Alobar Yorkville — Restaurant in Toronto

AloBar have some big shoes to fill being the sister restaurant/bar to the famous Alo. It pains me to say that my visit here did not really live up to expectations, as my experience at the original Alo was simply fantastic (dined there 3 times)

The bar itself has a great modern cozy decor, and being hidden in an inner courtyard from the hustle and bustle on Cumberland st, their outdoor patio is a great spot for drinks and chats in the warmer seasons

Service was mostly on point, though I thought the cocktails we ordered took a bit long to arrive.

The food is where Alo Bar falls short for me. Presentation-wise, the dishes were alright to look at, though I find the glasses and plates being used quite unremarkable and bland compared to those at Alo.

Both of us started off with some foie gras, tuna tartare, lobster, and ordered the rack of lamb and muscovy duck for mains:

Foie gras (with sour cherry, hazelnut) - it was tasty with the brioche provided

Tuna tartare (with black truffle shavings and chanterelle) - was interesting with the chips provided. The black truffle shavings did not stand out flavour wise.

Lobster (with ginger, coriander and xo sauce) - lobster itself was perfectly poached, but the sauce overpowered everything and was over salted.

Muscovy duck (with plum, radicchio and star anise) - the sauce was nice, but the duck itself was chewy. Rather average experience for a $42 dish.

Rack of lamb (with mint, pistachio, gem lettuce) - this was just two pieces of lamb rack chops, one with the lettuce and the other with pistachio sauce. I had the piece of the pistachio sauce and find it was way too much sauce for this small portion of lamb. While I appreciate the good amounts of pistachios in there, the thick sauce made each bite "gummy". I was very disappointed with this dish considering the $48 price tag. A couple sitting next to us agreed, and complained that if you say "rack of lamb" it should be more than just two pieces of cut up rack chops.

We also received the pain au lait during our meal, and it's very similar to the one at Alo. This complimentary bread was the item that I liked the most during our meal...

With 1 cocktail and sharing the cost of all the other dishes, my bill came out to be around $125 with tax and tip included.

Overall, while the food here are presented nicely and mostly tasted OK, I don't believe this meal was worth its price tag even for Yorkville standards. It is entirely possible that they have had an "off-day", but I am unlikely to give them a second try. I believe Alo Bar is best visited as a place for a cocktail or two before an actual meal elsewhere.

My rating for Alo Bar: 2.5 stars (Rounded up to 3)

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Having been to the restaurant for the time last night, I did not find it a Michelin star experience.

It was not that the food wasn’t good or the service sloppy. It was more that the attention to detail was not there. For a Michelin star, 99% of the patron’s experience should be excellent.

The evening got off to a rocky start when the person at the desk could not find our reservation and told us so. This created stress and scrambling for us to find the confirmation. Then she told us that she did see the reservation. It would’ve been better if she had said nothing until she rechecked the list. She did not apologize for the confusion.

We had a nice table by the window overlooking the patio. The dining room was very noisy, but that is because people were having a good time so it was easy to excuse the atmosphere. Definitely not a romantic place but as a previous reviewer pointed out, it is a good place for people to have an after work drink.

Everyone we encountered congratulated us on our anniversary. Little details, like asking how many years or giving us a complementary coffee, were missing.

Our server was very pleasant, not overly friendly, but not intrusive, which I appreciate more than false cheerfulness. He used a couple of expressions which seem to be very popular now, but I would not expect in such a highly rated restaurant. For example, he asked “How is everything tasting?”. if I was not pleased with the taste of the food, I would have pointed it out. Also, the expression “How are we enjoying our meal?” is confusing. Is he joining us?

On the other hand, the service was, overall, excellent. For example, my husband dropped his knife and almost immediately someone rushed over and replaced it. There was always someone paying attention without looking obvious.

The wine was poured after our appetizers arrived so we had to wait for it. The appetizers themselves were beautifully presented and very delicious.

We ordered the Dover sole, and it was very good. The presentation was lacking as it was only a piece of white fish on a white plate with no garnish.

The dessert was fantastic! Unfortunately, the coffee was served when we were already halfway through eating it.

I know I’m being very picky, but for a Michelin star, I expect every detail to be...

I was there on Feb 18 with my bf and had an amazing experience sitting at the bar served by Louis. We originally wanted to be sat a table but they didn’t have any room to accommodate. When space opened up, they asked if we wanted to move but we didn’t because Louis was entertaining and we were enjoying the conversations with him.

When we got to the restaurant the host took our jacket and didn’t give us any coat check tickets and walked us to our seats at the bar.

The food were amazing but in my opinion a bit on the saltier side. I do think if it’s less salty, it would’ve been even better. Louis did a great job with letting us know the correct amount to order and his opinions of the best dishes on the menu. We ordered the confit duck pappardelle, acorn fed iberico pork chop with truffle jus, truffle potato purée and the pain au lait. The skin on the duck was still crispy and the duck was still very juicy. The pappardelle pasta definitely was freshly made but had a very nice bite to it and is made Al dente. It’s quite a heavy dish the sauce was amazing! The iberico pork was so tender and the truffle jus gave it an extra layer of taste. I ordered the milk bread to dip into the truffle jus that came with the pork chop. I think the milk bread was a little bit overpriced for what it is. I think the cheese bread with yeast butter from Aloette is way better! The truffle potato purée is just a mashed potato but very salty. It was very smooth and good, probably the least favourite of all the dishes above. I ordered it because I love the aroma and taste of truffles, I don’t think there’s a strong truffle flavor.

My bf dropped a knife during dinner and was going to pick it up when he had to leave his seat later. When he was leaving his seat to the washroom a while after, that knife magically disappeared! We have no idea when it was picked up but it vanished!

When leaving the host got our jackets and helped us put them on. They never gave us coat check tickets, how did they remember which were our jackets! Another mystery to me!

Overall, I highly recommend Alobar. It absolutely qualifies to have a one Michelin star rating! We paid about $235 tax and tip in and we...