Whenever I travel to a new city, I like to include a few walking tours early in my itinerary. All of the past tours I’ve been on were informative and fun. Walking around a foreign city with a well-versed guide gives me the chance to get my bearings, learn some interesting facts and ask for food recommendations. When Bria of Food Nook Tours contacted me about a walking food tour in Roncesvalles, I realized it would be a great way to explore Toronto as well. My interest was also piqued as I know there’s a ton of great food in Roncesvalles but rarely visit the area myself. Spending an afternoon with Bria checking out some neighbourhood gems sounded like a lovely time.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

As a guide, Bria was friendly and engaging. On our tour, The Hubby and I were joined by another media person, her BF, and a family with two kids. Bria expertly shepherded our group of 8 at a comfortable pace through 5 stops making sure everyone had time to grab samples and take photos without any lulls. She was sure to point out which stops could double as a washroom break and tried her best to keep us in the shade when possible. I liked how she introduced the tour with a short speech on the history of the neighbourhood and pointed out popular restaurants and shops as we walked.

The 5 stops on our tour that sunny afternoon were all local businesses that I would frequent if I lived in the area:
Chocolateria – A chocolate shop that had an amazing selection of housemade chocolates and ice cream. We had the chance to sample a plethora of chocolate dipped goodies including my favourite, chocolate dipped chips. The mix of sweet and salty was perfect. I also spotted a selection of chocolate frogs near the cash.

Fantail Bakery and Cafe – Run by native New Zealander family members and named after a bird from their home country, Fantail serves up flakey baked goods and savoury snacks. Each owner is an artisan specializing in their own media (fashion, painter, woodwork) and worked together to create Fantial. We had the chance to sample their amazing chocolate croissant and vegan brownie. The cafe was cozy and would be a nice spot to sip a latte and enjoy a cookie.

The Mercantile – A specialty food shop with a wide array of spices, treats and kitchen gadgets. Our time at the fully stocked shop was spent trying out Meredith’s Ginger Syrup, a potent elixir, and browsing. The Hubby and I found whole dried chipotle pepper, which we’ve been looking for all over the city.

De La Mer – This is the fish market’s third location and based on the steady stream of customers while we visited, a popular spot in Roncesvalles. In addition to their selection of fresh fish, De La Mer also sold smoked and candied salmon, both of which we sampled.

Barque Butcher Bar – Concluding our tour, we stopped at Barque Butcher Bar to grab a chicken wing and sample their spices and BBQ sauces. Being the middle of the afternoon, the restaurant wasn’t too busy and our group had a chance to mingle with each other and Bria.

Overall, Food Nook Tours in Roncesvalles was an afternoon well spent exploring and eating. The tour lasts from 1 ½ hours to 2 and kicks off at 2:30pm. Priced at $30 per person, it would make a great gift for a family activity. To me, the tour focused on highlighting and introducing local businesses, not necessarily eating a ton of food. The samples at each stop were a good snack but I would recommend eating lunch before hand.

Most media events I’m invited to include plenty of food, drinks and mingling with other bloggers. My most recent experience was much more interactive. Zomato invited a large group of users and food bloggers to learn all about smoking with hands on demonstrations in collaboration with Barque Butcher Bar. The night was filled with smoke, spices and a lot of good food.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary by Zomato and Barque Butcher Bar. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Barque Butcher Bar was located a block away from Barque Smokehouse and features a light tapas menu and extensive drink list. The bar opened in May of this year and was designed to almost be a waiting room for diners waiting for a table at the popular Barque Smokehouse, which is 95% of the time. Diners can munch on delectable small dishes and enjoy a drink or two until they’re called back. Personally, I really enjoyed the menu at Barque Butcher Bar and would make a visit just for them.

At the Zomato event, Chef David Neinstein demonstrated how to smoke chicken wings, shared some tips on smoking and showed us how to put together a spice rub. We got a chance to sample wings fresh from the smoker, taste Spanish cider, sample many of the dishes on Barque’s menu and each went home with a bag of spice rub. The Hubby and I just used our rub on a rack of ribs last weekend, smoked for 6 hours and it turned out beautiful. There was a perfect ratio of sweet and salty.

From the menu, we started with samples of the House Terrine, Black Cod with Crispy Rice and Chorizo Ribs. Of the three, the black cod was my favourite. The fish was firm, well cooked and sat on a disc of deep fried rice, an excellent bite of different textures and flavour.

We also got to try the Spring Noodle Salad that was full of microgreens and Asian flavours. I ate more than my fair share of this dish. Meanwhile, The Hubby hogged the smoked olives. The Smoked Venison Tartare was strongly seasoned, served with crostini and a yolky soft boiled egg. Two servings of Waffle Poutine were brought out and disappeared within minutes.

Barque Butcher Bar has a lot to offer. Before 5pm, they operate as a butcher selling a wide variety of pre-made dishes, rubs, sauces and cuts of meat. After 5pm, the kitchen opens. I expect the dining room will be as full as the original smokehouse a block away.

Over a year ago I tried to go to Barque without a reservation and on a Friday night. After an hour of waiting, we called it a night and moved on. I’ve since learned my lesson! Reservation is a must and not just a few days ahead either, a week at least if you’re looking for a table of more than 4 (I’ve failed at booking several times in the past year for large parties 2-3 days ahead of time). It’s just a testament to the sustained popularity of Barque, 2 years after opening.

Atmosphere: We visited Barque on a Sunday for “Family Night”, where there is a themed set menu instead of the usual a la carte menu. There are two seatings, 5:30 and 8:00 and you’re able to order as much as you’d like of each dish for the set price. People began queuing up outside the restaurant by 5:00 (us included). We started off seated at the bar, but was moved to a table because there was a mix up with the reservation. The restaurant interior is filled with natural wood decor and a few long long tables that would be great for large groups. The noise level was on the louder side with the restaurant being full capacity. Servers seemed a bit rushed and there was a hectic energy.

Service: The main impression I got from the service that night was inconsistent. It was a busy night. The bartender was really friendly, asked about any food allergies and tried her best to find out if the menu had dairy and accommodate us for the dessert course. However the offer was to substitute the planned rice pudding for gelato, which was still dairy based. I was a little confused and wasn’t sure if she meant sorbet but no she did mean gelato. I really appreciated the effort! With the family night format, the timing of when everyone received each course varied by table size. While we received our appetizers quickly, we were one of the last tables to get our mains. Also, our server described the dishes to the table next to us, but just left our plates and walked away. Good thing I have good hearing. Then when I wanted to order seconds of our favourite dishes, it was hard to get anyone’s attention. So yes, inconsistent.

Food: The food really was the highlight of the night and three dishes won me over. A bucket of spiced popcorn was at each table to munch on while everyone was seated and pursued the night’s menu. I finished our bucket, every last one of the lightly buttered, airy kernels. The theme of this “Family Night” was Indian and featured pork samosas, pakoras, smoked lentil dahl, vegetable biryani, a light salad, eggplant and bitter melon curry, smoked tandoori chicken, tamarind ribs, goat vindaloo and mango rice pudding.

The pork samosa, lentil dahl and biryani were mediocre. Indian is obviously not their specialty and I found these dishes to be ok fillers. For the proteins, the ribs were heavily spiced and salty. I liked the chicken, but ours was still a little pink near the bone. The BF has a sensitive stomach and had a few rough days after. We’re not exactly sure what caused it, but this may have contributed.

My favourite dishes by far were the goat vindaloo (pictured below, served in cast iron pan) and the eggplant and bitter melon curry. The goat was flavourful, gamey, tender and fell apart in the sauce. I ordered a second helping and would have happily forgone the other dishes to have more stomach real estate for more of the vindaloo. This is the dish that still makes my mouth water looking at the pictures. I also really enjoyed the use of bitter melon in the curry and the two strong flavours complimented each other without overpowering either.

Dessert was also a hit. The rice pudding was creamy and served warm. I loved the peanut brittle on top and the buried chunks of mango. I finished both servings at our table and had to resist asking for another.

I feel like I need to re-visit Barque and taste their a la carte menu. Family Night was a great experience. The dishes were hit or miss but I love the concept and you get to try dishes not normally part of the chef’s repertoire. I’d love to re-visit Barque and taste what’s tried and true.