Portico

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Jun 19, 2015
Company: +Will

Will and I decided to go for a nicer dinner to catch up after a few crazy weeks. We've passed by Portico which is attached to the Cambridge Suites Hotel many times but have never eaten there. I was looking for places in the area and decided to make a reservation to check it out. It was not busy at all around 7PM on a Friday as I think we were the first ones there for dinner. The decor is very classy and has an atmosphere for finer dining, very fitting for the hotel scene. Their water is infused with various fruits which was pretty cool and different from the classic lemon water.

Their menu was pretty limited with only a few options and all on the pricier side. Once we ordered, we got some buns to start. We got about 3 which was an odd number, and all of them were different. Nothing to special about the bread, but they had two types of butter which were really good.

For my main, I had the Seafood Riscotto with Sautéed Tiger Shrimp, Sea Scallops, Sweet Pepper, Leek, Roast Tomatoes, and Garlic Lobster Butter. The plate was huge but the portion was smaller than I expected. I didn't love this dish, the riscotto was plain with just a tomato sauce and it could have been cooked more thoroughly. There were only 2 scallops which were overcooked which made them hard on the sides. The shrimp was really good and large but the flavour wasn't quite there overall.

Will ordered Portico’s Famous Pad-Thai, I had a bite or two but I could hardly find any noodles in there, lots of veggies! But the flavour seemed on point and Will enjoyed it.

By the time we were done, a few more people where there, mostly from the hotel as they seemed to be on business trips by themselves. The enjoyed the setting as it was very quiet and the waitresses were very attentive. Surprisingly good service!

Food: 2.5/5 - Not my favourite and a bit pricey
Decor: 3/5 - Super fancy and clean but a but too much so...
Service: 4/5 - Great!
Willingness to go back: 1/5 - Definitely wouldn't go out of my way to return, much better restaurants in the area.
Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://www.porticorestaurant.ca/

The Fifth Pubhouse

Date Visited: Dinner on Saturday Jan 24, 2015
Company: Walk-in for 6

The boys were in downtown Toronto for a suit-fitting all day on Saturday so I met up with them for dinner before seeing American Sniper. We were going to the Scotiabank Theatre in the entertainment district and just down the street was the Fifth Gastropub. I had no idea this was the same location where Easy on the Fifth was in the upstairs. The guys arrived around 5:30PM and got a table for 6, it was very empty when I arrived shortly after. The restaurant looked very cozy with wooden furniture and warm lighting.

Their menu offers an interesting and wide selection of dishes to choose from. I opted for the 5th Burger because I didn't think I could go wrong with it. It took a reasonable amount of time for our dishes to arrive, +Stanley ordered the Duck Confit so they warned us it would take a bit longer. The Burger didn't look like it had very much sauce or toppings on it. From the first bite, I could tell it was very lean and wasn't juicy at all. It tasted fine but it was very plain and needed some flavour. I wasn't a fan of the fries either, they were way too hard and overcooked.

Our waitress was fine except that when she asked if we wanted anything else, but she was distracted talking to +Alex and ended up just bringing us our bills even though some of us were craving some dessert. It was a little awkward to bring it up then so we just let it go...

Food: 1.5/5 - The burger was nothing special, very disappointing for a gastopub.
Decor: 2.5/5 - Good atmosphere and ambiance but we were seated at stools with no backs when the restaurant was empty??
Service: 2.5/5 - It was OK but considering the place was empty, nothing outstanding.
Willingness to go back: 2/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way but it does have a nice selection of beer if you're in the area.
Overall: 2/5

Website: http://thefifthpubhouseandcafe.com/

Bob's Bulgogi

Visited: Lunch on Friday Apr 26, 2013

Company: Got take-out for myself while working from +Will's

I was first introduced to Bob's Bulgogi by +Will, and for those who aren't aware, his preferred choices when we're deciding where to go to eat is always Bob's and mostly because it's the closest food place in proximity to him. Usually we would try to go there on weekends, but it was a rare occasion to find it actually open, especially last summer when they were going through some construction. So of course when i was working from Will's on Friday, there was talk of Bob's and since I knew it would be open, I decided to get some take-out during my lunch break.

At first look, it's quite the hole in the wall, situated in between a corner store and waxing place? It has only room for about 4 people to sit and eat, so it's definitely a take-out place. It was pretty busy on Friday at noon which was something I hadn't seen before, only having gone on weekends prior. The kitchen is quite open which is nice, so you can see your food cooking. They have individual containers of vegetables portioned off and a large container of marinated meat you see them take to cook. They also offer complementary miso soup on the counter you can serve and they ask if you want kimchi as well. The one guy taking your orders is really nice, and the other guy just cooks.

I ordered the Spicy Beef Bulgogi for the first time. Will always got us the chicken before and even though it's still good, it is definitely no signature Korean beef bulgogi.  I got back to Will's to have the food and it was really nice just to sit, eat this by yourself, and enjoy. The portion size was generous and they have a nice amount of rice under the meat. It wasn't too spicy and the sweetness was perfect. The beef was so tender and flavourful and there was a nice mix of veggies in there too. It's hard to want to order anything else, but I saw them cook an order of noodles and that looked amazing too.

Food: 4/5 - Does bulgogi justice.

Decor: 3/5 - Extremely small but open kitchen is nice and clean.

Service: 3/5 - Super nice guys working the place and remembers your orders.

Likeliness to come back: 4.5/5 - I've been converted.

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: none