Patio Season [Toronto] [Ontario]

[Phoenikia]

3 patios this past weekend:

A lemonade and coffee at UG Social Café in The Junction (a sidewalk patio)

Otto’s Berlin Doner- my phone was charging. I had a litchi slushie and my doner on top of half fries/half salad.

Emmer

Would return to all of them.

If anyone is looking for Thai food on a patio, Issan Der in the Junction has a sidewalk patio.

[DrJohn]

I’m a bit behind on my patio updates, so apologies for the dump of them over the next few days:

We tried Minami back at the beginning of the month. It is a sister restaurant to Miku, which we also have liked. We also appreciate that it has at least a few sustainable seafood options, which is rarely the case for Japanese restaurants (Skippa was another one). The patio is well-spaced, with some tables protected by an overhang. Service was friendly and fairly attentive. After registering our disappointment about being out of our most-desired dessert, the server hunted down another serving. Food ranged from good to excellent, with lapses more in execution than flavour and freshness.

Cocktails were lots of fun:

• Royal Ōjo: prosecco, Hayman’s sloe gin, nakano shuzo ume, dried rosebud - light, a bit sweet, and stone fruit flavours.

• Shinjuku: aburi ginjo, lychee liqueur, grapefruit hibiscus, cotton candy - fun and basically dessert in cocktail form.

We also shared a featured rosé flight: 3oz each of Terre Cevico Cantina di Soliera Lambrusco (delightful), Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses (pale salmon Provence colour, dry strawberrry), Jasci & Marchesani Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo (lovely and fruity).

The sushi were all great, with fresh fish, nice balance of flavourings, and decent rice (which was sometimes a little under-packed together:

• Saba Oshi: cured mackerel, bonito and sweet miso sauce
• Albacore Oshi: BC albacore tuna, spicy Miku sauce, crispy capers

• BC tempura roll: sockeye salmon, albacore tuna, cucumber, avocado, with dollops of soy daikon oroshi, ikura, micro shiso beside - this was particularly good, with a very light batter just-barely fried, and lots of variety in the flavours and textures.

• Vegetable nigiri set: eggplant, avocado, bamboo shoots, carrot kinpira, tempura lotus root instead, sake-marinated daikon - nice visual mimicry of standard nigiri options and lots of umami in the flavourings for the veggies.

• Daigaku-Imo: caramelized Japanese sweet potato, crème fraîche, green onion, sesame seeds - sweet and crumbly, nicely offset by the creme fraiche.

• Donabe Wild Mushrooms: (cremini, shiitake, shimeji) garlic, butter, sherry wine, chervil, togarashi chili threads, steamed in a Japanese clay pot - while we doubt the “wild” part, this straightforward preparation highlighted the different flavours and textures of each mushroom.

• Soy Braised Beef Short Rib: carrot puree, mustard medley, baby potato, pickled shallot, pickled shallot, mustard aioli - nice flavour, but the meat was a bit dried out.

• Japanese Cheese Tart: brown sugar mascarpone cream, spiced pear compote, caramel, shaved blue cheese - excellent way to feature the pairing of pear and blue cheese.

• Dark Chocolate Cake: tofu dark chocolate cream, strawberry jelly, genmai tea caramel tuile, strawberry cassis sorbet - pleasant enough but certainly not “dark”.

• Coconut Banana Pie: almond cream, salted coconut sorbet, black sesame sauce, miso candy pecan, coconut whipped cream - amazing intense skin like layer of banana over a delicious sorbet and what was almost like an almond croissant underneath.

[Phoenikia]

Nice burger and fresh cut fries, a Manhattan and a Whisky Sour on the Emmet Ray’s patio last night.

My phone was out of power, so no photos this time.

Their kitchen is open until 11 pm.

I’m finding so many pubs with better food and patios have kitchens that close by 9 pm or 10 pm on a Friday or Saturday night, so it’s nice to know of one that is open later.

The classic cocktails are $14.16 or $15.16, which is a few dollars less than I’ve been paying at places like Bar Pompette. It is further west, and the Emmet Ray is a jazz club rather than an it spot bar, so different crowd. It is nice to know a place with good cocktails that’s charging $14 or $15, instead of $18 or $20. Most of my cocktails have cost $18 or more over the past 6 months.

I will be back. The menu is simpler than it was before 2020.

https://www.theemmetray.com/
Cocktails (prices not listed)
https://www.theemmetray.com/menu/other/

[Phoenikia]

I had brunch at the Harbord House’s rooftop patio. Not too crowded, nice breeze.
Pretty typical menu. Bennies, daily omelette. Eggs in purgatory wasn’t the traditional eggs cooked in tomato sauce- this was poached eggs on cornbread with peameal bacon , drizzled with Hollandaise and hot sauce . I knew this when I ordered it. It was pretty good. Maybe not a destination dish (I try a lot of new dishes), but better than quite a few brunch mains I’ve ordered.

The staff are really nice and I like the laidback patio. Harbord House takes reservations for brunch.

I’ll go back to try dinner at some point.

[DrJohn]

Tried the rooftop patio at Baro. It is walk-in only, so we went on a Wednesday at about 6:30 and got a table easily. Some of the tables are fully outside and have a great view of the sunset. Others are essentially inside, with wide open large windows. Our server was friendly, attentive, and fairly informed about the menu. Food is Mexican-focused and generally very good.

Cocktails were fun and get extra points for presentation:

• Paloma with mezcal - nice big grapefruit slice inside and salt rim.
• Bogotá sour: Grey Goose, amaretto, pink guava, lime, honey, bitters - nice mix of tropical and bitters, with a perfect green palm tree on the top of the egg white.

• Bull Run - Don Julio Blanco, green chartreuse, pineapple, lime, cilantro jalapeño syrup, marigold - delicious, though spice was absent; the presentation on a tray of dry ice was cool.

• Grande Mac empanada: ground beef, special sauce, lettuce, American cheese, pickles, onion, sesame - Big Macs are a guilty pleasure, so I did like this one.

• Baro wedge: iceberg lettuce, buttermilk, cotija, chilies, scallions, chulpes, chicharrón, pomegranate, cilantro, paprika tajin, anatto oil - another fun riff on a standard.

• Pollo a la brasa: chicken drumsticks, aji panca, soy, lemon, scallion, chilies, guava barbeque sauce - moist chicken, with complex sauce that had fruit, umami, and a little kick.

• Street corn: grilled corn, chipotle crema, cotija, paprika tajin, scallion, chili, cilantro - very nice, fresh small corn cobs with lots of fun stuff over.

• Pescado del dia: sea bream, grilled lemon, tomatillo vinaigrette, chayote slaw - beautiful presentation, delicate fish, complemented by a tasty slaw of chayote, carrot, peppers, red cabbage, red onion, cucumber, mango, yuzu vinaigrette, cilantro, mint, chulpes, chilis.

• Calamares a la parrilla: grilled calamari, salsa negra, ginger chilli crumble, cilantro, grilled lemon, charred Guajillo powder - quite nicely done and very smoky from the chili paste with a nice kick.

• Paletas - primarily coconut-flavoured, nice and light to finish the meal.

[DrJohn]

Went to Chotto Matte about a week and a half ago on a Monday night. They have quite a large patio that is covered and fully open-air. It has lots of live plants, so I spent time watching honeybees feed on some of the flowers. We were the only people on the patio, so Monday night is clearly the time to go if you want a table.

We had been wanting to try here for awhile as they feature Nikkei cuisine, a mash-up of Japanese and Peruvian. Overall we were quite happy with the food, although it is a bit pricy due to its location in the heart of the Financial District. Service was very good and they comped us a dessert because it wasn’t actually as advertised (though still very good).

Cocktails/mocktails had great flavour combinations and textures:

• Lychee Picante: Cazadores Blanco tequila, lychees, chia seeds, chili, lime and dragon fruit - like a riff on a spicy margarita, with interesting textural elements from the chia seeds.
• Jasmine Fantasy: Tanqueray Gin, St. Germain, Aperol, tonic water and pink grapefruit - very nice, like a grapefruit-y Aperol spritz.

• Chicha Morada mocktail: purple corn, pineapple, cinnamon, cloves, soda, lime, and a dried apple - nice spice notes and perhaps the best beverage of the evening.

• Lychee ceviche: leche de tigre, chive oil, sweet potato, Peruvian corn, cilantro, corn nuts, kumquat - a vegan ceviche that really works, with supple texture from the lychee, crunch from the corn nuts, herbal notes, and nice citrus’y tang.

• Branzino tempura: amazu ponzu sauce, red onion salsa (slices plus cilantro plus red chilies) - not actually a tempura coating, but a very light non-oily coating, with a delicious red powder/rub over top - really good dish.

• California hand roll: snow crab, avocado, cucumber, tobiko, mayo - decent, but too heavy on the mayo.

• Soft shell crab makisushi with avocado, tobiko, mayo, sesame, wasabi, and shiso, wrapped in crisp raw daikon - this was really good, with the lightly fried crab not overwhelmed by all the other flavours.

• Rocoto cauliflower wings: Peruvian Chili dressing, cilantro - lots of kick, with a complexity of spicing.

• Binchotan charcoal BBQ - black cod aji miso: chili miso marinade, yuzu, chives - straightforward and very well done.

• Coconut Sakura: coconut biscuit, chocolate orange ice cream (not the lemon sorbet on the menu) orange crema (not really, seemed to be mascarpone cream), amarena cherry grated on top - overall a good dessert, perhaps improved with the changes.

• Magical Chocolate Ball: Dulce de leche treacle cake, black sesame ice cream, red berry dust, white sesame sauce poured over it - nice to have a little bit of show, and the flavours all worked well, particularly the sesame ice cream.

[Phoenikia]

Looks good.

[DrJohn]

We met up with friends at Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!, a relatively new Mexican place on King West. It has a streetside patio, which isn’t bad as there isn’t much traffic on King except streetcars. Service was friendly and fairly attentive. Food and drinks were very good, well executed and fresh flavours. We took advantage of the Summerlicious menu to try more dishes (by ordering the set menu and then adding a dish).

Cocktails:

• Pink Lemonade: mezcal, elderflower, watermelon, hibiscus, ginger and lemon - a beautiful dark pink, with smoky and floral notes.
• Margarita: tromba blanco tequila, kiwi, guava, lime - pleasant, although the fruit combo didn’t really come through.

• Spicy Margarita: Tromba Blanco tequila, serrano pepper, poblano, lime, tajin - also pleasant, not spicy though.
• New cocktail: Gin, green goddess syrup, dill - lovely herbal flavours and beautiful colour.

Summerlicious prix fixe:

• Beef tartare tostada: cotija, egg yolk, preserved chili - terrific flavours and not on the regular menu.
• Albacore tuna crudo: passion fruit, cucumber, jalapeño - passionfruit is a nice flavour twist, with fresh tuna.

• Corn and mushroom huarache: sikil pak, grilled maitake, sweet corn - simple and delicious (and not on the regular menu).

• 24-hour short rib: salsa macha, hazelnuts, sesame, cauliflower - lovely. Meat quite firm and not exactly moist, but still delicious.

Extra a la carte dish:

• Mushroom fajitas - maitake, pickled onion, fried onion, red teardrop chilies, with tortillas and three sauces - delicious mushrooms.

Dessert (part of Summerlicious menu):

• Horchata panna cotta: field berries (nice fresh raspberries), meringue (purple), mango glass (didn’t register this) - only OK - not panna cotta textured and didn’t bring horchata to mind (not on a la carte menu)
• Pineapple and coconut tres leches: Coco Lopez, brown sugar, candied pineapple - wonderful moist cake in cream.

[Phoenikia]

Union’s crispy polenta with eggs, on the back patio.

I make sure I do brunch on Union’s patio at least once a year.

[elvisahmed]

I ended up at Quanta Basta again last night. The place was packed inside and outside. The city provided patio area has been modified well but one does get a lot of noise from the nearby vehicles as you are right on the road. The veal chop special was really good. Worth a try. Also worth a try is terroni on price oddles of outdoor space.

[Phoenikia]

I hit 2 more patios today.
The Oxley for a cocktail and scone, then a picnic table in front of Fresco’s Fish & Chips in Kensington Market.

Fresco’s was okay, not as good as I expected, but much better than the fish & chips at Harbord Fish & Chips, which have gone downhill since the change in ownership. We tried the cod and the halibut. The portions of fish were smaller than I get elsewhere. The batter was crispy, but on the thin side. The fries were frozen fries.

[elvisahmed]

Oxley is dependable
I tried the summerlicious menu was nothing special though I did enjoy the dessert (sticky toffee)

[Phoenikia]

Which patios are your favourites for Sunday lunch or Sunday dinner?

Trying to figure out a nice meal for next Sunday. Open to any price range and cuisine. Would prefer a place that takes reservations.

TIA

[Phoenikia]

I find some of Oxley’s mains better, or better value, than others.

I tend to get the burger or fish & chips lately. Have found the English breakfast hit or miss at times. Pastas always seem expensive for what they are. Just noticing now the
lunch and dinner menu has changed quite a bit since before 2020. I’m surprised they’re charging $47 for the lamb main but I guess they can do that in Yorkville.

Great sticky toffee, though!

[elvisahmed]

I like Clay at the Gardiner museum. Their patio seating is limited so gets booked way earlier. I really enjoyed their fries and pancakes. Burger was decent Friday (previous try was way overcooked). The omelette went well.

[Phoenikia]

Good to know!! Thanks!

[Estufarian (Alan)]

Haven’t posted here much as I don’t “do” patios with traffic passing close by.

However, many of these patios do have restaurants attached, so comments on the food seem relevant.

I did attend (inside) Chotto Matte – with mixed results. The service was impressive, but I was less impressed with the kitchen. A recent bugbear of mine is that ‘small plate restaurants’ seem to prioritize kitchen efficiency over customer satisfaction. So, the multiple dishes seem to come out in random order and at random times. One can experience long waits between dishes and then several arrive at the same time – Chotto Matte seems (to me) to fit into that category – the pacing was erratic. This was compounded by the Tempura Snow Crab Croquetas being the texture of ‘fake crab’ and exhibiting no detectable crab flavour or texture. At best, seemingly minced shrimp.

But in keeping with the Patio theme, I did try the backyard one at Neon Tiger (Dupont and Avenue Road). Here the food was more satisfying than Chotto Matte, but the service was ‘lacking’. Clearly inexperienced (yes, I know there are shortages, but at least do some training before loosing on unsuspecting customers), and at least show the staff how to use a corkscrew!

Although the food was ‘good’ – there were more significant issues – the menu description and the dishes received were seemingly distant cousins. Multiple changes and also differences between the website and the printed menu (if anything, the website was closer, except not all website dishes were actually on the menu anyway – the captioned ‘Most Popular Dish’ of Siu Mai Dog didn’t actually appear on the menu!).

The ‘Hakka’ Mushroom tacos contained nothing that I associate with Hakka cuisine (but the web description does not include the word ‘Hakka’).

The ‘Smashed Cucumber and Jicama’ Salad contained more radish than Jicama.

The ‘prawn tacos’ came with pickled iceberg lettuce, radish and Thai remoulade instead of the promised “cucumber, ginger, Thai Basil and cellophane noodles”.

The KFC Blinis and Lamb Sliders were close to the description.

The Duck Fried Rice contained a duck breast that (for me) was overcooked – but that’s a preference.

The wine we ordered (from a VERY small list) was entirely different from the menu – and this from a restaurant only opened relatively recently.

But a nice patio! Except choose seating that’s ‘moveable’ – the bench seats are too far from the fixed tables for comfortable seating.

[Phoenikia]

I tried to get take-out as a walk-in at Neon Tiger shortly after they opened.

The staff completely ignored me. I waited for a while then left, ultimately picking up some mediocre take-out at the Duke of York.

Service means more and more to me.

[Phoenikia]

I’m heading to the Clay, Enoteca Sociale and Rebel House patios this weekend.

[Phoenikia]

Pretty nice club (with chicken breast and peameal bacon) and mac & cheese on the back patio at the Rebel House. This patio should be open until mid October.

Enjoyed a nice meal with @rstuart on the Enoteca Sociale patio. Delicious cucumber panzanella with Burrata at Enoteca Sociale, rapini, bigoli with carrots and chiles, and amatriciana at Enoteca Sociale.