Showing posts with label French kiss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French kiss. Show all posts

The Beverley Hotel (Toronto)

Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 335 Queen Street West
Website: http://thebeverleyhotel.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner



The Beverley Hotel is located on a busy stretch of Queen West with the restaurant centrally located on the ground floor. While visiting in the evening, I almost missed the simple glass doors embossed with their name if it weren’t for the point-of-sale signage located out front.  The dining room is a narrow but long set-up with one side dedicated to a large bar and tables and banquettes along the other side and the back. Its décor is reminiscent of a steak house with the dark wood accents and leather clad seats; the dim lighting makes it a good place for a date or drinks.

The French Kiss 75 ($13?) was a fair sized cocktail made from pink prosecco, gin (?) and grapefruit.  A bubbly concoction with a citrusy twist and just a hint of sweetness, it’s refreshing and a nice sipping drink.  I also enjoy the whimsical lemon rind twist adorning the glass.

Not hungry that night, I opted for the mussels + brussels appetizer ($10) which was a surprisingly large portion.  Cooked in a beer based garlicky broth the mussels were done well but would be even better if there was more cooking liquid to dip them into.  I thoroughly enjoyed the variation on frites using brussel sprouts instead; they were slightly charred and crispy adding sweetness and smokiness to the dish. I would have liked an empty bowl to discard shells as it was difficult to eat until one of my friends could offer me their finished plate to use.

Beverly Hotel’s steak tartare ($14) is the first I’ve seen that sits upon a disc of cold herbed mashed potatoes.  Made from hanger steak, the tartare has a bit more bite to it and generally a decent flavour.  Thankfully, they give enough pieces of pumpernickel toasts (what’s with restaurants now a days giving a huge portion of tartare and then 3 small pieces of crostini?). To top everything off there’s a quail egg, pickled green beans (sadly I didn’t try but heard pickled vegetables is one of Chef Wood’s specialties) and micro greens.



 
My husband’s Beverly burger ($16) was cooked to a medium doneness so that patty was still soft and juicy.  Sitting on top of a soft sesame bun with a heavy dose of fried Guernsey cheese there was certainly a barrage of flavour.  As if the hollandaise sauce, in lieu of mayonnaise, was not enough, my husband also added a fried egg (additional $1) making it a saucy and messy burger.  I tend to like firmer charbroiled burgers so this one was a bit mushy for my taste; but, my husband liked it and rates it top 10 on his list (although still behind the Harbord Room’s rendition). 



Unfortunately, my favourite part of the dish, the fries, was lukewarm and stale – what a disappointment.  There was hardly even a full portion of them when they arrived so perhaps the kitchen ran out and didn’t feel like making another batch.

The Beverly Hotel is a nice classy destination on the Queen Street West strip.  The cocktails are delicious and appetizers a considerable portion at reasonable prices. Overall, I sense the restaurant will do well as a drinks and shared plates place, which may just work in the trendy neighbourhood.

Overall mark - 7 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!