Happy hour menus have been making a comeback with the weakening economy. Planta’s menu is one of the most extensive and offers great value to boot. While beer and wine ring in at $6 and $9, respectively, it’s the $10 cocktails that wet my whistle. You can’t go wrong with the lych please, a gin cocktail lightly sweetened with lychee, lemon, and pineapple with a hibiscus sugar rim that delights.

Planta also provides a huge food offering that doesn’t skimp on portions. With the lettuce wraps ($12) being half off their regular menu price ($23), I expected a shrunken helping the equivalent to two or three wraps. So, when the full plate arrived with enough of the gochujang covered crispy fried tofu and roasted Brussels sprouts to make seven wraps we were flabbergasted. Oh no, we ordered way too much food!

The menu offers no description with the chick’n fried mushrooms ($7) but they turn out to be lightly battered oyster mushrooms that’s dusted with salt and pepper served with a thinned sweet chili sauce. They’re dangerously addictive and so tasty that I could swap these for a chicken nugget any day.

In a similar vein, the crust of the cauliflower wings ($8) was so crispy despite not being overly battered. Drizzles of unagi sauce and sweet chili mayo covered the vegetables giving each bite a burst of flavour.

For a lighter nibble, the summer rolls ($6) are an option. It’s just filled with a lot of carrot and rice noodles and needed more of the other ingredients (papaya, tofu, and herbs) to stand out.

The crispy rice ($9) would work better left intact, so the starch doesn’t become cold and dry. At least they put plenty of the spicy ahi watermelon and guacamole on top to balance out the tasteless rice ball.

I preferred the spicy crab hand roll ($5 each), which was stuffed to the gills with shredded hearts of palm tossed with ponzu and spicy mayo. It’s more of a taco than handroll so it isn’t the easiest to eat but does mean there’s little rice and tons of filling.

The sole dish that threw us both off was the spinach and artichoke dip ($11). How can you mess up a creamy dip? By adding so much coconut oil into the recipe that coconut was all we could taste.  It felt like I was eating a savoury coconut cream pie with chunks of vegetables. Its only saving grace was they don’t skimp on the tortilla chips… too bad we didn’t need more than a few each.

Luckily, we had ordered so much food that we didn’t need the dip. Even without the dish, we left stuffed and with enough leftovers for another meal. Washed down with two cocktails each, our bill came to about $70 a person including gratuities and taxes. Welcome back happy hour dinners.

• Hors d’oeurves to start including an oyster station from Pearl Diver, Biff Bistro’s chicken liver parfait, and falafels from the Sultan’s Tent;

• Cool appetizers of chilled melon soup from the House House and pickled watermelon salad from Farmr;

• Tagliata di Spada from ARDO, which is Nova Scotia swordfish with their signature sourdough bread;

• A main of seared petit tender beef with roasted summer vegetables (a vegetarian alternative of squash blossoms also available) made by The Omni King Edward Hotel; and

• Two desserts courtesy of George Brown College: a tonka pavlova with peaches and a s’mores tart with smoked chocolate.

Amano consists of a pasta bar, café, and market. Within their small footprint in Union Station (in the concourse area close to York street) there’s a bit of everything: the “market” is really a shelf with cans and jars for sale; the café, a coffee bar, includes some takeaway items at the front; and the most sizeable portion of the establishment, the pasta bar, a sit-down dining area at the back of the restaurant.

While the menu isn’t overly long, there are enough tasty sounding options that makes deciding difficult. Their starters are relatively simple Italian staples. The arancini ($9; actually arrives with three) were decent, the best part was the molten smoked cheese centre. Yet, I found the risotto and in need of salt, so that the most prominent flavour doesn’t end up being the honey on the plate.

Nonna’s salad ($7) is a very lightly dressed pile of spring mix with cucumbers. A better salad option is the stuffed squash ($11), which also arrives with greens but also has an entire roasted squash with stracciatella, which makes it soft and savoury. Unlike the other starters, the squash doesn’t lack flavour thanks to the miso brown butter dressing, bread crumbs, and pomegranate sprinkled around.

Amano’s menu, not surprisingly, goes back to Chef Michael Angeloni’s Italian roots while blending in Canadian new world flavours. You’ll find this blend the most in the “not your nonna’s” options. The addition of the crispy shallots really makes the little ears ($19) dish pop, giving the pasta extra crunch and a zip of interest. Of course, the orecchiette is cooked perfectly and tossed with bite-sized roasted broccoli florets and plenty of cheese (white cheddar, aged gouda, and pecorino). It was a delicious main.

While you can’t taste the Dungeness crab or pancetta in the black trumpets ($22), the flower like campanelle pasta has a chewy al dante doneness and is vividly black from cuttlefish ink. Personally, I’d like the dish to have stronger seafood flavours, but realize it’s not everyone’s preference. In fact, with the healthy sprinkling of chives and mustard seeds, the dish has a surprisingly light taste.

For a more traditional option, Amano’s rigatoni is cheekily called fat tubes ($18). The beef Bolognese with parmesan is simple and not earth shattering, but hits the spot if you want a traditional hearty tomato-based pasta.

In terms of drinks, the Sophia Loren ($13) goes down way too easy thanks to the cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and red wine, which covers the Pike Creek whiskey. It’s like grown-up sangria and works great as an after-meal cocktail.

Personally, I’d just go with another cocktail, in lieu of dessert. The leaning puff tower ($9) is really two profiteroles stacked on top of each other … that don’t even lean. They’re at least tasty cream puffs, stuffed to the brim with chocolate cream. It’s a dessert for chocolate lovers, with disks of it topping the cream puffs. It’s much better than the sweet cream ($7) or panna cotta, which tastes like Greek yoghurt - with the almond butter crumble and raspberry pieces, it’s like eating a parfait. Not terrible, but more breakfast than dessert.

I can overlook the disappointing dessert, it means more calories for delicious fresh made pasta.

• 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!

• Ardo
• Buca

Having been to Cuba twice, it’s a shame I’ve never had authentic Cuban food. Right or wrong, I chose to eat at the resorts, whose food is mediocre at best … I like to joke it’s the vacation you can go on without worrying about gaining weight.

One thing I do remember are the strong cocktails. La Cubana is no different, the el Paraiso ($12) is probably the lightest, a tasty combination of gin, muddled basil, and grapefruit juice.

Lucky to dine with someone of Cuban decent, she explained the difference between a cubano and medianoche ($9.99) is merely the bun, the later on a softer kaiser that’s not pressed so the pork version looks like a pulled pork sandwich. The restaurant doesn’t skimp on the meat, along with gruyere, red onion, cornichon, grainy mustard, and a chipotle mayo the sandwich is filled with flavours and the bun doesn’t stand a chance at holding in everything.

The medianoche’s filling is very similar to the pork shoulder ($15.99), so in hindsight we should have ordered either a different sandwich or main. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the slow cooked pork, which is nicely smoked and has a slightly sweet taste. I especially enjoyed the crunchy vinegar coleslaw on the side - just watch out for the rounds of jalapeno, the heat can really sneak up on you!

Main plates also arrive with hot tostones (pressed plantains that are deep fried) and rice with beans. The tostones are rather bland, a bit of the hot sauce helps, but the beans and rice goes perfectly with the meats. 

Especially the guava BBQ beef short rib ($16.99), tender and tasty with its sweet glaze. Topped with an herby chimichurri and frizzled onions, it was my favourite dish of the evening.

Although already filled, we decided to share a natilla ($4.99), the only dessert I’ve never had before. Described as chocolate pudding, it’s much better, the light creamy chocolate custard incorporating a balanced sweetness.

Although it’s disappointing that Cuban resorts don’t serve more local fare, I understand they’re faced with limited ingredient availability (since meat and fresh vegetables are scarce) and it could have been ill received from previous resort guests. Therefore, we’re blessed in Toronto to have La Cubana, somewhere you can sample a taste of Cuban cuisine. 

• 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!

• Stack
• Branca

Despite looking like you’ve stepped back in time with every square inch of the Dead Rabbit’s wooden rafters plastered with black and white photographs and sawdust on the floor, the bar actually opened in 2013. It was this rustic “taproom” on the main floor that we spent our entire visit (a sawdust free cocktail parlour is located on the second floor), with so many things catching our attention: the extensive Irish whiskey collection, Dead Rabbit memorabilia hung on the wall, and even hand-drawn cartoons by the register.

The bar is named after the famous Irish gang in New York from the 1850s; thankfully, in modern days, there’s no weapons or dead animals in sight. What they do have (and you have to taste) is an out-of-this-world Irish coffee ($12). The whipped cream melts against the hot coffee to create a cold thick foam at the top, once you get through this cool layer you’re greeted with a warm coffee that’s thoroughly spiked with Clontarf whiskey and just enough demerara syrup to keep it sweet. Whether used to greet the morning or bid adieu before bed, it’s equally fitting.

Not all their cocktails are whiskey based, the perfect lady royal ($15) uses lemon vodka and is a perfect match for brunch as it’s almost like a peach Bellini mimosa. With the sparkle from the Prosecco, hint of refreshing mint, and light undertone of florally jasmine, it’s an easy sipping cocktail. 

Of course Dead Rabbit also has plenty of beers on tap from the traditional Guinness ($8) to their signature Dead Rabbit cask ($8), which go wonderfully with the corned beef sandwich ($18). The thin crunchy bread can barely contain the hefty portion of warm meat, which is brined but not overly salty. It’s topped with melted gruyere and a mustardy creamy coleslaw that provides a lovely hint of pickledness against the corned beef. The hot fries were equally delicious to munch on … meat and potatoes, the perfect Irish meal.

Sadly, the corned beef sandwich was all we could manage having had pizza an hour earlier. Who would have known that the 2017 World’s Best Bar winner would not only make amazing drinks but delicious food as well? Do yourself a favour and head to the Dead Rabbit earlier for brunch, you’ll be satisfied with their food and it’s your best chance to score a seat (by 3pm the place was packed). Don’t worry, there won’t be any Irish militia gangs on site, but you’ll likely still need to battle with the mob of thirsty tourists and traders.

• Bramble Bar
• The New York Bar