Tried Amal again they have outdoor seating. Both good signs as service and food have improved. The tenderloin kebab is new and done quite well. I also enjoyed the dip trio.
The place was getting quite busy. Though with impending rain I chose to dine indoor
I
(food was decent last time as well)
Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, we also revisited the patio at Lapinou. Food and drinks remain lovely and the patio remains nicely sheltered from the elements while still being very open air. We arrived before 7:00 and were able to take advantage of some cinq à sept drinks and apps:
Hemingway daiquiri [right] - Bacardi ocho rum, Luxardo maraschino, grapefruit, lime - nice if rather strong (spirit forward).
Solstice [left] - charred pineapple infused rum, Bacardi 8-year rum, lime, pineapple, cardamom, cinnamon - lovely balance of tropical, sweet, and spice.
Unfortunately they have taken one of their best dishes off the menu: house-smoked ham with truffle, celery, caper, and comte cheese. We were able semi reconstruct it by ordering the ham off the cinq à sept menu, plus their great bread (paired with castelvetrano olives with orange and fennel):
Crudos continue to be a strength. Sea bass came with pineapple, chili, ginger lime, olive oil vinegar - light and simple. Ahi tuna tataki was paired with crisped sunchokes, pickled mushroom, truffle ponzu - also delicious.
We ordered the baby gem salad (with pistachios, meyer lemon, avocado dressing) as this was a favourite from a previous visit. They put the almonds on the side as our friend couldn’t eat nuts.
A new item was fried zucchini blossoms filled with lemon ricotta and dressed with mint, lemon zest, and espelette honey - crispy outside and a lovely cool creaminess inside.
Another new option was the lightly grilled calamari, served with green chili chutney, coconut yogourt, gunpowder spice - a great South Asian deviation from their usual French-Italian base.
We revisited the great squash rice, with french curry, toasted pumpkin seeds, and gouda - still yummy.
And they had a delicious pasta special: chittara with truffle, chanterelles and pecorino.
Desserts remain good, if not exceptional:
Both the Amal and Lapinou meals look great.
I’m so sad it’s becoming too cold for patio dining. It’ll be interesting to see which winter patios continue into November. I have a feeling only a handful will keep at it.
I have a lunch coming up at Bar Raval this month.
I was hoping to visit Restaurant Pompette before their patio season closes.
Lapinou has strong heaters so they usually continue well into the fall.
Bar Piquette’s back patio is fairly enclosed, though we were near the open window. We hadn’t been in some time. Fortunately the food remains excellent. They have no kitchen per se, so all the dishes are either cold prep or heated in a little oven. And the wine selection remains superb.
Our glasses of wine included:
Mortadella sandwich - this remains our go-to; one of our favourite sandwiches in the city:
Boquerones with pickled celery, radish slices, confit tomatoes, chilies - fun, salty, pickly and quite spicy:
Radicchio salad - pear (a few thin slices), honey, champagne vin, manchego, crispy prosciutto - nice balance of mild bitterness, sweet, salty/porky:
Mushrooms Duxelles - tartare of chopped mushrooms with slices and sprouts on top, pistachio, truffle garlic aioli, 6 small toasts - light and mild umami:
Little gem with braised leeks, Dijon vinaigrette, blue cheese, bacon - like a deconstructed wedge, delicious but maybe just a little too salty or too much dressing:
Duck liver mousse (creamy, rich) with toast, pickled shallots, sour cherry - great!
Autumn squash agrodolce - delicante squash, guanciale, pumpkin seeds, chiles - sweet squash with salty crisy pork and a bit of heat:
Baked apple - chantilly cream, caramel and a big cinnamon stick on top - not too sweet and the caramel had a complexity that made the dish extra special:
Whoa there. Is that sandwich more than 6" tall? 
It’s tall and mighty delicious. Normally we split our dishes, but in this case we got one sandwich each.
The patios of Queen St W, Dundas St W and College St folded up over the last 10 days. I guess that’s a wrap for Patio Season 2023.
I will still be seeking out outdoor seating.
For coffees, Fika in Kensington, Krave on St Clair W and The Shmooz on Pape keep some outdoor seating in chilly weather.
In terms of restaurants that keep their heated patios going all winter, the only restaurants serving food I consistently enjoy, that has reasonably good ventilation at brunch, is Union on Ossington.
We’re going to try to find which restaurants keep their patios open longer. Lapinou tends to keep theirs open late into the fall and is full open to the air.
I need to revisit.
Nice patio lunch at Bar Raval at noon on a Monday. The walls aren’t up yet, and there is a heater.
We had the jamon croquetas, artichokes, smoked mackerel, house bread with aioli, boquerones and piquillo pepper, and potato and egg tortilla. I had a Cortado.
I really, really need to go there again. That looks really good.
One of my favorites! Is that a poached egg with the tortilla, or a blob of aioli?
Spanish sour cream (Crema) I think.
They have huevos rotos on the daytime menu, as well as some egg bocadillos (little sandwiches)
I tried to reserve a spot at Lapinou for Sunday brunch. Lapinou let me know they have closed their heated patio for the season.
I will start up a new Nov 2023-April 2024 heated patio thread.
Oh that’s too bad. That’s earlier than previously.
I don’t think they feel the need to stay open now that 99 percent of the client base is comfortable dining indoors.
I think that’s what most restaurants are feeling. Some didn’t even both to open patios in the warmer months.
I also saw people dining inside Bar Koukla and at Mamakas, in the AC, when the weather outside was perfect this summer. The patios were near empty the 2 weekends I went for brunch.
The wasps(the flying kind) probably were to blame for people not sitting on patios, it was horrible.
