Alo — Restaurant in Toronto

I would love to write a glowing review about the dining experience we'd been looking forward to for months; instead, I have only disappointment to express and a lesson learned that price does not always equate to quality.

Firstly, the service. No one could say it was lacking on any level except... well... 'pleasantness.' The formality one would expect was a little too over the top for comfort except, bizarrely, that everyone, including the well-suited sommelier, was wearing gym shoes. Not 'fashion sneakers,' but runners or cross-trainers. If you're going to make me uncomfortable with your cool, unpleasant demeanour, at least wear nice shoes.

The champagne cart was rolled over to our table, and its bearer launched into a long and very detailed explanation of the tasting notes of the two ($45 or $55/glass) offerings. We declined, stating neither of us was fond of champagne, for which we received a condescending remark about 'wasting his breath.' Had he started with, "Would you like to hear about our champagne?" we could have opted out before he started rather than, I guess, have been expected to interrupt his spiel.

Our decline of wine-pairing was also met with an uncomfortable remark to the effect of 'taking our chances' by choosing our own wines. In retrospect, that may have been related to the fact that unbeknownst to us, this 'French' restaurant would be serving so many courses of Asian fish dishes.

Each of the courses was deposited on the candle-less, flower-less, spartan table by a different person, most of whom rushed through each description with a demeanour that seemed to foreshadow how bland and tasteless most of them would sadly be.

None of the aforementioned would matter much had the food been even close to what it should have been. It should have been amazing and memorable for a nearly $700 + tip dinner for two, and it did not even meet the 'mediocre' bar.

High-quality, luxury ingredients carefully prepared do not necessarily equal amazing food. Some element of creativity or artistry seems to be missing here; I don't know what could be. We have eaten at other Michelin-star restaurants, most recently, one in Prague where I was served a dessert I will remember fondly until the day I die. And that dinner did not include caviar, foie gras, wagyu or any type of 'foam' and it cost a fraction of these nine courses of disappointment.

The first course - Canapes, came out and looked lovely, but all were a blah flavour. The components did not seem to work together; nothing tasted special at all. We both looked at each other, thinking... "What??"

Two successive raw fish courses. Nothing special or memorable, just unimaginative combinations of herb oils; one was too vinegary to enjoy. Then a chawanmushi - Japanese egg custard, which I found not just boring but somewhat unpleasant in taste and texture.

The fifth course, the Chanterelle Mushroom, the only vegetable to be found, was the first and almost only thing that was truly delicious. Covered in, if I recall correctly, a butter emulsion sauce of some sort. (I missed about a third of what the servers said as they rambled off the descriptions).

The next two courses- Hokkaido Scallop and Koshihikari Rice were good and had I been dining at a mid-to-high-priced Asian restaurant rather than a Michelin-star French restaurant, I might have been somewhat impressed.

The Lamb was delicious and the Striploin was just okay. The dessert was the final let-down as, like so much else about the meal, it was good but nothing special. A Mango Mousse that had a very good texture and was nice in that it wasn't too sweet. And the Petit Fours.... embarrassingly horrendous.

I truly cannot understand all the hype about this restaurant. I know that 1 star is harsh but in all honesty, had this been a $200 dinner I might have given it a 3 and just not gone back but when the experience is so painfully far below the cost and expectation, 1 star...

Wake up! For a 1 Michelin star restaurant, I had hopes for my palette, the ambiance, and the overall experience. Save your money and visit at least London or Copenhagen to experience true gastronomy or go to Montreal where there are many gems without the Michelin moniker.

Gastronomy without the fuss. We aren't talking portion size here or counter dining.

Grateful that Toronto is on the map, but we got ways to go, because I thought I was going to a Japanese restaurant instead of French. Details below.

Experience -

Our sitting was over 30 minutes delayed because the time between sittings is probably not enough.

The table was close to the adjacent tables - I get it, pack us in and turnover. The tardiness meant more time to catch up with my friend. For potential diners, just be mindful.

This hasn't happened in London Copenhagen, or parts of Spain where customer experience is important from the moment you walk in - it's all in the details. If there is a delay, you'd get at least an amuse bouche or a drink on the house instead of asking you to wait at the bar and buy your own drink (still and sparkling water is offered).

Washrooms - hidden behind a sliding door that is not automatic. If you have accessibility issues, you definitely need someone to assist. There is an accessibility washroom.

Staff - attentive, able to explain all the ingredients, and have a laugh. We are human after all. However, I felt that there was pressure to upsell. Wagyu instead of sirloin, an additional $90 and another thing which had a supplement. Even when we took the 6 course as is, they confirmed again whether we wanted the wagyu supplement. Faux pas, but I'm not doing restaurant economics here.

Accessibility - see above note on the washrooms and in the other section of the post.

Food - this is what we came for. We had the 6 course to get an impression to see if we would try the full menu another time. A la carte is available. While there are two sections to the restaurant and we were in the bar room, i'm curious if the customer experience is dramatically different or there are some first principles that need to be considered to be consistent.

Kudos on trying for the presentation but more effort needed to be world class.

Hamachi (w/ shiso, plum, umeboshi, radish, kohlrabi, ginger, kombu) - it was nicely wrapped. The ginger was not overpowering. Japanese not French though

Foie Gras Tart (cranberry, serrano chili, sicillian pistachio, cocoa, crème fraîche) - the cranberry overpowered everything else. Was a cool dish which made the foie gras kind of slimy. Half a portion. Tart was the thick and hard crust kind. Consider making it a warm dish, filo pastry, some brie, hazelnut, foie gras, and other garnishes - check out Casavant.

Koshihikari Rice - basically risotto with mushroom - well made, but portion size for a toddler starting to eat solids. It included Perigord truffle, nori, dashi, matsutake mushroom, and sudachi. Matsutake mushrooms should have a distinct flavour, mix of spice and pine, but I did not taste it. Granted there are two types in Canada (east or west coast). I hope it was the mushroom.

East Coast Scallop - Persian cucumber, mitsuba, lemon, sake, kaso, kansho - Nicely grilled large scallop. Tasty sauce on the salty side, (could have included something to soak up the sauce). Kansho is sweet potato in Japan. Unless it was pureed to the point it was almost liquid or somehow infused, I didn't notice it in the dish. Saw the finely cut cucumbers.

Creekstone Prime Striploin - myoga, king oyster mushroom, scallion, peppercorn. Great mushroom and steak, despite smaller size.

Dessert - when we got the accompaniments for the dessert they put some food glue to peel off. Seriously...no one wants to peel rice paper or your bon bon off of food glue. Be intentional and bring it out properly. Canele was dry.

Photos are not filtered. The restaurant...

The Buffalo Food Otaku tour of Toronto’s finest dining continues with Alo Restaurant, a place many have ranked the top restaurant in Canada. We can understand why.

At a very high price point the hospitality and service was impeccable, the wine pairings exceptional, the ingredients were worldly delicacies, and they were all prepared with pinpoint technique. Individually, each course was absolutely delicious, but the pairing menu itself is where our problem lies. Sometimes you have to zoom out to see the whole picture, or to listen to the flow of songs on an album to feel how they interact. The essence that was missing was balance.

We started with a selections of canapés, and fresh seafood. The flavors of fresh oyster, fluke, scallops, and toro were light, clean, and well paired. There was a wonderful canapé stuffed with foie gras, and jam. It was a delicious bite, that will unfortunately be revisited too soon.

The next course was fresh-sliced Jamon Iberco on a crunchy pillow stuffed with aerated manchengo. This was paired with very buttery potatoes, strips of lomo, and an emulsified clam and butter sauce—a Hollandaise-based sauce by any other name… This obviously was a rich, buttery course.

Our third course was a beautiful foie gras tart with a berry compote—basically foie gras and jelly again. Perhaps, the band picked up a theme in the first song, and wanted to play it in a grander selection. We saw this as chef opting for another heavy course, with flavors we already experienced.

The fourth course was my favorite of the evening. A sushi grade rice was treated in the style of a risotto, with spinach and crunchy puffed grains. I would have requested a whole bowl to eat on the couch watching a movie. It was one of the most comforting dishes I have ever enjoyed with a tasting menu. Yet, what is that splash of buttery, yellow sauce in the corner? More Hollandaise? Once again, it was a heavy course.

The next course was described as buttery scrambled eggs, over king crab, over a quail egg yolk. Call it what you will, but it was Hollandaise again, and the richest, butteriest course of the evening. I apologize for the repetitive writing, but hopefully we are making a point here.

Finally, we lighten up a bit with a gorgeous madai (red sea bream) given the Asian treatment with a light sauce, and some pickled cucumbers and daikon. At this point we were hoping, chef realized he drowned us in butters and fats, and would coast us to airier realms.

Yet, the next two courses went right back into the fatty deep end, with a gorgeous, seemingly lacquered duck breast in a thick, sticky jus, followed by a veal, and A5 Waygu in a similar thick, sticky jus. These courses were absolutely delicious, but at this point our heart beat slowed to a deadly thrum.

With dessert came sweet relief, a strawberry sorbet, and aerated double cream was followed by a composed plate of a matte-white crepe cake, and later assorted petit fours.

It was clear to us at the end that this is a tasting menu designed for people interested in Safe, gilded dining; particularly those that want to brag about their meal without experiencing any flavors that could challenge them. This is not a tasting menu that expands the mind, it merely expands the belly while thickening the artery walls. All the luxurious ingredients and fats could not cover the fact that this was a meal out of balance.

Yet, please to do think we are saying that this meal was without merit. It was clear that the entire support staff was at the top of their game, both in the front and back of house. The staff was absolutely incredible, hard working, warm and welcoming. We were treated like royalty throughout, and enjoyed some truly delicious bites. We understand why people love Alo so much, but the Otaku were hoping for so much more.

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