The Doctor's House (Kleinburg)

Location: Kleinburg, Canada
Address: 21 Nashville Road
Website: http://thedoctorshouse.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner


The Doctor’s House is situated in the quaint village of Kleinburg, north west of Toronto.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit, I would suggest going for the view and charm alone. The house is aptly named as historically was occupied by doctors and didn’t become a restaurant until the 1970s.  The dining room has lovely wooden beams and tables placed in nooks and crannies. 

Given its traditional roots, we had better luck with the classic dishes (Ceaser salad, steak and lamb) while the “newer” dishes (calamari, Kobe burger and osso bucco) were a bit lack luster.       

After ordering, a wonderful dish of warm bread was brought to the table.  I love bread and this one tops the list.  Topped with olives, roasted garlic cloves and sitting in an olive oil and spice mixture the bread was amazing.  So much so that we got another order of it!

 

To start I had the jumbo shrimp cocktail ($15) which consisted of three large prawns with cocktail sauce and a mayo.  I thought it was fine and liked the size of the shrimp.  They could have provided a bit more cocktail sauce as I had run out of it after the second shrimp. 


My husband had the Ceaser salad ($12) and noted it was good.  Our friend, on the other hand, ordered the calamari fritti ($14) and was disappointed given they tasted and looked like the frozen ring type.  If a restaurant is to offer calamari it really should be made fresh and battered in house.

My main of pan roasted rack of lamb ($48) was great.  Two pieces of thick lamb chops were encrusted in a flavourful herb and spice mixture.  The accompanying cabernet sauvignon reduction was a nice consistency and went well with the perfectly cooked chops.  Buttery mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables (zucchini and peppers) also came with the dish.

 

The Kobe beef burger ($28), my husband’s main, was dry and a bit bland.  The burger did come with a side of caramelized onions, but needed some type of sauce to give the beef more taste and moisture.  Accompanying the burger was freshly made fries that were average.


Their tiramisu (I believe is $9) was rich and thick.  I liked that it was in cup rather than cake form to seal in the moisture.  I like mine to have a bit more espresso soaked lady fingers so that it’s super moist but the Doctor’s House version wasn’t bad.  The vanilla wafer chip on top was also good.


The flourless chocolate cake (also may be $9) was very rich and appears to be made from dark chocolate so wasn’t overly sweet.  The slight bitterness went well with the sweet vanilla ice cream.  They certainly gave a generous portion of this dessert, so it’s a good one for sharing. 

 

It did take us a while to get seated on the night we went, about 5 minutes, as the hostess wasn’t at the podium when we arrived.  But, when she did, she sat us quickly and was friendly and courteous. 

As a warning, this isn’t the place to go to for a quick bite; you have to have time and be willing to wait. The Doctor’s House is an old school restaurant where courses are brought out slowly – they are not looking to turn over tables multiple times a night, you can really sit back and enjoy the company of your friends and family. 


Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


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Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
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