Best restaurnats in T.O.
 

Looking for some suggestions for a very nice, good food, restaurant in TO. Price is not an issue. However, we are not steak and seafood kind of people but do like pasta, fish....
Looking for as many creative, and excellent options as possible

If you're into Chinese dim sum, Lai Wah Heen can't be beaten. (It's been described as the best dim sum restaurant in the Western Hemisphere). It's in the Metropolitan Hotel at Chestnut and Dundas downtown.

I appreciate your reply but being more vegtarian type pple I dont think dim sum is for us (but to be fair I have never tried it)

I see. I'm quite the carnivore so I'm definitely not the best source for vegetarian-friendly recommendations, but Indian food is usually vegetarian friendly, and Babur, Annapurna and the Indian Rice Factory are good ones. I cant remember the addresses, but Toronto.com should have the addresses and maps. All 3 are downtown.

Toronto has tons of options for great food. I'm picky about service and food, so here are my top picks.
Mildred Pierce, fancy, great food and a few of different choices on the menu.
Hiro Sushi if you like sushi is T.O's best.
Taro Grill on Queen Street is fabulous and a little bit cheaper.

360 on top of CN tower is good food with a great view. Can be pricey but your paying for the best view, go up just before the sun is to set so you can watch the sunset during dinner.

Jozo's on Davenport to watch the celebrity comings and goings and have a great dinner with a bit of a price tag. The manager Paul is really nice.

or Spuntini on Avenue just around the corner from Jozo's is fab too.

Most restuarants in T.O. have a good choices of pasta's and fish etc so you don't have to worry about what place you go to.
Have fun.

Not sure if you are 100% vegetarian or not, but if you are flexible, then from a culinary perspective here are my picks:

Susur - Susur Lee is the chef and his tasting menu is awesome. The most interesting part is that the courses are reversed. You have your entrees first! Check it out.

YYZ - hails Simon the owner from Mercer Street Kitchen (used to be my favorite). Modern in design and pretty darn good food too.

Boba - near the Four Seasons. Another little gem. Italian definitely, but very modern.

Chiado - Portugese. Another great place. I had a grilled whole fish there that was out of this world.

I would avoid most places around the club areas downtown or near union station. They are decent but would not reach that level of sophistication.

martytravels, do you need reservations for Lai Wah Heen? We are crazy about dim sum, and we'll be in Toronto soon, so we thought we'd check it out. I emailed them to find out their hours, and they asked if I wanted a reservation. I've never made a reservation for dim sum before. Can't we just show up? Thanks.

Since I mostly eat out in my end of the city - the west end. I really cannot recommend downtown restaurants but on the off chance you are in the west end - Queen's Pasta Cafe on the Queensway near Royal York Rd (which BTW is nowhere near The Royal York hotel). Queen's Pasta Cafe has absolutely excellent pasta (some wondeful vegetarian choices). Another restaurant in this area with good vegetarian choices is The Green Mango at Royal York Rd and Bloor St.

JennyL, you should be fine just showing up, except maybe between 7-9 Thursdays-Sundays. Those might be the only times you might want to make a reservation. It is a popular place tho because it has such a good rep.

I would also recommend Biff's Bistro near St. Lawrence Market. Great service, original menu, nice sophisticated ambience without being stuffy.

Jenny, if you decide Lai Wah Heen is to expensive foryou, a bargain alternative is Bright PEarl, on Spadina, a few blocks north of Dundas Stereet, at S.t Anderews.

I took a group of about 30-40 there a few weeks ago, and everyone found it fun, and enjoyed the food.

It worked out to about $10 per person, and everyone was full.

I checked out Lai Wah Heen, because it was closer to where most of the guests were (LWH is across city hall square from the Sheraton Centre Hotel) but it would have been $25-30 each, with a big group.

LWH is a beautiful room, very elegant; Bright Pearl is clean and bright and full of fun.

BAK

BAK

Hi Brijax,

Here are my restaurant suggestions:

San - Korean/Japanese with a lot of veggie options

Airport Lounge - Asian/fusion

Susur - fusion

YYZ - fusion

Mildred Pierce - comtemporary, yummy

Scaramouche - very romantic environment

Xacutti - Indian/fusion

thanks for the feedback. I think we narrowed it down to Susur or Mildred Pierce......

I know you've narrowed it down to 2 very good restaurants but I thought I would mention...The Pasta Bar at Scaramouche is where I always take out-of-town guests. The view is lovely and it has a wonderful ambience from the moment you drive (or cab) into the Courtyard area and the valet takes your car or opens the door. We also always impress clients when we take them to Sotto Sotto. The atmosphere is unique, the place is fun, and the food is great.
Lastly, I'll mention a new restaurant I checked out on Saturday night, Bymark. It is stunning. You can go for drinks inside or outside or stay for a very expensive dinner. It is owned by Mark McEwen, of North 44.

bonlou30
Thanks we love pasta bar and Sotto Sotto just looking for something new to try. So do you think Bymark is the place to go??

So, of mildred pierce, Bymark or Susur which is the most romantic (if any) ???
Need to book this ASAP!! As in tonight for this w/e!

Thanks for all the feedback and ideas

Brijax--just looking at the Canadian thread and happy to find a posting on something about which I'm not entirely ignorant. Susur's and Bymark are NOT romantic, but foody-places for gourmands with big cheque-books; Mildred Pierce is a little more intimate with great service and a much smaller tab (try half of Susur's) but the food isn't in the same league. As you say...if price is not an issue...Susur's, every step of the way.

DES