My party of four visited during Taste of Oakville, and in hindsight, the evening foreshadowed…read moreitself early -- the restaurant's website was down with a 404 error, and we kept finding two different addresses (one apparently their old location). We eventually found it. Upon arrival, the door swung open and struck a seated guest -- a sign of just how small the space is. The restaurant was full except for one four-top (clearly ours), and we stood awkwardly in the entrance -- which is essentially inside the dining room -- waiting to be acknowledged. When greeted, we were asked if we had a reservation. We said yes. "Table for eight?" we were asked, which felt impossible given the size of the room. We clarified four, and were pointed to the only open table. No name was requested; we realistically could have just walked in and taken it. The space is starkly lit with aggressive bright white lighting that feels more clinical than cozy. The artwork is interesting and gives a gallery-like feel -- it seems the restaurant is aiming for a downtown Toronto wine bar aesthetic, but it doesn't quite land. Our table was missing water glasses, and the stemware was mismatched -- not in an intentional, charming way, but more in a "we ran out" way. Once seated, we weren't acknowledged or offered water for nearly 20 minutes. Not rushing guests is one thing; leaving them feeling forgotten is another. When our server finally arrived, the service set the tone for the evening. One glass of water was poured before he realized another was missing. He disappeared, returned with a glass, inspected it mid-pour, then walked away again (dirty glass). After several more trips and long gaps, everyone eventually received water -- about 15 minutes later. He was polite and friendly, just clearly untrained. He shared that the owner is also the sommelier, cook, and server, and that he liked working there because he wasn't expected to know much about wine -- an interesting admission for a wine bar. The owner greeted us warmly but asked only one guest about wine preferences -- ironically the only non-wine drinker at the table. The concept appeared to be sommelier-led, though this was never explained. If that is the intention, engaging the entire table is essential. That said, the wines themselves were enjoyable; the service surrounding them was not. The Taste of Oakville menu promised three curated 3-oz pours paired with a charcuterie board for two. The pours arrived unevenly and slowly, with little explanation of the pairings. The charcuterie boards were plain and inconsistent between tables despite containing similar items -- basic fruit, crostini, simple cured meats, small portions of brie, and two slices of truffle cheese. No crackers, spreads, or thoughtful touches elevated the experience, and presentation varied noticeably. Our second wine pour didn't arrive until our mains, and service moved so slowly we requested a wine list to order a bottle. We were told there is no wine list -- "we're not that kind of restaurant." Instead, all reds are $80 and all whites $70, and the owner selects the bottle for you after asking only red or white. The concept might work if explained upfront; without context, it was confusing. At one point, noticing my empty glass, our server poured me a random red -- which turned out to be the same wine as our first pour -- and then left without serving anyone else. We had to remind staff we were still waiting for our second curated pour. Nothing about the experience felt curated. The most surprising moment of the night came when our mains arrived. As we lifted our appetizer plates -- still holding olive pits, fruit rinds, and crumbs -- the servers told us not to worry about clearing them and proceeded to place our main dishes directly on top of the used plates. I'm still shocked. I wouldn't do that at home, let alone expect it at a Lakeshore, or quite frankly, any restaurant. Two of us ordered the tagliatelle, which was tasty but contained only two small pieces of short rib -- and was difficult to enjoy while staring at discarded rinds beneath the plate. The other two ordered brisket sliders: two sliders, no sides. They tasted good but left diners hungry. One guest joked they kept thinking the fruit rinds were fries -- unfortunately accurate. We tried to make the best of the evening, but it never delivered the cozy wine-and-charcuterie experience we had anticipated -- dim lighting, thoughtful pairings, something special. After finishing our meal, we requested our bills and reminded staff we were still waiting for the third curated pour. We were told "five minutes." Those five minutes never came. Eventually, wanting simply to leave, we paid a single combined bill and sorted it out ourselves. Dinner for four totaled $460. This was not the boutique Lakeshore dining experience we expected, and ultimately, it was deeply disappointing.

As an Oenophile, I was excited to check out The Wine Bar in my neighbourhood. The door was open, In…read morewalked in at 4:55 to be "Greeted" by the Owner, "We don't open till 5 o'clock".......Attitude from the get go. I looked at the menu, interesting but very pricey for the offering. I looked at a row of wine bottle partially open and simply corked, no nitrogen or air extraction.....no telling how long the wine had been "Breathing"....Days? I am puzzled by the discrepancy 5 Star vs 1 Star reviews. I have no confidence in the 5 star reviews....Friends?...Self reviewed? No serious wine enthusiast would visit this establishment...bad attitude, poor value, insufficient wine care and presentation.

This must be the place!…read more Our first trip to Toronto and boy did we have fun. From delicious food to sipping wine, and everything in between, Toronto was a city to explore. Ladybug Wine Bar is a cute but also sophisticated wine bar located on King Street, steps away from shopping and restaurants. We stopped in here on a snowy Sunday before our flight home. They also serve Sunday Brunch. We grabbed a few open seats at the comfy bar. They do not offer wine flights, which made this experience pretty darn expensive but SOOOO worth it. We had such a fun time and the people working were so nice, we honeslty did not want to leave. They were willing to help with our selections. We actually ordered all their Reds by the glass. I know, but there were only about 6 and we had to try them all. I like to say "go big or go home" LOL! We loved almost all except for maybe a few. We ended up also ordering a charcuterie while we sip. And of course I brought a bottle home with me. If you are ever in Toronto, please check out Ladybug wine bar, it is fantastic, you won't want to leave. Cheers!

A Hidden Gem for Brunch!!…read more I came here with 3 of my girlies that love brunch. Everything we ordered was fresh, light, and absolutely delicious. We started with some drinks which were super affordable compared to other brunch places. The espresso martinis weren't too sweet and had the perfect balance. As for the dishes the standout for me was the smoked salmon toast. The combination of the eggs, fresh dill, and sliced salmon on top of toast was so yummy. Service was nice and the place was cozy/bright. Highly recommend this spot for a girls' brunch or casual date.

My favourite local spot on Main Street to hangout. This gem is truly one of a kind - I love the…read moreself serve wine concept. It gives you the opportunity to be introduced to new, different wines. They have happy hour menu during the week - their charcuterie boards are phenomenal. I'll try their sandwiches next! Owners are welcoming and friendly.

Not so much a wine bar as basecamp for a journey…read more The highlight of this hidden gem is its unique self-serve system, where you can try a variety of wines by the glass, portion or sip. This allows you to experiment and discover new favourites without committing to a full bottle. You may not like everything you try, but it's always INTERESTING. The selection of wines at Wine on Main is always rotating and expertly curated, offering a range of styles and regions that wonderfully move you out of your comfort zone. The owners, a knowledgeable and curious couple, are passionate about exploring different wines and sharing their discoveries with their guests. Their passion is contagious and you can't help but be swept up in their excitement. The best shop of it's kind in York Region.

Cute wine bar!…read more Extensive list of wine by the glass available and bottles for purchase. The staff was super helpful and knowledgeable in their recommendations. The space is laid back and unpretentious. A glass will run around $17 but good opportunity to try wines you usually can't get from LCBO. More space available in the patio (heated and slightly insulated in a tent.

Cute wine bar with patio in the back. $20 corkage fee. It's a bar only service and you seat…read moreyourself. Will definitely be coming back here.

Same Same serves contemporary, modern, and fusion Thai and Lao dishes in Toronto's entertainment…read moredistrict (on King West). The location was ideal for theatre-goers, as it was right across from the TIFF building and a stone's throw away from a lot of theatres in the area. The interior was spacious and modern, with a lot of tables and seatings extending to the back of the restaurant. It was quite empty when we went on a weekend afternoon, so service was prompt. The food was excellent!! They put creative spins on classic Thai dishes that turned out very well. Review of the dishes: 1) Raw Oysters (fresh raw BC oysters with roasted chili jam, fried shallots, and house nam jim seafood sauce) - They were like raw oysters in typical Western seafood restaurants, but with a Thai twist. "House Nam Jim Seafood" is a Thai dipping sauce commonly used for steamed or grilled seafood, made of garlic, chilies, lime juice, fish sauce, and cilantro. This sauce, in addition to the roasted chili jam, created a mouthful burst of flavour when the oyster was eaten in one go. The roasted chili jam created a heat effect in the throat, which made it warming. The fried shallots added a nice crunch, in contrast to the smooth raw oyster. This was definitely a unique spin to the plain raw oysters. 2) Larb Crispy Brussels Sprouts (fried Brussels sprouts with lemongrass, cilantro, lime juice, chili flakes, toasted rice powder, fried shallots, and coriander) - I was excited to see a vegetarian version of larb on the menu! Larb is a Lao dish typically made with minced meat, fresh herbs, lime juice, fish sauce, and toasted ground rice. Instead of using meat, they subbed it with crispy Brussels sprouts. I liked the crunch of the Brussels sprouts, but found the dish to be too salty. 3) Eggplant Salad (fried eggplant with black tiger prawns, mint, shallots, Thai chili-garlic lime dressing, and sliced medium soft-boiled egg) - This reminded me of the Filipino dish of tortang talong, except the egg was served on the side instead of being pan-fried and coating the eggplant. The eggplant in this dish was fried and quite sweet & spicy, which I didn't really like. I liked the pieces of black tiger prawns, shallots, and sliced medium soft-boiled egg surrounding it though. The egg especially was perfectly soft with a bit of a gooey egg yolk. What surprised me was the presence of pomegranates in the Eggplant Salad. I always see pomegranates as a common ingredient in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, but never in Thai dishes. It was a pleasant surprise, and it showed that the creative fusion of Thai, Filipino, and Middle Eastern / Mediterranean elements and ingredients worked well here. 4) SS Egg Fried Rice (jasmine riceberry stir-fried with eggs, green onion, and garlic) + jumbo lump crab meat add-on - This was the dish that made me come to Same Same, and it did not disappoint! I thought the fried rice tasted unique compared to the fried rice I've had at other Thai and Chinese restaurants. It had a strong wok-char look and flavour, and they used jasmine riceberry, which made it taste more chewy and nutty. They did not skimp on the jumbo lump crab meat, and there were "jumbo" pieces of real crab. It seems rare to get real crab (and a lot of it) in fried rice in Thai and Chinese restaurants, so this fried rice was a winner for me. 5) SS Pad Thai (fresh rice noodles, tofu, eggs, peanuts, tamarind, chives, bean sprouts, banana blossom, lime) + black tiger prawns add-on - The tofu and bean sprouts were the stars in this dish. Although the black tiger prawns that we chose as an add-on were really big, for some reason I really liked the tofu in this pad thai more (more flavourful). They used fresh instead of dry rice noodles, which we could tell because the noodles clumped together quickly as soon as it cooled down. 6) Wok Vegetables (stir-fried yu choy sum and green beans) - As simple as this "side dish" was, this was my favourite. We asked for it to be cooked without any sauce because that's how I like my veggies (not a fan of vegetables doused in so much oyster sauce / any thick sauce). They were able to accommodate our customization request, and the dish came out perfect. The green veggies (yu choy sum and green beans) were also still quite crisp and not overcooked, which earned them extra points.

Was so excited to try Same Same and their Samemer-delicious menu for July!…read more Came today with my plus one and we ordered: Appetizers: - deep fried wingette with ma kwen jeaw sauce: I felt the sauce was a bit too sour and salty yet addicting! I kept coming back to it. It came with 10 wings and it was deep fried really nicely, didn't feel too oily. - shrimp toast: house made brioche with cucumber relish and added the peanut sauce espuma. I love bread at baseline and this brioche was so nice and crispy. The cucumber relish was refreshing and slightly sweet. Mains - same same pad thai (vegetarian): now that I'm reading the menu it looks like they use fresh rice noodle but I found that the noodles were SUPER chewy, more chewy than other thai places I had. I appreciate the freshness of the noodles but would also liked if it were a bit easier to chew. Would also have liked if there was more veg in the meal. - ngowpochana chicken cashew: this came with crispy chicken thigh stir fried with (really SPICY) dried chilis and cashew nuts with a side of mixed purple? rice. The rice was tasty and the chicken was really crispy! Came out in small pieces and it was good but was not blown away. Desserts - mango sticky rice: so so good, love how they put butterfly pea in the sticky rice. Mango was ripe and soft, coconut cream was strong, and the jasmine riceberry puff added a great crunch to the dessert. - pandanas kaya toasted brioche: I would return for this dessert. My partner and I LOVED this dessert and how carmelized the toast was, it was divine. Final thoughts We loved the desserts and appetizers but felt the mains weren't super special. Staff were friendly. It did take us a while to get our food- appetizers came quick but took more than half an hour for our mains to come and waited more for our dessert. It was pretty busy but maybe they're still getting their groove as the Samemer delicious promotion brought in an influx of customers.

The wine selection was decent, with a focus on natural wines. The space itself is very cute and has…read morea cozy atmosphere, although we didn't end up spending time there. The experience was a bit of a mixed bag. The staff seemed to be upselling throughout our visit, including recommending bottles that were above the budget we had shared. We also weren't informed about the corkage fee ahead of time, which came as an unwelcome surprise. Overall, it was an okay experience, but I wish there had been a bit more transparency and less sales pressure.

Grape Witches located inside the Waterworks Food Hall is their second location in the city (their…read morefirst location is located along Dundas St. W.!). This bottle shop has a unique variety of natural, organic, and biodynamic wines that may rotate depending on the season. The space also has a wine bar where you can try different wines by the glass or treat yourself in a wine flight or a whole bottle. The by the glass menu changes weekly where you get to have a chance to try new and exciting wines from different regions. I've been to Grape Witches several times but I was able to sit down at their wine bar this time and enjoy a wine flight (three 1oz pours featuring wines from Germany) and a glass of wine. Having the wine flight, I was able to find a new rose that I really enjoyed that I ended up getting a glass of it afterwards. Staff are extremely friendly, personable, and knowledgeable about wine where they can give you suggestions based on your preferences without being pretentious. You are also able to taste any wines you're interested in on the menu to see if you like them as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Grape Witches enjoying the delicious selections where I even found new favourites. Overall, a great new wine shop and bar at Waterworks Food Hall. If you love all things wine this is the place to go. They have unique bottles you can purchase and friendly staff to help you with selecting your wines. Will definitely be back to try other glasses of wine in the future!

A group of us came here for lunch during a weekend trip to Grimsby. It's around the time of peach…read moreharvest so the restaurant is offering special peachy menu currently. The restaurant had really nice renovations and service was attentive. For lunch, I tried Caesar salad, baked mushroom and mushroom pizza. The salad and mushroom were okay. Not wowing but with okay quality. The mushroom pizza had a sweet teriyaki like sauce and blue cheese toppings. The flavour was on the heavier side, but I enjoyed it very well. Expect $35+ per person for lunch here.

Leanne was amazing. She runs an incredible restaurant. The space is very comfortable. We sat…read moreoutside and she turned the heaters for us. We only had an app, cowboy caviar which was great & a drink each but Leanne couldn't have been more gracious. On a busy Friday evening she spent time speaking with us. The drinks were tasty, prices are very reasonable. I highly recommend giving this place a try!

Cool neighbourhood spot. 15 dollar cocktails, good menu, paper planes, negroni's, old fashions,…read moreespresso martinis, all the core ones every good cocktail bar should have. I think it's also a cafe during the day. They had a live DJ playing some Berlin type music not too loud which was a nice touch. There is some seating space in front of the patio, and next to the building to hang out. Tall beer cans and cocktails are 7-8 bucks which is a good deal. They have some non-alcoholic beers too which is nice. Inside has that cool vintage hipster Berlin feel to it. No cover, no lineups, just a nice local neighbourhood bar near the bridge and a bunch of other autoshops. Was walking back from an art gallery and we just literally stumbled upon it and sat down for a catch up drink. I feel like Toronto needs more places like this. Quiet neighborhood bars with a nice selection of music, quality cocktails, not too expensive, no lines ups. Nice slightly mature place for people to catch up and have a drink without having to venture heavily into the Dundas West bar scene where it's way more hectic. Probably fits like 20 people so it's nice and intimate. Kind of reminds me of some of the bottle shops in Montreal where you can either drink it there and vibe or take it to the park right next to it. Place has some character to it. Would like to see it have a good solid run in Toronto's independent bar scene and be supported by the neighborhood. Next time I'm back I'll try out the cocktail menu and see if that's fire too. Can selection was interesting. I got a fruit punch vodka seltzer with 2 grams of sugar which was good. LBGTQ+ friendly but open to anybody really. Still has that cool Dundas West OG grunge premium dive bar feel all the hipsters like me enjoy. Keep up the great work Tommy!

We were walking past it and decided to take a look. Turns out it was wine bar with some unique…read morecollections not available in LCBO. We tried a cocktail and white wine. I asked for something on the sweeter side and the server was very helpful in recommending an option. We both enjoyed our drinks sitting on bench outside while taking a break during our evening stroll. Cute, chill place - a hidden gem.

This is an elegant wine bar, which also sells food. It is at the Toronto Pearson Airport,  Terminal…read more3 Departure, near Gate B22. It looks like you are at a winery! There are many tables in the dining area, or you could sit at the bar counter. Of course they sell beer, but not on tap. They also sell flights of wine. Prices are airport prices, of course! There are charging outlets. The single server is very efficient. There is a Verdi Market by Vino Volo that sells sandwiches and drinks to go. There is free airport WiFi. The store is wheelchair accessible. There are separate male/female airport washrooms next to it. There is a paid parking lot. Review 2023-164

Harlene was absolutely amazing to speak with. She's very refreshing and such a bright person. I…read morewould highly recommend this place . Service and drinks were 10/10!

This place was perfect for girls night! We wanted something more lowkey and quiet and we were…read moreseated right away. The place is so cozy and nice lighting it was perfect for a catch up with my girlfriends. The prices are very reasonable and they often have good deals on bottles of wine. I had the French 75 and it was so so good. There was only one server/bartender the night we were there but he was incredibly attentive to all patrons and was super friendly and nice. At one point I spilled my drink and he immediately and graciously cleaned it up and gave me a replacement for free which is very kind. I very highly recommend for slightly more upscale-feeling drinks at reasonable prices.

Second time visiting Chez Nous. Tried all 4 red wines (3 of which were new vs last year) and loved…read moreall 4. My wife loved the two more robust ones. Service was prompt & friendly. The inside is very relaxing and was pretty quiet (we came early) so easy for mellow conversation.