Showing posts with label striploin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label striploin. Show all posts

The Fifth Grill and Terrace (Toronto)

Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 225 Richmond Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner


Having never been to the Fifth, other than to go to the club, we decided to try dinner there. Upon entering, I’ll admit it was strange to see the club functioning as a restaurant; where the bouncer welcomes you in and the person selling tickets brings you to an elevator. The club’s dance floor was spruced up with extra furniture and the pillars covered with white veils.  

The restaurant itself is located on the fifth floor, hence the name, and you get to it through an old fashioned elevator complete with operator.  It’s quite large with an indoor dining area and outdoor terrace. The dining room is classically decorated with white, tons of light fixtures and comfy chairs. The only odd décor was a mini disco ball hanging from the middle of one fixture which was whimsical but also tacky.

An amuse, a tomato caeser shooter, arrived as soon as we sat down.  Not being a caeser fan, I tried it nevertheless - it was thick and garlicky without the zing of horseradish but could be refreshing on a summer day.  A basket of bread arrives after ordering, soft French bread but cold so nothing crazy.

 

My appetizer, the house cured bacon and summer melon salad, was beautifully presented.  A combination of sweet melons, sour balsamic and slightly salty and smoky bacon, the salad was certainly flavourful.  I enjoyed the thick cut bacon but could have done without the balsamic glaze over it as with the citrus vinaigrette the dish was a little sour for my taste.

     

While viewing what other diners were eating, the striploin appeared to be the overwhelming favourite so I chose that as well.  A generous portion of steak arrives which dwarfs the small square of sweet potato gratin and sprinkle of French beans beside it.  The steak itself wasn’t the best cut; mine was unevenly sliced which caused half the steak to be perfectly cooked at medium rare but the other half extremely rare.  I also wish the Fifth invested in better steak knives as it became difficult to cut through the thicker rare part.

 

A pat of bercy butter - butter mixed with shallots, parley and white wine - sat on the steak.  It needed more herbs as it’s supposed to add a burst of flavours to the steak but really just tasted like unsalted butter with specks of parsley.  The beans were good, thin and crispy, I wish there were more of them!  However, the sweet potato gratin arrived luke warm and seemed like a bit of an afterthought. 

I ended with the vanilla panna cotta which didn’t really taste like panna cotta.  It was a thicker and creamier consistency than most, but I enjoyed the richness.  The strawberry rhubarb sauce wasn’t too sweet so really lightened up the dish. The dessert was the highlight dish of the night, which is disappointing for someone who likes savoury dishes more.

 

The panna cotta, in my opinion, was better than the lemon lavender cheesecake that my friend had. Although the flavour was spot on, I could really taste the citrus and lavender, the consistency was a bit lumpy.  Additionally, the batter was too watery as it arrives slightly saggy looking. 

 

Accompanying the bill was some individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies to bring home which was a nice touch.  Sadly, the cookies, although buttery, were hard and crumbly.


I was surprised the Fifth’s Summerlicious offer was priced at $45, which is normally reserved for the fancier restaurants in Toronto.  The Fifth simply doesn’t have the same polish and food quality that you would expect for a place charging $45.  It may be a strange comparison, but I felt like eating at the Fifth was similar to eating on the Niagara Falls strip – overpriced but satisfactory food.  Service was great at the beginning with the person at the entrance enthusiastically welcoming us and the attentiveness of the gentlemen operating the elevator; but the service in the restaurant seemed lack luster in comparison.  The food was decent but not amazing.

It was a bit strange they keep plates of food on tables between the elevator/bathroom and dining room before serving.  While visiting the restrooms I could see the various plates left there with slips of paper marking the table.  Somehow, it feels a little unhygienic and it certainly means the food is not under heating lamps and gets cold while waiting to be presented.

On the plus side, having dinner at the Fifth Grill and Terrace does get you admission into the club, so you avoid lines and cover.  So, it’s a good option if you’re looking to go out dancing to burn off calories afterwards. 

  
Is Summerlicious worth it?

As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Summerlicious - $45

Regular menu - $62 - salad* ($12), striploin ($38) and panna cotta* ($12)

Savings - $17 or 27%

* The summer melon salad and panna cotta aren't on their regular menu; prices based on the chopped salad and chiffon cake

Overall mark - 6 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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CLOSED: Lucien (Toronto)

Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 36 Wellington St East
Type of Meal: Dinner

Lucien's dining room is a narrow room adorned with dark walls, dark wooden tables and dim lights.  The only feature that attempts to open up the space is a large mirror at the bar area.

When my friend and I entered on Saturday, the restaurant was still relatively empty.  With plenty of tables for two available, I expected to be seated pretty quickly; alas, this wasn't the case.  Rather than seating us in one of the three tables already set-up for two, our waiter insisted we wait until they cleaned a table in the corner by the window.  Since it's situated between a wall and two windows, it felt like we were eating in a pet store display.  Perhaps, a couple may like the table since it's private and secluded. But, as two friends having a casual dinner, it was a bit strange and definitely not worth having to wait five minutes to have it made up.

Lucien takes after its Italian roots and charges for bread - common in Europe but rare in Toronto.  Nonetheless, wanting something to nibble on before our mains but not wanting something heavy, we decided to pay the $2 and share the small bread basket.  Consisting of six slices of cold bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it wasn't worth paying for. 

I had the daily house made pasta ($29), which was tiger shrimp on linguine that night. The three tiger shrimp were great - large, cooked perfectly and seasoned well.  The linguine, on the other hand, was less impressive.  The noodles were slightly overcooked so after a few bites it started getting gluey.  The first few bites which were covered with shaved parmesan were good, but the rest was bland since there was too little sauce on the pasta.  To make things worse, there was no salt on the table so you couldn't even flavour the dish yourself.



My friend ordered the striploin ($37), which was overdone and subpar. Accompanying the striploin were plain fingerling potatoes that could use some herbs and time in the oven and plump crimini mushrooms were the best part of the dish as they were meaty and nicely roasted.  The Diane sauce was abnormally thick and resembled peanut butter on the plate but tasted like congealed gravy.  I would have just liked a simple jus from cooking the beef. 



Overall, the food had the potential to be good as they were made with quality, fresh ingredients.  However, somewhere in the process things went wrong - either the chef lacked quality control and let overdone items leave their kitchen or the food was sitting for too long waiting to be brought to the table.  Either way, with the plethora of rustic Italian restaurants and steakhouses across Toronto, there are many better options to go to. 


Overall mark - 5 out of 10



____________________________
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!