Restaurant Comings & Goings

[Blovertis]

Lake's at Yonge and MacPherson is history -- there was a bailiff's notice posted on the door tonight.

At about 20 years, it's had a good run. Still, surprised to see it fall victim to this recession.

 

[Northern Light]

That's a surprise

I had dinner at Lake's a few months back.

Traffic was good, was mid-week, I would put the place at 2/3 full.

Their mark-ups were more than healthy, hard to believe they couldn't turn a profit on them.

 

[Solaris]

Toronto Star

This is a sad sad loss ~
*********

Truffles restaurant closing after 37 years

Aug 27, 2009 01:18 PM
Corey Mintz, Restaurant Critic

RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR
Michael Monette, 18 year employee at Truffles makes sure the wine glasses are spotless before dinner service. Truffles Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel is closing September 5th.

Truffles will shave its last tuber a week from tomorrow.

The restaurant that once epitomized luxury dining in Toronto will close its doors for good, the Toronto Four Seasons hotel has confirmed.

"The restaurant has experienced a slowdown in its business not just this year, but for the past several years," says Four Seasons executive Dimitrios Zarikos. "With the last economic downturn, it became just impossible to bear."

In its time, Truffles was a culinary leader, one of the priciest dining destinations in Toronto. It is featured on the resumés of many celebrity chefs, including Jonathan Gushue (Langdon Hall, Cambridge), Patrick Lin (Senses), Lynn Crawford (Four Seasons New York, Iron Chef), Tawfik Shehata (Vertical) and Jason McLeod (Elysian, in Chicago).

"When I was there, it was fantastic," says Philippe Grelet, who cooked at the Four Seasons from 1994 to 2001. "I was so proud of everything we did."

Grelet, executive chef of the CIBC executive dining room, still recalls with absolute clarity individual dishes, including wild boar with sweet potato gnocchi and slow poached capon breast covered in duxelles.

Truffles has been on the second floor of the Four Seasons since 1972, when the hotel opened at Bloor and Avenue Rd. Its signature dish - called black gold - reflected its name.

The dish is an elaborate arrangement of spaghettini surrounded by a sauce of reduced chicken stock, cream and truffle oil, drizzled with veal jus and a foamed truffle sauce and covered in black truffle shavings.

Black gold is no longer on the menu, but current chef Laurie Bandur will make it on request. What does it cost? The restaurant won't say.

The Four Seasons, which is building a new hotel at Bay and Scollard Sts., plans a more casual restaurant for its new location.

Whatever it is, it is unlikely to feature a dish called black gold. That well has run dry.


http://www.thestar.com/living/restaurants/article/687333

 

[prosperegal]

^^^

Surprised they're not waiting until after TIFF.

 

[deerparker]

Two new restaurants are opening soon on Yonge Street in Deer Park - Spinners, a "modern" Greek place, is moving into the former Ocean/Mint location and Delica www.delicakitchen.ca is taking over the Mediterranean place a few doors south.

 

[gabe]

I'm not surprised Truffles is closing, it hasn't been that great since Lynn Crawford left. Expensive over the top restaurants with elegant decor in Toronto are a thing of a the past. I have noticed the last few years in NYC a lot of fine dining restaurants are going for the more causal modern "hip" look. I see that happening all over Toronto now. I have heard Harbour 60 has completed a extensive renovation.

 

[deerparker]

Noticed today that someone has finally taken on the former Bow & Arrow Pub in Davisville. Under renovations now and set to re-open as The Twisted Kilt.

 

[Therion]

Noticed today that someone has finally taken on the former Bow & Arrow Pub in Davisville. Under renovations now and set to re-open as The Twisted Kilt.

I miss the Bow and Arrow. Reasonable priced, good food, and a fantastic selection of Canadian microbrews. Although the last two times I went, they were out of Denison's which is one of the main reasons I used to go there.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Yeah, I've been noticing the work going on in the old Bow and Arrow space for some time now. I have a bad feeling that that new pub is going to be a Fox and Fiddle-type place that tries to be a club-pub hybrid, with blaring music, slutty yet incompetent waitresses, DJs, and an overall frat-house type atmosphere that has driven me to never step foot in a Fox and Fiddle in years (or Murphy's Law in the Beach, which is trying to do the same thing. I just turned around and walked out last time I was there. When I see any waitstaff in a "pub" wearing headsets, I know it's not where I want to be).

The Firkin down the street, or the Red Lantern on Merton are now my favourite places for a quiet pint in the area. Aristotle MacGregor's on Mount Pleasant isn't bad either.

Edit: and yes, the Bow had excellent selections of hard-to-find brews. They had a great cider there too, can't remember the name but I've never seen it anywhere else.

 

[deerparker]

Arrabiata (formerly The Living Well) at Yonge and St. Mary is no more. According to posters in the window, it's going to re-open as The Golden Sun.

 

[TOareaFan]

Noticed today that someone has finally taken on the former Bow & Arrow Pub in Davisville. Under renovations now and set to re-open as The Twisted Kilt.

Wasn't this the place that Leaf play-by-play guy Joe Bowen owned? (or partly owned?).....given the new name, it makes me wonder if he has not taken on former Leaf goalie (and noted bagpiper) Glen Healey as a partner

 

[Jonny5]

While chain restaurant expansion isn't very notable, Honey's Beestro is opening a location inside one of the mansions on Jarvis, across the street from The Keg Mansion, on the north corner of Jarvis and Cawthra Square.

They are calling it "Honey's Beestro: The Grand Hive"

I've never ben to one, though I know they have several locations in the GTA now. What is it like?

 

[TOareaFan]

While chain restaurant expansion isn't very notable, Honey's Beestro is opening a location inside one of the mansions on Jarvis, across the street from The Keg Mansion, on the north corner of Jarvis and Cawthra Square.

They are calling it "Honey's Beestro: The Grand Hive"

I've never ben to one, though I know they have several locations in the GTA now. What is it like?

Never heard of them.

 

[JasonParis]

Arrabiata (formerly The Living Well) at Yonge and St. Mary is no more. According to posters in the window, it's going to re-open as The Golden Lion.

Not surprised about this one.

Also in the nabe, I spoke to one of the wait staff at the Duke of Gloucester last night and he claims it to be the worst summer for the pub that he can remember. He suggested things could hit the "trouble stage" soon if it doesn't improve.

The place has always been somewhat of a dump, but easily one of the most authentic, if not the most authentic, English pub experience in T.O.

 

[Anth]

I spoke to one of the wait staff at the Duke of Gloucester last night and he claims it to be the worst summer for the pub that he can remember. He suggested things could hit the "trouble stage" soon if it doesn't improve.

The place has always been somewhat of a dump, but easily one of the most authentic, if not the most authentic, English pub experience in T.O.

Agreed and that's worrying news. U-Sector will be back in full force every weekend following the TFC season, so hopefully that'll help.