Category Archives: Uncategorized

Matahari Grill

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39 Baldwin St
416-596-2832

I went in summer 2002 with a friend and we did not know what kind of food we were going to eat. We entered the restaurant and we asked what kind of food was served. They said “Malaysian” and we really did not know what “Malaysian” cuisine was. The menu contained many dishes that resembled many Thai dishes.

I had the Matahari Vegetable stir-fry with an assortment of 6 fresh vegetables for $7.95. It was notihng special. It tasted like any other stir-fry. I did not what was so Malaysian about it. Maybe I should have tried something else like the The Ultimate Vegetable Curry with baby eggplant, cabbage, green beans, tofu balls and tomatoes in an exotic curry broth.

As well they serve Satays (what are the anyway) which are which seem to any type of meat or chicken or vegetable dish containing peanut sauce [YUMMA]. However, most peanut sauces have fish sauce in them so beware, always be a paranoid and ask first. Prices are decent and the decor is very tranquil, quiet, and calm. Dimly lit with real tablecloths and beautiful sun mirrors on the walls, I’d definitely go here again but order something else. Entrees are between $7.95 and $11.95. They serve a full list of wines. They accept VISA, MC, AMEX, and Interac. Reservations can be made online at http://www.mataharigrill.com/mataharigrill/reservations.asp.

Rhodes (changed to Didier)

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03/2007-changed to Didier
1496 Yonge Street
(416) 968-9315

A cool jazz bar and bistro. Serves oysters, calamri, mussels, chicken, fish, and other meat dishes. My friend had a hearty bowl of mussels in a tomato sauce and his mother had a plate of calamari. I ordered a plate of grilled vegetables. The service was prompt but the waitress was pushy, not accomodating, not flexible, and very rude. I would never go back to Rhodes in my life.

The prices are high and the live entertainment is way at the back of the restaurant in the smoking section. The front of the restaurant is far removed from the music and so it was difficult to enjoy the live show.

The decor is quite lovely with stained wood, beautiful wall furnishings made of wood and the pub (in front) was furnished with beautiful leather chairs and the bar was a deep mahoganey wood. The back of the restaurant was difficult to see but it looked spacious, smoky, and contained about 20 dining tables. My grilled vegetables were very tasty, in skewers with a balsamic viniagrette, but the portions were too small and there were no vegetarian meal options. My friend thoroughly enjoyed his plate of mussels and his mum enjoyed her calamari. The bill came out to $65.00 for three people: RIP OFF FROM HELL!

Indian Rice Factory

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414 Dupont
(416) 961-3472

Located at the corner of Dupont and Spadina in the Annex, this elegant, high end Indian restaurant serves the freshest, more flavourful Indian food in the city. I went with my partner at the time for New Years and the bill came out to $85.00 for two people, including the entree, wine, hor d’oeuvres, and dessert. The portions are small but the service is excellent. I had aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) and channa (chick pea curry) with nan bread (fluffy white pita with butter). Dimly lit with romantic ambiance, nicely set tables, tablecloth, this place was a truly fine place to dine. Reservations only. Limited seating, simple, non- kitschy decor, and calm, a soothing dining experience.

Green Mango (chain)

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3006 Bloor W (416) 233-5004

730 Yonge St. (416) 928-0021

707 Yonge (416) 920-5448

 

Trendy and affordable, fresh and fast, tasty and simple, Green Mango offers simple quasi Thai food without that chain, “food court” feel. Noisy like a food court, and trendy, every Green Mango is crowded with people. Plates are enormous and presentation is beautiful. Waiting staff are very flexible to change your order and the Thai Green Curry with tofu and vegetables (without rice) is excellent.

Service is fast and reliable and lineups may be long but they often disappear quickly. There are many waiting staff so service is efficient and fast. There are also Green Mango “cafeteria-style” restaurants that are smaller and cheaper. The menu is smaller and more limited but food is fresh and fast and most of your favourite items from the larger restaurant can be found at the “cafeteria-style” venues. Tables are close together so there is not much room for private, intimate discussion. Selections are coded in the menu according to vegetarian friendly, spicy, recommended item, and healthy choice.

Vegetarian Restaurant, The (closed in 2003)

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2849 Dundas W,
(416) 762-1204

Nov 2005 Update: The Vegetarian Restaurant, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Toronto, closed a few years ago. The last time I visited was in Dec 2001.

My first impression : “Juice for Life” but take out the artsy-fartsy student feel.

Elegant ambiance, comfortable seating, classy, healthy, natural vegetarian cuisine, and non-political. This wonderful restaurant is similar to Fressen without the pretentiousness. Claimed to be the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Toronto, The Vegetarian Restaurant is a small treasure in the middle of a charming (but dicey) neighbourhood, Junction Gardens. The restaurant only offers a vast selection of vegetarian meals, slightly pricy, but not as expensive as Fressen. They also sell a variety of both fresh and frozen prepared foods by the cash.

The ambiance is very comforting, with a waterfall flowing in one room, dimly lit lighting, and quiet background music. The staff are soft spoken and very friendly. Service is slow but worth the wait. The menu is more diverse than other vegetarian restaurants and they make and sell their own food (there are many frozen meals available in the front of the restaurant).

Their supplier, Soy City Foods is next door and supplies meals for them as well as other supermarkets, restaurants, and cafes in the city. There are no diet drinks served and only natural soda is served. It’s about a 20 minute walk North of Keele subway, and located at the corner of Dundas West and Keele.

Reviewed by Mark

Ouzeri

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500A Danforth Ave.
(416) 778-0500

I went with a friend quite a while ago. My first impression was that it was expensive and I was not satisfied. They had no vegetarian meals at all. I had to order from the appetizer list. I ordered a hummus plate and an order of spanakopita. Most of the entrees are served a la carte, so if you want any extras, you’ll need to order them separately. The restaurant mostly serves steaks and lamb chops, but there are no vegetarian entrees. There is a wall full of wines that sit just above the bar. It’s very interesting to see this wall full of alcohol. I assume bartenders would need a ladder if they needed a wine that sat up high. The ambiance is very dim lighting, romantic decor, spacious seating, with high ceilings. Wines are available by the glass. Garlic is a major ingredient in all dishes. Prices are between $15.95-$19.95 per entree. Appetizers are between $6.95-$9.95.

SpaHa (closed in 2004)

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66 Harbord Street
416-260-6133
This hip, trendy cafe is named after the two intersecting streets (Spadina and Harbord). This cafe serves meals to cater to the U of T students with money. The decor is trendy with glass tables and funky chairs, and art decor ambiance makes this place the ultimate hangout for people watching and just hanging out. The food is good but nothing unique. Located in the heart of U of T, this funky small restaurant serves trendy salads, soups, and light meals.

Circle Thai

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1521 Yonge 
(416) 924-8467

Fine, elegant ambiance, right in the heart of Yonge and St. Clair. Offering creative dishes like Mango Fish, Circle Thai Lobster, and Rack of Lamb. Circle Thai has an extensive menu with some vegetarian selections. Served on large plates, with linen napkins and tablecloths, this place is very chi chi poo poo. Portions are normal and food is very fresh and flavourful. The ambiance is slightly fancy and a bit upscale.

I ordered the thai vegetarian curry with sauted vegetables and tofu [YUM]. Prices are $9.95 and up. They serve amazing cold mango vegetarian rolls but the peanut sauce is not chunky enough for my likings. Elegant ambiance and right in the heart of Yonge and St. Clair.

Serra

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378 Bloor W
(416) 944-9211

You want a trendy place with tiny portions, oversize plates, with a pretentious atmosphere, then try Serra in the Annex. With small glass tables, close together, the place serves Italian meals, very elegant and high-end cuisine at expensive prices. I had a pasta dish with tampanade and sauteed vegetables. Since I am on a low carboyhydrate diet, there was no problem since the portions were tiny. The bread was exquisite with different dips ranging from a spicy humus in a tiny little dipping bowl to a funky tapanade. The plates are oversize, the prices are ridiculous and the food is very very good. The pasta dish was fabulous, exploding with the aroma and flavour of olive oil, delicate herbs and spices, chunks of olives, garlic, tomatoes, artichokes, and grilled eggplant.

Fresh by Juice for Life

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Old location:
521 Bloor W, (416) 531-2635

894 Queen Street West
416-913-2720

New location on Bloor Street West :
326 Bloor Street West
416-531-2635
147 Spadina Avenue
416-599-4442

 Web site: www.juiceforlife.com, now (2009)- http://www.freshrestaurants.ca

Funky, colourful, cool, totally vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurant in the Annex, and another satellite location on Queen West. The food is expensive and completely vegetarian or vegan. The decor is trendy, busy, tables close together with little room to move around. The ambiance is funky and trendy. The tables are plain and the seats are hard and slightly uncomfortable.

There is a wide selection of fruit and vegetable juices and power smoothies and if you choose to dine alone, you can eat at the bar. I usually order a Power shake like the Chai Chiller, or the Date Almond Super Powershake, or the Blueberry Dreams. All shakes contain vanilla soy milk, bananas, other fruits, some protein and vitamin supplments, and other ingredients. I have been a frequent visitor to Juice for Life and I have always loved their shakes. 16oz shakes are $4.95, Super powershakes 16 oz are $5.95 and the larger sizes are $8.95 and $9.95 respectively. For my meal, there are items like a variety of funky salads, similar to Montreal’s Cafe Santropol and a variety of soups, salads, chili, veggie burgers, and fabulous, unique, and funky rice and noodle dishes. They also serve alcoholic drinks like beer and wine.

There are spicy Thai veggie burgers with Thai peanut sauce smothered on a veggie burger, and a variety of red bean, black bean, and Indian style chick pea wraps. If you want to add tofu steaks or a side of grilled tempeh, it costs an extra $1.00.

The average price for lunch and dinner entrees are the same $7.95-$10.95 and that’s expensive for a rice or noodle dish. Most of the dishes comprise of rice and a medley of vegetables. Some dishes I love are “The Beach”, “The Buddha”, “Ninja”, “Dragon” “Green Goddess”, “The Warrior”. There are a variety of delicious wraps: “The Kathmandu Wrap”, “The Black Bean Burrito”, “Red Bean Adzuki Wrap”, and the “Grilled Vegetable Wrap”. It’s important to add grilled tofu steaks or grilled tempeh if these dishes do not offer them. The grilled tofu and grilled tempeh is “to die for.” Some of the dishes are distinctly Asian and some are Indian in flavour.

The restaurant used to have a more “political” feel, that is, animal rights propaganda used to be placed on the walls and there are some anti-meat posters alongside the juice bar. Since opening its first restaurant on Bloor near Bathurst in the Annex (in 1995) the animal rights propaganda has literally disappeared over the years. As of 2004, there are other “Fresh by Juice For Life” locations at Queen near Spadina, and Queen near Shaw (where the old brunch place “Triple X” used to be. Since 1995, the Juice for Life has since changed brands to “Fresh by Juice for Life” and has basically become mainstream, with proper tables, booths, and fancy mirrors and cool and funky artwork on the walls.

There are a couple of booths in the back but most of the restaurant are composed of tables. The restaurant staff are eccentric and funky and most of the clientele are students or artists in their late 20’s. The food is fresh, portions are decent, but the prices are high for the type of food in this trendy, hip eatery.