One dinner in Toronto

Hello, everyone. We’ll be in Toronto at the end of the month and have one free evening. Where oh where do we want to go?

Some guidelines:
One vegetarian but otherwise anything goes.
Not super loud.
Nothing stuffy or formal.

I love reading the posts on this board and, so far, Lake Inez sounds the most interesting. Do you have other recommendations in that vein? I’m on a waitlist for a table there.

Otherwise, maybe George? I see a lot of love for that restaurant on this board and they have a vegetarian menu.

Please help and thank you!

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I should add that I know this is a wildly open-ended question and for that I apologize. I guess what I really want to know is what your absolute favorites are (within the parameters above) and why.

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George is a much more formal restaurant than Lake Inez. I went twice, a long time ago. it’s excellent… but tasting menus are not currently my jam.

I don’t go out for upscale food too often. I realize you’re coming from Mtl and probably don’t want Italian food. That said, the nicest recent meal I have had was an Italian meal at Viaggio on Dundas W. They have vegetarian options.

What night of the week will you be dining out at the resto? That could impact how loud the resto is.

Maybe also consider Alma or Mhel.

Soos on Ossington is also fun, and it has lots of vegan options.

This thread is a few years old, but might give you some ideas

Thank you!!

I’m totally with you on the tasting menus. I mentioned George only because it keeps coming up and fits my criteria.

The restaurant doesn’t need to be extremely quiet, but I’d like to be able to hold a conversation without screaming. I’m too old for that kind of thing. We’d be going out on a Friday fwiw.

Also, I neglected to specify that I’m on a wait list for Mystery Patio, not Lake Inez proper. What are your thoughts on the non-mystery patio dining?

Viaggio wasn’t on my radar and looks promising - thank you for that. Mhel looks too fish-forward for me, but Alma and Soos could be good bets.

Don’t hold your breath for the ‘Mystery patio’ - they recently had to cancel because of a chef mishap, and those who were ‘abruptly cancelled’ (including me) get top priority for any openings. The ‘regular downstairs’ menu is worthwhile, but the ambiance is ‘very loud and boisterous’ (probably even more so on a Friday!).
As you are “too old for that kind of thing” - my suggestion is Scaramouche. Not a place I’d recommend for “much younger” but, although ‘old school’ they are back in excellent form (after a rough patch) and it’s a quiet room, with many vegetarian options. Reservation essential.

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I agree that the food and service are very good at Scaramouche, and the sound levels allow people to chat.

It draws a somewhat older crowd. I’m 52. I would think the median age might be 55 most nights. The atmosphere is nice. It feels a bit of like an upscale 1980s time capsule. Tables are far apart by Toronto standards. It is located on the ground floor of an upscale condominium in an affluent part of town, a fine minute drive north of Yorkville off Avenue Road.

I went to Scaramouche with my friends once a year when I was in my mid 30s, and despite being somewhat younger than most patrons, we always had a lot of fun and delicious food. It also has one of the nicest city views. The coconut cream pie is famous.

I’m not a coconut cream pie person. Everyone I know who likes coconut cream pie has loved that pie.

Scaramouche and the Benvenuto Place condominium are located on the site where this building was located.

Jamie Bradburn is a former Chowhound who used to attend our Toronto CH meet-ups, which were running monthly for several years.

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