Bar Avelo — Restaurant in Toronto

Absolutely stunning. Easily the best meal we've had since visiting Legume in Seoul, and definitely in our top three restaurants post-pandemic (it's hard to remember pre-pandemic so I don't like going back that far). In North America, it may even be the best one!

The restaurant is quite small -- 20 seats total (I counted!), of which two are four-tops and the rest two-tops, so a total of 8 tables. The evening we were there, there were a total of two front-of-house people we interacted with, both of whom were knowledgeable and friendly.

The presentation, flavors, and variety of the food were all superb. This is how vegan food is meant to be, truly!

We did the five-course meal, which was quite filling. That said, the next time we visit Toronto we're already thinking of how to do the eight-course -- skip breakfast; ask for just one plate for certain dishes; ...?

Highly, highly recommend! Absolutely stunning. Easily the best meal we've had since visiting Legume in Seoul, and definitely in our top three restaurants post-pandemic (it's hard to remember pre-pandemic so I don't like going back that far). In North America, it may even be the best one!

The restaurant is quite small -- 20 seats total (I counted!), of which two are four-tops and the rest two-tops, so a total of 8 tables. The evening we were there, there were a total of two front-of-house people we interacted with, both of whom were knowledgeable and friendly.

The presentation, flavors, and variety of the food were all superb. This is how vegan food is meant to be, truly!

We did the five-course meal, which was quite filling. That said, the next time we visit Toronto we're already thinking of how to do the eight-course -- skip breakfast; ask for just one plate for certain dishes; ...?

Highly,...

Had always walked by this place and wanted to try it out - had the perfect opportunity to do so through Winterlicious.

3 course meal for $35 didn’t seem too bad, but i was a bit disappointed with the quantity. For the appetizer we got the jackfruit empanada which was really nice and original, along with the Fried mushroom with pesto. This seemed to be a vegan take on calamari- sadly, the strongest tasting element was the batter on the fried mushrooms. For the mains, we got the king oyster mushroom skewer and a flatbread. Both dishes seemed as if they could be made at home easily - the flatbread had nothing uncommon on it (basil, olives and sun-dried tomatoes). The mushroom dish was served with some carrots, parsnips and potato. Didn’t seem there was any seasoning on the vegetables other than oil and salt.

For dessert, we got the spice cake and chocolate mousse. The mousse was nice although it was ruined by the totally unnecessary strawberry puree at the base. It would have been better without. The spice cake was served warm with a scoop of cardamom ice cream- the ice cream was quite nice but the cake was very hard to cut into pieces.

At the end, we were given a bill with 18% service charge added. This seemed like I was being forced to tip a set percentage, without being given a choice. On top of that, as soon as we sat down, we were informed that there was another group coming after us so we needed to decide our order quickly.

I would NEVER go back here just because of the experience at the end with the enforced service charge added- there was nothing special about their service…having a predefined percentage like this means they can have a lax attitude and offer bad service and yet...

The tasting menu in main restaurant is one of my favorite meals ever, but the summerlicious menu at the bar yesterday was very disappointing.

Food was bland, I wasn’t impressed with the flavor - several dishes were lacking basic salt/seasoning in addition to more depth of flavor (umami, acid, anything). The only item I felt was really tasty and well balanced was the gazpacho, the rest was missing in both flavor and texture.

Portions were extra tiny, mains felt smaller than an app at a regular restaurant. Literally like 4-5 tiny pieces of gnocchi in that main course then a pile of watery zucchini. I left hungry after eating all 3 courses, it’s the vegan trope which is usually untrue but unfortunately came to life here as there wasn’t enough focus on vegan proteins and carbs, and portions were simply way too tiny (like 1/4 what they should’ve been). The only time of decent portion was the cheese plate desert - I actually would’ve preferred it as my main.

Service was ok, could have been more attentive as my water wasn’t refilled when I asked.

First sip of my drink was nice but as I continued to drink it, I didn’t enjoy it as it began to have a medicinal taste. I believe it was from the Benedictine, which almost all of their cocktails have.

Ambiance is super cute though, and while I originally thought Summerlicious $35 for 3 courses was good value for money, based on the portions and being left hungry i actually don’t think it was. I wouldn’t have back here for the food, certainly not...