Groovy restaurants in Toronto!
 

Going to Toronto in June and looking for some great restaurants. Last time we were there we went to Monsoon which we absolutely loved for the architecture, menu and service. (It was similar to our own restaurant.) Since we're not big meat eaters, we're looking for restaurants that have seafood on their menus.<BR><BR>Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Pink Pearl @ Queens Quay (Actually I think name has changed to The Pearl)

Pink Pearl is a basic (but good) Chinese Restaurant, nothing groovy there.<BR><BR>For Monsoon type funky, trendy, here are a few, all with ecclectic menus:<BR>YYZ<BR>Rain<BR>Aix Brasserie<BR>Bar Italia<BR>Susur<BR>Have fun!<BR>

Pink Pearl is dreadful. It will put you head in a bad place.Seriously, it's a chain of vommerical and not-very-good restaurants. The on;y really good Chinese ratuarant downtown is Lai Wah Heen, but it is very pricey.

One of the best places to have seafood and that has a nice modern/funky-type atmosphere is a place called: Tempo<BR><BR>I'm not sure of the exact address but it is located on College St. (at the intersection of Clinton St.). Hope this helps.

Oro, on Elm Street, near Bay, east of Yonge, has several seafood items on the menu, and probably will still have seafood six months from now.<BR><BR>The seabass is my wife's favorite; squid ink is part of another feature. Upper-middle prices, excellent service.<BR><BR>Six months is forever in Toronto restuarnt terms. Several groovy places will come and go, so ask again nearer your visit.<BR><BR>Lunch at the Royal Ontario Museum will be excellent -- better, much better, than you might expect from a museum.<BR><BR>BAK<BR>

Brian, would Oro be on Elm St. near Bay, &quot;west&quot; of Yonge?

Further to an earlier message from me, prompted by a reply within the thread, (thanks for the observationj)Oro is east of Yonge only if you have a broken compass.<BR><BR>For the majority of people using conventional directions, Oro is in fact WEST of Yonge.<BR><BR>There is no &quot;east of Yonge&quot; on Elm Street because it dead ends at Yonge, making my original directions even harder to comprehend.<BR><BR>BAK

You should try Rodney's Oyster House if you love seafood. It is great. I've eaten at Pink Pearl. It was O.K at best. Toronto has way more to offer. Susur is fantastic but pricey.

Rodney's is a lot of fun. Great place to go for a beer and good times. Their oysters are tops, and their other (non-oyster) dishes are passable. If you're going for &quot;cooked&quot; seafood, Adriatico on Dupont Street never disappoints. Try the branzino and tell me if I'm right.

Dont confuse Pink Pearl, or Pearl at <BR>Queens Quay with the Pink Pearl on Avenue Road. Two different places.<BR>Pink Pearl on Avenue Road is a lovely<BR>Chinese restaurant.<BR>

A few other suggestions:<BR><BR>Mata Hari Grill (Malaysian) on Baldwin Street - a neighbhourhood restaurant (off the tourist track) with great seafood. Reservations a couple of days in advance essential because it's small.<BR><BR>Oyster Boy (Queen Street West - very far west in a transitional/trendy neighbourhood.)<BR><BR>I recently went to Brasserie Aix on College and was very disappointed with the so-so food (we had high expectations because the restaurant is beautiful). The food is decent, but not a good value for the price. I was much more impressed with an older Toronto restaurant that I've just rediscovered: Le Select Bistro on Queen St (at Spadina). Great prix fixe menu, amazing wine list, reasonable prices and a number of seafood dishes (although a lot of meat, too).<BR><BR>If you can afford it, Susur is an incredible restaurant.<BR><BR>If you want to find detailed info on restaurants, have a look at restaurant listings on Toronto.com and on Torontolife.com. Torontolife is particularly good if you want to find out what is currently considered to be the &quot;hot&quot; restaurants. (Search the category &quot;a la mode&quot;.)

Nami for arguably Toronto's best sushi;<BR>Chiado is generally regarded as a great Portugese restuarnt with very good seafood;<BR>The newest high end restaurant is Bymark which has been opened by Mark McEwan of North 44 - my favourite high end restaurant.

A few more. . . . .<BR><BR>Southern Accent (Cajun / New Orleans) on Markham St. near Bathurst and Bloor<BR><BR>Joso's on Davenport just east of Avenue Rd.<BR><BR>Thai Magic on Yonge St. south of Summerhill<BR><BR>And a big thumbs up to the already-mentioned Rodney's.

I will add my vote to Rodney's, and offer up a few suggestions:<BR><BR>Five Doors North (on Yonge, just north of Gio's - same owner, I believe)<BR><BR>7 Numbers (Braemar &amp; Eglinton, just west of Avenue Rd.) This one is a favourite - again, same people as those behind Gio's. The mussels are great. <BR><BR>For more details go to toronto.com and click on restaurants.<BR><BR>Have fun

I wanted to second Typhoon's suggestion and add that the 3 restaurants are indeed owned by the same family and they have opened a 4th location: Gio Rana's Really Really Good Restaurant (yup, that's the name). Although I haven't been to the lastest addition, the other 3 all have great food, service and atmosphere, so I'm sure this one is no different. There are also some great hotel restaurants now. Tundra (in the Hilton, I believe) is excellent, as is EPIC at the Royal York. Also good is Reds. They have an extensive wine list and to-die-for &quot;Chocolate Molten Lava Cake&quot; - you have to order it at the beginning of your meal because they make each individual cake from scratch and it takes about 40 minutes - WELL worth the wait!!