This is a belated post from a dinner that I had with my bf at Canoe Restaurant & Bar back in early September 2013. I started writing the review about two months ago, but forgot to complete it until this weekend when I read an article on the upcoming Winterlicious 2014. I have quite a few posts backlogged but they'll all be posted up soon along with some of my blog posts about Japan.

Canoe is one of Toronto's critically acclaimed restaurants offering upscale Canadian cuisine. It is located on the 54th floor of Toronto Dominion Bank Towers in the financial district. As it is relatively high up; its beautifully designed dining room offers a spectacular view of the city's skyline. I also thought that the wood accents add a warmer feel to the restaurant.

Our meal started off with a basket of complimentary bread. The slices of bread were served warm alongside with fresh butter.

For my appetizer, I went with the pan seared Quebec fois gras ($28.00) - Niagara peaches, Ontario peanuts, and toasted bulrush brioche. Fois gras is a culinary delight that I don't often get a chance to eat in Toronto. As you can see from the picture; effort in the presentation was clear. It looked lovely. The seared fois gras tasted like how it should be; simply fatty and rich. As for the fruits, it definitely helped to enhance the taste of the fois gras

 My bf got the bison carpaccio ($24.00) - brined elderberries, cedar jelly, allegretto dandelion puree.

As for my main course, I opted for the 45 days aged Ontario rib eye ($49.00) - roasted carrots, portobello pickles mustard aioli, crispy layered potatoes. I chose medium for my steak, and the dish was well-executed. The quality of the cut was good and the steak was seasoned well without being overly salty. I also liked how both of my dishes were served in a more creative way than just on a white plate. No discredit there as the presentations for both of his dishes were also well-presented; I just liked mine better ;)

There was a lack of a complimentary side dish as there were only three slices of potatoes. I usually like to order a side of fries or mashed potatoes with my steak, but didn't this time. The reason was because that I had filled up my stomach with all... yes ALL of the slices of bread that were on the table.What can I say? I love my carbs!!

The bf ordered a glass of Ravine Meritage St. David's Bence Ontario 2010 ($16.00) as per recommendation from our waiter to get red wine with our meal. I don't drink alcohol (as I am allergic and I don't like the taste of it anyways to take a risk and get hives). So I ended up ordering two glasses of coke ($3.50 x 2) for myself. 

 My bf went for the healthier option which was the wild west coast salmon ($38.00) - Asian pear compote, buckwheat spaetzle, zucchini stinging nettle puree.

Luckily, I still had room for dessert. Looking through the menu; everything sounded good as I also love sweets a lot!! I ended up ordering the red velvet cake ($12.00) - salted chocolate ganache, sweetened cream cheese, smoked marshmallow ice-cream. The cake was slightly harder than I would have liked but the smoked marshmallow ice-cream was definitely refreshing after the heavy meal.

I believe that Canoe pride themselves on service, so I wasn't surprised by the attentive attention that we got. The ambiance provides a good mixture between a classy and warming environment. Which makes it a great place for business lunches, birthday dinners, and romantic dinners with your significant other.

The dinner can be quite expensive at Canoe but the great news is that Winterlicious (January 31 to February 13, 2014) is only two weeks away. You can get a three course meal (dinner) for just $45 per person; that's about the cost of an average main. Reservations may be sightly harder to get as their phone lines get really busy in the first few days. If you like the Winterlicious meal this year, then I'd recommend you coming back for their regular dinner service.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4.6/5
Overall Dining Experience: 4.6/5
Price: $$$$

Address: 66 Wellington St W (54th Fl), Toronto, ON, M5K 1H6