoes were small chunks, not a sloppy mash like most places, and the mustard seeds were fresh.
I brought many friends there too. No idea where the owners went.
If anyone who loved their dosas can point us to a similar one, please do!