730. Alo Restaurant | Dinner at the Top Restaurant in Canada

Last month for my boyfriend's birthday, I took him to dinner at Alo. Alo is a contemporary French restaurant, currently rated as Canada's #1 Restaurant. Naturally, getting a reservation here took a bit of effort. I had to book months in advance (at the exact hour/minute when reservations for November opened up) and was lucky to secure a spot on our desired night..as when I refreshed the reservations page a few minutes after, it was already fully booked again. A non-refundable deposit secured our spot.

The tasting menu consisted of 10 courses, not including the amuse-bouche, intermezzo, etc. Each course was so beautifully plated I kept looking forward to the next one to see how it was presented. Everything was delicious (as expected) with exciting flavours and textures.
The service of all the wait staff was impeccable. They were very professional and knew the perfect moments to come and change our dishes and cutlery without being intrusive. The dining experience was unlike any I've had before, and definitely one of the best meals I've had the pleasure of eating. The ambiance was perfect. I highly recommend it for a special occasion.


Bigeye Tuna


Hokkaido Sea Scallop


Kanpachi


Sea Urchin


East Coast Lobster


Milk Fed Veal Tenderloin


Snake River Farms Beef Rib Cap

*Then there was bread and butter with foie gras which I seem to have forgotten to take a photo of.


Intermezzo


Concord Grape - the dessert. I LOVED this!

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'

469. Quebec 2016 | Aux Chantignoles at Chateau Montebello

Here was my breakfast at Le Chateau Montebello! I've mentioned this in the past that I LOVE hotel breakfasts (buffet style or even delivered to the room). Not because the food tastes good (I mean it does..) but I love the experience of it. I'm not quite sure how to explain it but you probably know what I mean. The breakfast we had here was delicious. There was a wide selection of food including the usual continental style items like bread, sausages, eggs, potatoes, beans etc as well as crepes, an omelette station, delicious oatmeal..and more.

The hotel's main restaurant is Aux Chantignoles where we had breakfast and dinner. It's pretty big in there, with several dining areas and very beautifully decorated throughout.

I'll start with breakfast:




I loved their oatmeal!

Here's a view of the restaurant. This is the part where you walk in but on the sides there were individual rooms as well. So we came for dinner that night shortly after checking in (which I posted about yesterday). We hadn't really planned to eat there at first but since there were no other options for food that night, we decided to have our dinner there. The restaurant/food really exceeded my expectations. I didn't think much of it at first (since I usually prefer going to actual non-hotel restaurants when travelling) but this one was really good.

There were a lot of unique things on the menu. It was one of those restaurants where you knew that whatever you ordered, it would most likely be good and nicely presented. So I had a really hard time choosing what I wanted since I wanted to try almost everything on there! By the way, here is the menu. A lot of different meats and French-Canadian dishes.


An amuse bouche to start.

I went for the Monk Fish and Shrimp Medallion appetizer (with parsley sponge, lobster sauce, ocean paper, and shellfish oil). This was delicious. I just didn't like the parsley sponge that much..it didn't have a strong taste to it but if you don't eat it first it gets all soggy by the end and tastes like wet bread lol. It makes it look cool though. I really liked the shrimp medallions.

My bf got the Wild Game Parmentier (with four spice sauce and fingerling potato chips). I had a taste of it and it was really good as well. It's a mixture of a lot of different meats, finely chopped up.


Then we had this sorbet. I think the term is Intermezzo..?

For the main course I had the Pappardelle Paste with Milk-Fed Veal (with sage and lemon cream sauce, spinach, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes). I don't think I ever ordered veal before. This was really good. I loved the sauce and the veal was tender and juicy. It was so filling though.

The Deer Wellington (with Saskatoonberry sauce, Jerusalem artichoke puree, and honey mushroom). I tried a bite of the deer as well. It was my first time eating deer. It tasted kind of like beef. I usually don't like gamey meat but this was really good.

The dessert was buffet-style so we had a bit of everything. I wish they did actual dessert though. The options they had were just cakes, jello, pudding, fruits, etc.

It was overall a really nice and memorable meal/evening. I definitely recommend having dinner at the restaurant, even if you're not staying at the hotel!


Other Posts from this Trip:

Au Chalet en Bois Rond - Cabin Review
Dog Sledding
Snowmobiling & Trails
Le Chateau Montebello - Hotel Review
Quebec City


FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'

423. Harbour Sixty

A couple weeks ago when he came to visit, my boyfriend & I went for dinner at Harbour Sixty. This is my favourite restaurant in Toronto. I actually have a couple favourites but in my opinion..Harbour Sixty is the best if you want a combination of amazing food, atmosphere and service. I've only been here a couple times before and always had a wonderful experience. (THIS was my first time coming where I did a slightly more extensive review.)

In the photo above is their shrimp cocktail appetizer. The shrimp are HUGE. It's hard to tell in this photo how big they are but they were the biggest I've ever seen in my life. Very juicy and flavourful.

I got the Buffalo Mozzarella. If you clicked to the other post of my first time here, we had the Burrata cheese. It was amazing..I actually forgot and thought this was the same thing I previously ordered, but I realize now when I re-read that post that it was different. This one was good but I much prefer the Burrata they used to have. I wonder why they took it off the menu. It was so delicious (before that I didn't even liked cheese).



Long Bone Lamb Chops/Iowa Chops with a Crisp Potato Pancake



Baked Salmon Filet with Soy Mustard Glaze & Mango Salsa. So good.


For the sides we had asparagus, creamed corn & roasted beets

& finally, dessert - Baked Alaska! I had been looking forward to trying this ever since making the reservation. Harbour Sixty has an extensive dessert list..but when I saw this I knew I HAD to try it because it combined everything I love in a dessert: hazelnut and chocolate gelato with glazed meringue and strawberries, blueberries, etc (& at the same time great presentation and being highly Instagram-able). The glazed meringue is actually like toasted marshmallow..at first I thought it would be the harder meringue (which I really love) but I love soft marshmallow as well. I know, I realize in this post I keep saying I love everything - but it's true! The server brought this to us then poured the alcohol over and lit it up. The flames burned for a few seconds before going out. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to snap a photo of it when it was all on fire. There was so much alcohol though. It was very strong. The fruits were completely soaked in it..I was only able to handle like one strawberry or else I would've gotten tipsy off them lol.

Anyway..it was a great night! :)

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'

386. Hy's Steakhouse, Toronto

A few nights ago we went for a wonderful 3-hour long dinner at Hy's Steakhouse. We left incredibly full and satisfied with the meal. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had, and I'm craving all the food now as I look back on these photos.
I can't believe that just a few years ago I hated steak. Well, I would never order it at restaurants and I definitely was not as "into food" as I am now. Growing up I always ordered the most simple things when we went out to eat. Now I'm slowly becoming more adventurous with food. Whenever I have dinner plans at a new restaurant, I would excitedly go online to see their menu and plan out everything I would be ordering. I was especially excited to try Hy's Steakhouse as I wanted to try most things on their menu. I had a hard time narrowing down what to order..and I'm happy to say that everything we ended up ordering that night exceeded my expectations.

This is what you see when you walk in. I saw some photos and a virtual tour of the restaurant before going, but in person it was a lot more beautiful. It's quite dark in there (in a good way). I love the high ceilings and the way all the tables are arranged.




The second floor has a nice view over the main dining area, and is available for private events.



We weren't planning on ordering this Cheese Toast but our server recommended it and I'm glad he did! It was so good. The cheese is freshly baked/melted onto the soft bread. If we didn't have so much more food coming I probably would've ordered another basket of this.


Smoked Sockeye Salmon with capers, red onion and herbed cream cheese


Sauteed Garlic Shrimp (loved this!). The sauce is good for dipping the cheese bread too.

Steak Neptune: Filet Mignon topped with fresh asparagus and blue crabmeat, finished with hollandaise sauce and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. You can also have the option of a New York steak instead of Filet Mignon. The steak was very tender and juicy, and perfectly cooked.


Roast Rack of Lamb: herb crusted with rosemary and mint sauce.

For the accompaniments, we ordered: creamed corn (my favourite), steamed fresh asparagus, creamed spinach and grilled beefsteak tomatoes. I recommend the corn and tomatoes. The spinach was too creamy.

After the dinner, we decided to have dessert in their lounge area. Before I tell you about that, here's some more photos of their main dining area.




Want a peek in the kitchen?




This is the booth we got - "booth 301". It's right in between the two dining areas. In my opinion it's the best spot in the whole restaurant! Nice and spacious and great if you want some privacy. (Sorry about the dark photos though..)

After the dinner we came to their bar and lounge area here for desserts. You can't see in this photo but there is a grand piano under the portrait. Two musicians play live jazz music as you sit and relax.


Our desserts: an apple crumble, chocolate cake and some vanilla ice cream.
Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience and I would love to go back again. It definitely exceeded my expectations. I live very close by and Hy's only recently caught my attention. I have walked by many times before but I actually didn't know it was such a nice steakhouse. From their logo I always thought they were more like a pub style place. I found out that one of the companies I work with had shot their interiors for Google Business View. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to review it for my blog! Since it was really dark when we were there, and my photos don't do the place justice..take a virtual tour here to get a better idea of the interiors.


Recommendations
- Reserve booth "301"
- Have dinner in the dining area and desserts/drinks in the lounge
- The cheese toast (pre-appetizer) is a must!
- Our favourites: Garlic Shrimp (appetizer), Roast Rack of Lamb (main), Steak Neptune (main), Grilled Beefsteak Tomatoes (accompaniment), Creamed Corn (accompaniment), Apple Crumble (dessert)


What We Loved
- The atmosphere: classy, intimate, and very relaxing. Great for a romantic dinner for two or a business dinner. It is the perfect place to have a long meal.
- The lounge: live jazz music. They keep playing until the last customer leaves.
- The food: we loved every dish we ordered (except for one - see below). A few things were the best we ever tried. I normally don't like shrimp but the garlic shrimp is amazing. If you like lamb, Hy's serves one of the best in Toronto. & I would go back just to have the cheese toast!
- The servers: they were all very professional, attentive, and knowledgeable in the menu. Their communication skills with each other are excellent as well. We were served by a few different servers who knew what our preferences were without having to ask again.
- The whole restaurant is very clean. Not a speck of dust anywhere!


Suggestions
- The tableware: was pretty basic. Usually I like when high-end restaurants have more unique cutlery and dishware sets.
- Uniforms: I didn't like what the servers wore (white coats, shirts and black pants). Somehow it doesn't exactly match the setting.
- The Creamed Spinach: had too much cream


Hy's Steakhouse is located at 120 Adelaide Street West, and open for lunch and dinner every Monday to Saturday until 11pm (only dinner on Saturdays). To reserve, call 416.364.6600.
Their other locations across Canada include: Whistler, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and soon - Calgary

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'
This post archived in: Toronto