Eva’s Chimney Cones was the food truck star of last summer serving up freshly baked doughnut cones filled with soft serve ice cream and topped with sauces, nuts or fresh fruit. There was always a line wherever Eva’s truck went, including their semi-permanent booth in front of Union Station. Eva’s now has a permanent home in The Annex with the opening of their flagship store last month. The shop is baking up fresh chimney cones and chimney cakes everyday with 16 mouth watering creations.

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

Walking into the long, narrow shop, I was greeted by the aroma of freshly baking dough and cinnamon sugar. An open kitchen filled the front of the store where customers could watch the making of the chimney cone from gooey dough to golden brown goodness. The freshly baked cones have a crunchy exterior (from a thin layer of caramelized sugar) and a soft, fluffy interior. After baking, the cones are coated with more cinnamon sugar, filled with soft serve ice cream (including a vegan coconut option!) and loaded with toppings.

Eva’s menu ranges from $9-$11 and the cones can easily be shared between two people. After staring at the menu, struggling to pick just one, Stephen and I decided to try the Tiramisu Chimney Cone that had coffee-soaked lady fingers tucked inside the cone and espresso and cocoa powder sprinkled on top. This was one of the simpler cones and a wonderful interpretation of the desert. The coffee flavour was strong, the ice cream was creamy and I loved the lady fingers. Each chimney cone also has a chocolate truffle at the very bottom to prevent any ice cream from leaking, brilliant and a decadent final bite.

After satisfying our sweet tooth, I had to try Eva’s new savoury cake, the Herb and Aged Cheddar. Oh my god this was good. So good that Stephen and I fought over our first one and had to order a second. We ordered the cake plain (there are also 4 spreads that can be added) and fell in love. The cake was richly seasoned and incredibly fragrant. It’s a must try.

For drinks, there was freshly made coffee and classic espresso drinks in addition to pop, juice and Boylan sodas. If the full-size cone is too much, Eva’s has recently introduced The Mini O.G. priced at $6 with optional sauce toppings. Note that Eva’s is a cashless shop and accepts only electronic payment, perfect for me since I rarely ever carry cash. Once the weather warms up, I foresee Eva’s becoming the go-to dessert spot for the neighbourhood. To get the perfect shot for Instagram, there’s black brick wall just outside the store that makes for an ideal backdrop.

Stephen and I usually celebrate Valentine’s Day by going out for dinner sometime in February. We like to avoid the actual day/weekend with its crowds and set menus, but rather use the event as an excuse to cross a restaurant off our wish list. This year we made a reservation at Piano Piano. I didn’t have the chance to eat at Splendido before their doors closed and it’s one of my biggest food regrets. This meant I walked into Piano Piano with pretty high expectations, which unfortunately I still carry after our dinner.

Atmosphere: Piano Piano’s decor was colourful and dramatic. From the pastel pink exterior to the open dining room filled with dark florals, I loved the space. The entire room was open with high ceilings and stunning pendant lights. One wall had large mirrors and the bar was located in the centre of the room. Music was catchy but not loud enough to drown out conversations. I found the white marble tables we were at a little tight, but I did see more private booths and great large tables for bigger groups.

Service: Our server was overall lovely but slightly inattentive. She was friendly and explained the menu, telling us about the daily specials. It took awhile to track her down to place our order and when we were ready for our bill. Service felt casual and relaxed. Once we had ordered, each plate arrived very quickly from the kitchen at a comfortable pace and our cutlery was refreshed before or entrees.

Food: When it came down to it, food was where Piano Piano fell short for me. This could have been a combination of my expectations and what we ordered. I thought I would be wow’ed by every dish and that didn’t happen.

To start, Stephen and I shared the Smoked Burrata, which was good. I liked the creamy soft cheese and the thick toast smelled heavenly. The slices of radish added a nice crunch to each bite and you could really taste the smoky flavour. A touch more seasoning would’ve made the dish perfect for me. Our side of Russet Potato Fries ($9) was good, but a disappointing portion size. I needed about 50% more fries to even come close to using up the malt mayonnaise sauce.

For our mains, we chose the Spicy Sicilian pizza (fior di latte, tomato, parmigiano, spicy ‘Nduja, sicilian oregano) and the Rigatoni Carbonara. All of the pasta dishes looked delicious and it was a hard decision to pick just one. With the pizza, I loved the flavours of the toppings and 80% of the crust. The slice had enough structure to be held up for moment but some of the bubbles on the crust were very charred. I liked the rigatoni more, with the chunks of pancetta, heavy handed cracked and generous sprinkle of parmigiano. The pasta was quite al dente and the sauce creamy.

Dessert was a perfect cappuccino cup of Nutella Tiramisu, which was rich with a strong coffee flavour soaked into the cake. Overall, dinner at Piano Piano was okay but I had hoped for excellent.

It feels like over the past few years, many of the restaurants in The Annex have turned over. One of the more recent arrivals is Flaming Bull, a new restaurant featuring Taiwanese fusion cuisine. I was invited to enjoy a romantic evening at the stylish restaurant and experience an intimate dining experience with shareable dishes, live music and plenty of candlelight. With The Hubs traveling, my special someone for the evening was a fellow blogger, the perfect date to pose for photos and willing to wait before eating.

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

Flaming Bull’s decor was a combination of traditional Asian aesthetic and modern minimalism. Dark wood furniture, surrounded by dark walls were separated by tall geometric dividers, which created cozy, private tables. Before the 10 course feast began, we had the chance to try 5 of Flaming Bull’s colourful signature cocktails. This included a spiked bubble tea which looked deceptively non-alcoholic and 4 fruity creations. My favourite was the Peach Perfect with rum, peach juice, fresh peach slices, blueberry and soda. All of the peach ingredients used were incredibly fragrant, which translated to the flavour of the drink. Throughout dinner, our table maintained a continuous flow of cocktails.

Dinner began with a appetizer platter of traditional Taiwanese snacks like dried bean curd and sliced braised beef shank. I liked the familiar flavours and seasoning in the dish like five spice and anise. In general, I far prefered the menu items that were more traditional over the fusion dishes. Some of the entrees were playful and ambitious, but I wasn’t sold on their taste and value. A good example of this was the Shake and Shake salad. Iceberg lettuce was served in a large beaker and various toppings and dressing was served alongside in test tubes. Guests could pick which toppings to add to their salad, how much dressing they wanted, and then shake it all together. A fun concept, but without being able to choose the selection of toppings, the $8 salad felt like a gimmick.

One fusion dish that I did enjoy was the Cheese Mapo Tofu, a block of silken tofu covered with Sichuan pepper, green onion, soy sauce, Sichuan broad beans and melted cheese. This was a brilliant combination. The creamy cheese was a perfect match for the numbing Sichuan pepper and touch of spice. We also tried a Taiwanese Style Poutine, which was good.

My favourite dishes of the night were the noodles. A bowl of Sichuan Style Beef Noodles was served with Beef Shank, torched tableside, in a beef stock with Sichuan style broad bean paste. The noodles were chewy and the beef was AAA quality. I really enjoyed how flavourful the clear broth was and the strong asian seasoning. Next up was the Spicy Beef Tossed noodle, that was delicious. Again, the texture of the noodle was bang on and the flavours hit home. I would happily order this dish again.

When I get a craving for Korean BBQ, it comes in two varieties that can lead me in two distinct and opposite directions. With one, I’ll be heading to the closest AYCE place to eat my fill of salty BBQ’ed ribs and beef for a low price. While the other craving will only be satisfied by delectable pork belly and sends me north to my favourite Korean BBQ restaurant, Piggy’s. Piggy’s specialize in a la carte Korean BBQ that includes high quality beef, and beautiful thick cut pieces of pork belly. They’ve recently opened a second mini branch downtown and invited me to stop by for a meal.

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

Little Piggy’s was located in Koreatown on Bloor near Spadina. Even though they had just opened the day before, there was a steady stream of curious customers walking in. The Hubby and I were seated at a table for four and the first thing we noticed was the lack of a built-in grill, but something was there. After a quick investigation (and seeing it turned on), we figured out the table had a built-in induction stove element. Pretty nifty.

To drink, I tried one of their Grapefruit Ade’s and The Hubby ordered the Blue Lemonade. Both drinks arrived in adorable smiley face glasses. I liked the strong citrus taste of mine and the mild sweetness paired well with the BBQ. Our main was the Mix BBQ Combo that came with pork belly, garlic pork and Korean style beef. As the meat sizzled in front of us, we snacked on bacchan and salad with a creamy poppyseed dressing. My favourite Korean side dish has always been mashed potatoes, which was one of the dishes that day.

When it came to the BBQ, I found that the induction stove didn’t heat up the grill pan as hot as their other location or as quickly. Our server helped us set each BBQ course on the grill and checked on their progress regularly. Once ready, our server cut the meat into bite size pieces for us. Out of the three different proteins, my favourite was of course the pork belly. The order of BBQ came with a hot stone bowl of soy bean soup and a basket of fresh, crisp lettuce leaves for wraps. We also each had a sectioned plate that came with fresh garlic, two dipping sauces and sliced onions to add to our wraps. I like throwing the fresh garlic on the edge of the grill to toast them a bit before eating. Similar to their uptown location, I enjoyed the quality of the cuts included and the light marinade on the beef. I find at most AYCE restaurants, the sauce overpowers the natural taste of the beef or pork.

Apart from BBQ, I also tried out Little Piggy’s spicy rice cakes and UFO fried rice. Both the texture of the rice cakes and the taste of the spicy red sauce were bang on. I also liked how the menu allowed customers to customize the rice cakes with an assortment of add-ons like seafood and ramen. A base dish started at $7.95 and toppings were an additional $2.95 each. The UFO fried rice was playful and again highly customizable. A mound of fried rice, with your pick of protein, was served surrounded by fluffy steamed egg on a round sizzling plate.

On top of their in-store menu, Little Piggy’s offered Cupbob, customizable bowls of bibimbap to go. For $6.99, each cup is filled with rice, a chosen protein, customizable toppings and drizzled with sauce. My Cupbob had japchae and bulgogi, topped with nori and a spicy mayo sauce. This would’ve made for a very filling and satisfying meal all on it’s own.

After a very satisfying, and filling, meal, dessert was needed. Piggy’s served creamy, delicious soft serve, topped with a square of honeycomb that was the perfect way to cap off the night.

Within 3 short years, the Playa Cabana empire of taquerias has grown to four locations across Toronto. On a busy Friday night, the fiance and I stopped by their original Dupont outpost for a late dinner with a friend. Serving up staple Mexican fare with a non-traditional twist, the menu at Playa Cabana was extensive with plenty of tacos and burritos for every palate.

Atmosphere: As we drove East along Dupont, the stores disappeared and we entered a residential area. Right at the cusp of this change, we spotted Playa Cabana’s lit windows on an otherwise dark street. We arrived 10 minutes before our reservation for 9pm and the place was packed. We didn’t actually get seated until 9:30pm and despite the lateness, there was a constant queue of groups waiting in the small, loud entry way for their reservation time. Walk-in’s were not accommodated. The restaurant itself was small with less than 50 seats and the music was so loud. I was half yelling the entire meal and conversations were difficult. There was a lot of energy in the room, laughs over beer and two birthday celebrations.

Service: Other than the long wait for a table, service at Playa Cabana was pretty standard. Our server came by to take our order and all of the dishes arrived quickly and hot from the kitchen. We had planned on ordering a bucket of Dos Equis but they were out so we went with the other option of Coronas. The beers took awhile to arrive, we were already through most of our appetizers. I would’ve also loved a quick explanation of the 4 sauces on the table, which turned out to be hot sauce and hotter sauces.

Food: Overall, I enjoyed every bite of food at Playa Cabana. The spices were strong, the limes juicy and the cilantro aplenty. That little bottle of green hot sauce was potent and delicious. I ended up demolishing way too many tortilla chips thanks to the fiery concoction.

We started with an order of fresh tortilla chips with salsa and the bucket of shrimp. The chips were crispy, on the salty side and I loved how fresh the salsa tasted. We quickly ate the entire basket and I had moved onto dipping my peeled shrimp in the salsa when we were brought a second basket of chips. It was an exercise in restraint to leave some of the chips and save room for all the tacos we had ordered. The shrimp were cooked shell on, keeping all of the juices and flavour in, then tossed in a arbol-garlic butter. The result was plump, buttery shrimp that had a great kick of heat. I happily ate more than my fair share.

Each order of Taco at Playa Cabana comes in 3s, perfect for our group. We chose four types:

• Baja Catch of the Day Grilled – This was my favourite, I loved the refreshing light flavours, the crunch from the shredded cabbage and radish topping and the chunky fish.
• Tacos de Chori-Queso – Homemade spicy chorizo in a crunchy, griddle corn tortilla. Both The Fiance and our friend had a hard time choosing a favourite between this taco and the short rib. The griddled corn tortilla was definitely a treat and the chorizo packed a lot of heat. The flavours were meaty and woke up your tastebuds.
• Short Rib-Brisket Crispy Taco – Braised beef short also served on a griddled corn tortilla. The brisket was tender and pulled apart with little effort. This taco had a sweeter flavour than the others and wasn’t spicy.
• Carnita Taco – Pulled pork carnita topped with crispy deep fried pork rind, served in a soft shell. The taco was good, but the weakest link of the night. My favourite part was the pork rind topping.

As always, there was room for churros. The deep fried dough was crisp, golden brown, coated in sugar and served with fresh whipped cream, dulce de leche and ground cinnamon. While I liked the food at Playa Cabana, Friday night was a little too loud and happening for me. I’m looking forward to their patio opening and enjoying their menu with a natural soundtrack.

When ordering Omakase (chef’s selection) at a sushi restaurant, the diner is trusting the chef to create a meal with their best ingredients and serve them in an order that enhances each course. In Toronto, there are only a handful of restaurants that offer Omakase and many offer the option in addition to an a la carte menu. At their 12 seat restaurant, Yasu serves only Omakase for $80 per person

Atmosphere: Occupying a converted semi-detached house, dinner at Yasu was an intimate and unique experience. With only 12 seats, 10 of which surround the sushi bar, you’re up and close to the chef as each piece of nigiri is prepared and served. Background music was quiet, making conversation easy when we weren’t transfixed by the chef.

Service: Yasu currently offers 2 dinner seatings from Monday to Thursday and 3 from Friday to Sunday. Arriving too early for a seating may mean having to wait outside if the previous seating ran long. The Fiance and I arrived 10 minutes before our reservation and took seats #5 and #6 at the sushi bar. Servers took our coats as we entered and drink orders were taken after some time with the menu. We were taken care of by Chef Yoshinaga who was friendly, answered our questions and had fun posing for pictures. Dinner only began once all 12 diners had been seated.

Reservations can be made one month ahead of time and require a credit card. Note that any cancellations or changes to the number of guests made with less than 24 hours notice will have the full $80 + HST charged unless the seats get filled. Yasu posts on their Facebook page when same-day seats are available.

Food: The Omakase at Yasu consists of 18 pieces and dessert. Both The Fiance and I were satisfied after our meal (I ordered one additional piece) but not stuffed. The quality and freshness of the ingredients were top-notch. I was in love with every bite.

At the start of the meal, Chef Yoshinaga placed a mound of pickled ginger on each plate and asked about allergies. He also asked if we had a preference for the amount of wasabi or size of rice ball. We all left ourselves in his capable hands. Displayed between both chefs were the fresh fish being prepared that night and the chefs passed pieces between them as they cooked. Each piece of sushi has a unique amount of wasabi paired with it and a brush of nikiri sauce. Some pieces, like the horse mackerel were topped with sliced scallions and grated ginger. Watching each piece of sushi come together was fascinating, from selecting where to slice the fish to the delicate assembly.

The wasabi at Yasu was grated from horseradish root and rich in flavour. More ginger can be requested at any time during the meal. Chef Yoshinaga introduced each fish with their name and origin as he placed them in front of us. At the end of the meal, we were able to order additional pieces of any fish at $7-$8 each.

For me, my favourite piece of the night was the sweet shrimp. Close behind were the horse mackerel, ocean trout, ikura, bluefin tuna, o-toro and sea bass. Each piece had it’s own unique texture and there wasn’t one that I didn’t enjoy. The scorpion fish was the most fishy and I have had better uni in Toronto.

The most interesting sushi that night was the shirako, or cod sperm. No one had a clue what it was and after finding out, everyone was game to try. The shirako did not have any fish taste, was creamy, velvety and pretty tasty. In Japan, shirako is considered a delicacy and served with many cooking techniques. Next time I’m in Japan, I’ll be searching for it.

Dinner ends with a square of sweet tamago and your choice of black sesame ice cream or green tea panna cotta.

Overall Yasu delivered a high quality meal with delicate and intense flavours. If you appreciate sushi, the entire experience of dining at Yasu is worth the price tag.

To celebrate the launch of Zomato in Toronto, the company has been inviting bloggers from all over the city for meet-ups at some great restaurants (ie. Pai). The events are small, under 20 people and really gives everyone a chance to meet each other, put a face behind Twitter handles and share a great meal. Over dinner at The Harbord Room, I had the chance to meet some awesome Toronto food bloggers and the conversation was restaurant-centric.

Disclaimer: All drinks and dishes were provided free of charge. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

The Harbord Room assembled a special set dinner with wine pairings that was an excellent sample of their menu. Local, seasonal ingredients were highlighted each wine complimented the course. We started with a chestnut and chorizo soup, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and sheep’s milk cheese that was thick, savoury and nutty. This was a great fall dish that was filling and had rich flavours.

Our second course was a refreshing grouper ceviche with coconut, basil, papaya, avocado, cashie and radish. The abundance of toppings kind of buried the grouper itself. I liked the nuttiness from the fresh radish and the bottom layer of avocado cream. For our entree, we were treated to a roast Quebec partridge pot pie with a duck fat crust, wild mushrooms and topped with a thin slice of foie gras. Served alongside this decadent creation was cauliflower gratin and charred squash with pomegranate. Personally, I found this course too rich. Compared to the previous grouper, the pot pie was on the heavy side, lots of fat, gravy and while delicious, I needed breaks in between bites. The slice of foie gras also added to the richness of the fish. I love foie gras and even for me the dish all together was a bit too much. Between the two sides, the cheesy, garlicy cauliflower gratin was amazing.

Dinner ended with a glass of Barbeito Malvasia, a sweet wine, paired with a complicated dessert. There was a scoop of ox blood plum ice cream and ginger snaps, on top of a baked pumpkin custard, topped with candied walnuts. I enjoyed the tartness of the ice cream and the sweetness of the walnuts. As for the custard and ginger snaps, they didn’t do much for me.

Overall, each dish at The Harbord Room was complex, built layers of flavour and the wine pairings showed off an impressive cellar. It was a great meal at a classic Toronto restaurant to celebrate a great new service for Toronto foodies. In the short time since the Zomato team has been in Toronto, they’ve truly worked to explore the city’s food scene and culture. I’m excited to see how they continue to expand and evolve.

Rose & Sons has been on my restaurant wishlist since they opened a year ago. It’s a small space with no reservations taken for brunch. I anticipated a wait. So with the weather finally starting to warm up, I was willing to take the risk and suggested the diner for a catch up meal with a friend.

Atmosphere: Driving down Dupont St, we missed the restaurant completely. The storefront still uses the large “Food” sign from their predecessor and the small “Rose & Sons” signage is easy to miss. When we arrived at 11:30am, there was a queue outside the restaurant that moved at a steady pace. The dining area was small, composed of booths and 5 stools at the bar. Every square foot of space is used up. The open kitchen sits next to the bar in front of the entrance, greeting guests with savoury, rich scents from the grill. To help the wait, the hostess did offer to take down a number and call you back when a table is almost available. I wouldn’t recommend coming with a large group, no more than 4 people and it’s not a venue for lingering over coffee.

Service: The hostess was friendly and so were our servers. My group ended up sitting at the bar and we had front row seats to the kitchen prep. Food was a little slow to come out from the small kitchen but it was worth the wait. Utensils, napkins and sugar were set up on the table so we grabbed what we needed ourselves. Service was casual and relaxed but efficient.

Food: Between the three of us, we had five plates and dessert. Even with my friend eating for two, it was still a lot of food but we ate and enjoyed every bite.

I had the PLB special melt with fried egg, pickle, bacon, sausage, fried onions and a side of cherry jam. Of everything this was my favourite. I loved the thick cut bacon, the runny yolk on the egg and melted cheese. It was an overflowing breakfast sandwich, just perfect. I also liked the cherry jam that was tangy and used it on bites of cornbread as well. The griddled cornbread with brisket and hot sauce had a great balance of sweet, spicy and savoury flavours. I liked the fattiness of the brisket and the crunchy crust of the cornbread. The runny yolk added a creaminess to the dish.

The pastrami and lox scrambled eggs was only ok. This was the weakest dish for me but it was up against tough competition. My favourite component was the jalapeno challah bread that was fluffy, buttery and great for soaking up the yolk leftover from my PLB. The BF had the all day breakfast with sausage and added smoked pork chop. The hash was crispy but a little greasy. Overall it hit the breakfast craving on the dot and the smoked pork chop was an added bonus. The chop was juicy and had an awesome smokey flavour.

While we were waiting for our table a plate of apple fritters walked by and the smell was intoxicating. During the meal, we kept reminding ourselves to leave room for the dessert to come. Split between 3 people, the dish of five fritters was the perfect portion size (also after our 4 entrees). The fritters themselves were fried, rolled in cinnamon sugar and served on a bed of lemon ricotta cheese with candied walnuts. The tangy cheese balanced out the sweetness of the dish and lightened the textures.

In total, our bill was just over $100, a little pricey for brunch but the meal did include drinks and dessert. I also would’ve loved an option for drip coffee.

Update 02/26/2017: Guu Sakabar has been renamed to Kinka Izakaya

Guu is one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto. I used to be one of the people lining up at 5:00pm outside their Church St location. When their second location at Bloor and Bathurst opened I was there at least once a month. I find that I compare all of my izakaya experiences in Toronto to a benchmark of Guu. They were my first and still is my favourite.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is loud. The servers heartily greet new arrivals and departures alike in Japanese. It’s a boisterous environment and I love sitting at the bar to watch the dishes being prepared. At the Bloor location there is also a dining area to sit without shoes, zashiki style. Unlike other Japanese restaurants that offer zashiki where you sit legs folded on the floor, the room at Guu has the tables built sunken into the ground so it’s still possible to sit normally without shoes. I love this design. Your legs don’t get cramped or tired and you can sit for hours enjoying the giant mugs of sapporo and delicious food.

Service: It’s a busy place. The servers run around the restaurant and sometimes it’s hard to get someone’s attention. However every server always greets you with a smile and is happy to help when you get their attention. Most of the dishes are cooked in batches, so it might be a bit of a wait for some items. I’ve never found this to be an issue since the typical order is a large number of different items and food generally arrives quickly.

Food: Guu offers a special menu that changes daily with food and drink specials. I always order off of the daily special first and have rarely been disappointed. They do run out of ingredients though. I stopped by the Church location once at 10pm and there were only 2 special items left still available. The portions at Guu are smaller izakaya style and prices are reasonable, but if you want to try a lot of dishes I recommend going with a group of 3-4 people.That way everyone gets a good bite of plate without having to order duplicates. The bill can add up if you go hungry and are ordering drinks as well. My bill usually comes to $40-$60 / person, drinks, tax and tip included. The menu is separated into sections based on the main ingredient (ie. noodles, rice) and how the foods are cooked (ie. cold dishes, fried).

Every sashimi dish I’ve ever ordered has been super fresh, beautifully plated and cut. I include at least one sashimi item with every order. This visit it was the just the BF and I so I had to carefully choose what to order. I have a reputation of ordering too much food, always. From the special menu, we ordered the wings, scallop carpaccio and deep fried corn dog sausage stuffed with cheese. We rounded off the meal with the carbonara udon and grilled black cod from their regular menu, staples of every visit.

Wings are a new dish to Guu. They’ve started running wing nights on Monday and Tuesdays with a combo price for wings and a pitcher of sapporo. The wings were lightly battered and I liked the spicy chipotle vinegar topping. I can’t see Guu becoming my wings destination, but if it’s added to the menu I would order them again. Scallop sashimi is my favourite ever since my first visit to Japan. The dish at Guu was amazing, light, a hint of acidity on top of the natural sweetness of the scallops.  The sausage was ok. The cheese inside was melted and tasted great, again though it just wasn’t the kind of dish I would visit Guu for. The first of our two tried and true dishes, the carbonara udon, was a creamy, bacony, yolky noodle dish that was slurped up quickly. I love the poached egg and the fusion flavours. This dish is only on the menu at the Bloor location and I highly recommend it. Similarly the miso glazed black cod is another must try. The texture of the fish is like butter and the miso glaze is grilled to a perfect crispy finish.

As always, I left Guu content, satisfied and looking forward to my next visit. In the spring, Guu started offering a lunch menu at both of their locations and now takes reservations. It’s easier now than ever to get your Guu fix, and this is a most dangerous thing.

My friend had a great Groupon for Insomnia, which included a cheese plate, entree, dessert and a drink along with each course. The cafe’s located right on the south east corner of Bathurst and Bloor and was very easy to find.

Atmosphere: We made reservations for a Friday night and they were ready with the table. The seating areas were varied with a bar area, traditional tables at the front, a lounge area with couches in the back and where we sat, two armchairs set up with a small round table in between. The table was really small, it would’ve been sufficient if we were just having drinks, but for a full meal, the room was tight. The armchair were also far away from the table and we had lean forward to eat as well as hold a conversation. It was a Friday night, so the noise level was loud and the restaurant was full capacity. The lighting was dim, and would’ve very romantic with the isolated tables. I also liked the art on the walls, there was a lot of variety and themes.

Service: The service was attentive, there wasn’t any wait time between courses and our drinks were brought right away. For the cheese plate appetizer, each different cheese was introduced. The server patiently listed our drink options several times while we decided.

Food: Overall the food was pretty good, the entrees were pretty normal. We ordered the steak, medium rare, which turned out nicely pink. The salmon flaked easily and wasn’t overcooked. The grilled vegetable skewer that came with the salmon was kind of a write off, not very much vegetables, and it also came with a huge dollop of garlic butter. We actually used the garlic butter to eat the mashed potatoes with that otherwise, would’ve been a bit too dry.

I did really enjoy the flat bread and cheese platter. The flat bread was warm and toasted, and I loved that they served a selection of fruit with the cheese. There was a soft cheese, a mild hard cheese and one that was more aged. I don’t know my cheeses very well and don’t usually like it, however the choices were all mild enough, especially accompanied by the fruit that we polished off the plate.

For dessert, we finished with a creme brulee and chocolate cake. The creme brulee was delicious, perfect burnt top, the chocolate was a little much. It was a lot of chocolate and very sweet. We also enjoyed a lovely glass of sparkling champagne, on top of the two glasses of white wine I had already enjoyed.

I liked the restaurant and the atmosphere was fun. I would love to re-visit to check out their promising brunch and extensive drink menu.