Big Fat Burrito in Kensington!!

Or, perhaps, this is one person's version of his perception of an unsatisfactory meal. I've been to Tati and I've enjoyed myself thoroughly, on more than one occasion. I wouldn't let this one review turn me away from this or any other restaurant. I've gone to places that have received rave reviews and hated it...and vice versa. I like Tati. Others might not. That's okay.

That's what the food looks like, from what I remember. However I find that most everything looks better with good lighting and an expensive digital camera. The colours are more saturated and intense.

Bibiche hasn't moved yet. They're still open in their current location for a few weeks but will be opening in the Beach shortly thereafter. It's where Otabe used to be -
2326 Queen St. East, on the north side, just before the Neville Park loop. Cute little
space. Now there's a reason to go the the Beach!

I second Bibiche! It's a space so out-of-the-way that you might miss it, but it's worth a visit. Food is very old school French bistro, very tasty, and the portions are huge. Dinner for two, with wine, is about $80 and the owners are very nice.

Personally I really like Starfish. We go there at least one every two months - have done so since they opened. Chefs come and go at every restaurant, so that isn't a problem. The new chef's cooking is different, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. And yes, Starfish does get busy and staff aren't able to be there for you every second of your meal, but I kinda like that. If I wanted fawning service I'd go to the Keg, or to Splendido if I had an extra $400 that I didn't know what to do with. Finally, I never did get the 100 oysters for $100 anyway. How could you possibly make money on such a promotion? The fact that they discontinued it doesn't surprise me. Doesn't matter to me - I don't like malpeques anyway. Kumos are my fav!

I take to Swan at least twice a month for brunch with the b/f and I've never been disappointed. We usually go early before it gets too busy and, to be honest, wish it was closer so we could go more often. We live in the Beach, so the drive across the city seems a bit decadent considering the price of gas! We just schedule meetings with clients in the west end to make our visits to Swan seem justified.

Big Fat Burrito in Kensington. No question!

I really like Spring Rolls - the Yonge/Bloor location. I always have the Red Thai Curry and think it's quite wonderful. The quality and preparation at the other locations seems to vary...which is unfortunate. I have this dish, at this location, at least once a month and really like it. Just wish they could do something more exciting than iceberg lettuce with catalina dressing to go with the lunch special!

We pick up food from Lahore Tikka at least twice a month (it's Pakistani by the way, not Indian), for the past eight years, and it's always been very good. Sometimes amazingly out of this world! The other places I've gone to here and there, but LT never disappoints.

We had chef Colin Gallacher do a dinner for us once a while back and he was amazing! He's worked at Jump and JOV and the Laurentian Room - amazing guy with a French flair in his food - and he put together a wonderful dinner for us. He sat down with us and helped us structure a dinner that was just right...and his execution was superb! Can't recommend him enough. You can reach him at:
saucecuisine@hotmail.com & his name is Colin.

Great falafel can be had in the Annex. Don't know the name of the place but it's a little slip of a thing right next to the theatre,
on the north side of the street, just east of Bathurst. Amazing & quite cheap as well!

Unless you've been to Celestin for one of these events, please don't say that they treat their guests like "unwanted cattle." I've been to Celestin several times - during Winterlicious and also on a regular night - and I had a great experience each and every visit. In spite of the fact that the seating time was limited during Winterlicious, I never felt rushed or unwanted. You had a great time at Batifole, for example...I did not. However, I'm not going to 'dis them all over the city!

Due to the fact that restaurants scale back on the pricing of their menus during these events they have to make money somewhere. Restaurants are, after all, in the business of making money. Sure, they offer ambiance, good food, service, etc., but at the end of the day if they can't pay their bills...they close. Celestin is one of the best places to go for Winterlicious! Don't fault them!!

Duh...I hit the "catering" button. Ya, there STILL isn't a menu for the restaurant. How long have they been open? Odd way of running a restaurant. I can understand them wanting to catering as well, but if that's the reason that they're in business...why torture everyone else with their "restaurant" offerinngs? Bizarro!

Somehow I got this when I looked for a menu:
http://www.lesliejones.ca/Menu.pdf
But, when I went back later I got the same "coming soon" notice.
And this menu is for the owner's place on Caroline. Interesting.
I don't undertand this place at all.

I've been to Tomi-Kro quite a lot & I've never had a bad experience there. That being said, it's not the place for everyone. It can get quite loud (with people and music, much like Trevor), but I like that so it's good for me. The food is quite wonderful and the service is: there when I need it to be and not when I don't...just the way I like it!

Thanks for that one! Who's to say that it was the waiter who changed it? Often it's the manager or owner who closes off the credit card batch at the end of the night, so it could have been someone else. Why are we (you, not me) so quick to blame the "evil" waiter(s)?

We went once, a year ago last summer, for brunch and I must say that, for a place in a 'hood that is crazy for brunch, they didn't really have any brunch-like
items. What we did have was tasty, and the service was nice, but that's it. This past summer we tried to go back for brunch (having forgotten any details of our previous visit), looked at the menu and decided to keep moving. Met the owner outside & he seemed like a great guy...but I don't get what they're doing here! I just checked the website, and they've finally uploaded a menu, but under "events" they still have something listed from 2006. Can't believe they've been open that long!

www.lesliejones.ca

I hate to agree with you, because I used to love the place, but things certainly had changed at Barrio. Perhaps they're closed for renovations?

Rob, what an amazing idea! Some customers think that they can never, ever do anything wrong and they actually go out of their way to look for problems so that they can justify leaving less of a tip. Or, said in a different way: many people just aren't that nice. It's really just a semantics game:
"Do you require change?" vs. "I'll be right back with you change." Either one seems fine. I'm starting a new thread as well: People who have nothing better to do with their time than look for things to complain about!

Wow, I can't believe all of the bad feedback. My man and I went to Trevor last night on a whim and had an amazing time. The place was packed and we didn't have a reservation but we were able to secure a spot for two at the bar. Hostess was very sweet, took our coats and gave us a coatcheck ticket for later. Servers were obviously busy and the place is quite loud (which I like - don't want to hear people crying about having to wait a few minutes for a table), but we don't require the kid-glove treatment, so we were quite happy with the attention that we received. Pleasant, informed and too busy to chat with us.

Dinner consisted of cod fritters and frites to start, followed by beef cheek risotto, rare & peppercorn encrusted tuna with a side of asparagus au gratin. We were very impressed by everything (although I prefer the frites at Starfish), and were blown away by the tuna. Would go back again just for that! Can't say anything about desserts because were didn't have any room at all. Can't wait to go back.

Oh, so now servers are supposed to be health professionals as well?
I wouldn't know a diabetic's needs from a hole-in-the wall, nor would I expect any server to know either. I think the issue here is Thuet and their lack of staff. Perhaps they've got a hard time keeping good staff.
That would explain why the few people who ARE there have a difficult time keeping up with things. A place like Thuet, that charges as much as they do for everything (their wine mark-ups are not exactly friendly to the wallet either), should have well-trained, professional staff who are given the tools that they need to serve the guests properly. I've been lucky there I guess. Our servers were there when we needed them to be, gone when we wanted them to be, and we had a great time.

Yikes!

Glad you called it what it is: a pet peeve. There are others in the world (many of them, in fact) who would be upset were they not offered dessert as soon as their plates were cleared. Some even ask about dessert while the server is clearing: "Do you have a dessert menu?" Wine service - the same thing. Some people want you to pour a full glass for them & think you're "new" if you don't (I'm a sommelier, so I most certainly DO know how to pour wine, thank you very much!!); you can never win. Try not to let pet peeves rule your life!

True. And we both like Starfish, so I won't attempt to you irritate you any further!

"Are you still working on that?" If people would learn to put their knife and fork at 4:00 when they're done with their meal that "annoying" question would never have to be uttered again. Please people - learn how to dine!!

More than 100 comments...wow! Don't we have more to worry about? What's wrong with a server asking if you need change? I used to serve tables in a very, very busy place & it just saved steps. Thankfully I never had a negative reaction to this innocent question. "Do you require change?" Yes or no, then get on with your day. How about we start a thread on customers who look for problems when they go out!

OMG! BBB?!?! Don't go back. End of story. Don't waste any more time on this!

I've always had a great time here! Food is stellar, and the service has always been pretty good. When we go out we're not there to make friends, so we don't expect much more than someone who doesn't drop stuff on us. Never understood people who need a server to bond with them, hold their hand and walk them through the entire menu. Puhleeze.