Monthly Archives: December 2002

Beacher Cafe, The

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2162 Queen E
(416) 699-3874

A major disappointment! From what we thought it would be, we thought it was some deep jazz cafe with lots of cool, diverse dishes, with some funkiness. When we got inside we found spacious tables, a beautiful outdoor terrace, all resting on top of a hill in the eastern tip of the Beaches. The artwork is stunning and it resembles a gallery where customers can purchase the art if they so desire. The food is BLAH! Really nothing special, and there is nothing vegetarian at all. I had a pathetic vegetable and rice stiry fry that lacked flavour. The plates were nice but that’s it. The staff are friendly but nothing spectacular. The ambiance is nice, it had me wanting to come back. My food was warm and the stir fry sauce was plain soy sauce, how boring. I was hungry after that meal, so I was very disappointed. I really had high expectations for this place. It is a great neighbourhood place and they have lovely art on the walls (for sale too) but the food is BLAH.

Patris

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888 Danforth Av
(416) 466-1967

Really good, authentic Greek food, traditional decor, slightly kitschy, but reasonable prices, yucky white garlic bread, home cooked flavour, it seems that the owners work there, so it has that “family restaurant” motif. Located right at Danforth and Jones, this large restaurant is on the outskirts of the Danforth, so it may get missed by some. There are many vegetarian items, and prices are between $8.95 – $11.95 for main dishes. There is a 2 for 1 coupon when someone purchases a meal greater than $10.00, then the second meal is free. This is based on the more expensive meal of course. Seating is ample and there are never any crowds. Pleasantly built on two half levels, you can sit upstairs and watch the people downstairs or sit on the bottom level. The kitchen and cooks are in the front and you can see them making some of the food. The Spanakopita is quite good and so are the Domades, and the other appetizers. Most of the appetizers are vegetarian. I would recommend trying it out if you want a more relaxing, less pretentious place, where it’s never crowded, then try Patris.

Red room

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444 Spadina Ave.
(416) 929-9964

Part of the same three restaurants of Green Room, and Java, Red Room was once a tea shop and restaurant that served alcohol, but now it’s a bar that serves food and tea. Inside this gorgeous restaurant at Spadina and College, you will find many tables and booths with gorgeous dim lighting and cherry wood interior, luxurious in design, detailed moldings, and antique woodwork. The whole decor or the Red room distracts the visitor from the low quality food it serves up.

There is a reason the food is so cheap. Although the restaurant appears very high class, it’s actually a bar that serves pub type food. The only different part is that this pub type food is Asian in its influence (the cooks and owners are Asian) and most of the selections are light and healthy Asian dishes from Pad Thai to Singapore Noodles to Vegetable Stir Fry to traditional Hamburger and French Fries to Fish and Chips.

Portions are decent but quality is very low. I’ve gone to Red Room over one hundred times since late 2000 and the tofu is always overfried or stale, the food is bland and lacks any exciting flavours, and you cannot make food requests because the cooks do not understand any English. The atmosphere is funky, with many of
U. of T. students, an array of herbal teas, an impressive bar with a large selection of beers, liquors, wine, and other alcoholic beverages. The key is to only purchase food and avoid alcohol. The waiter may frown at you but four people can eat for $20.00 and that is difficult to achieve in Toronto. Expect a lot of noise and a lot of smoke- afterall it’s a bar. Anyone under 19 is not allowed