Chambers — Restaurant in Toronto

Chambers is not one to be missed... As an occasional visitor to Toronto, and sadly finding something missing, something that Toronto desperately needs and wants, this is the experience that Toronto, and all its patrons and visitors finally deserve. Entering from street level, what was once Toronto Gas Company, which supplied the whole city with gas, is now transformed into a living, beating heart which combines passion, pleasure, music, food and drink, with an equally ambitious but easily attainable goal of supplying Toronto with something even more valuable.

We enter the formidable architecture and statuesque interior, which even before you enter into the heart of the experience, builds a sense of anticipation. I use the word experience here, as this is precisely what it is. Rising up from ground level (whether you take the wonderfully preserved staircase or elevator), we found ourselves thrust into a fun and vibrant play space, where 'play' is taken as seriously as an award winning stage production. Somehow, Chambers manages to fuse both a carefree and creative spirit with class and a carefully curated conservative composition, keeping respect to so many of the building's period features, while bringing something that feels both timeless and historical but also evolving.

People had brought their best selves and styles, not just aesthetically, but with the vibe that was evident from the respect and curation and meticulousness that the management and staff have invested into this project. Ladies skipped about the bar area taking videos, letting their hair down without the cultivation of Zen being pushed into raucousness or reckless. So well balanced was the energy, decoration, hospitality and professionalism of the space, that it invites visitors to contribute, but in a way that it makes the attendees immediately see and also invest in this space and vision.

We haven't even gotten to the food yet...

We were sat at our table and quickly attended to with light beverages and refreshments, while watching a host of live musicians and dancers regaling us with a display of soul and talent that was a joy to watch, especially as the performers used the space as a living stage, moving amongst the crowd with grace, cordiality and intuition, so that the music and offerings were invigorating without being invasive.

The food - we had a selection of lamb, t-bone steak, salads, shrimp and watermelon steak, all of which had flavours that were both surprising and sublime in their mastery of simplicity. The fusion and complexity of the flavours was perfectly balanced, the right amount of richness and decadence to satisfy a seeker of the finer luxuries of both spirit and sensation, but without being ostentatious.

Chambers and all their team offer a unique and intimate experience which isn't just one where you are a consumer, not simply bearing witness to a multi-sensory experience, but an invite to participate in a deeper and fulfilling relationship of sensations, sounds, feelings and connection to what is not merely offered - and on more than just a plate - but on what we can offer within the creative dream that is both intangible while being palatable and something you can grasp with both hands and your imagination.

It feels to me that Chambers could well be the start of something beautiful in Toronto, so consider this your calling to go and be part of the evolution.

And apparently, this is just the start....

Came for the band. Won't be back because of the food/, service.

It's tough to write this review and not feel disappointed with our experience tonight, because this place is truly beautiful and the musicians did  great job to lift up the mood.

As for the rest of the experience...we were left underwhelmed and even disappointed.

This was a late night for us, so we came for some apps, drinks and dessert. I ordered the Burrata salad ($36 for box Greens tossed with stale-tasting oil / vinaigrette that lacked balance, acidity and overall flavour) , the buratta itself was pretty good and fresh but that's not enough to carry a $36 salad at a fancy spot such as this one.

Freshly toasted bread was a nice touch, but the butter could have been easily elevated if was whipped, or flavoured. Instead it was a small slap of hard, cold butter. I realize I am being picky here, but if this was a simple diner, then a cold chunk of butter would be appropriate. For an elevated restaurant- this fell short fot me, but this was the least of our problems.

Their wine list is long but if you were thinking of getting white wine by the glass you only have two options: an Argentinian Chardonnay and an Italian Pinot Griggio. I went with the chardonnay, and immediately regretted it.

I should  have said something right away (the server did not offer a tasting of it prior to serving the glass). The deep yellow colour indicated the wine was either oxidized or it went bad. Flavour profile was dull candied apple and  tsdted like a spoiled chardonnay. I am not a certified sommelier, but I am a second level trained Somme, and have had my fair share of chardonnay samples. This was by far the worst. When I brought it up with the server, who casually took away my glass (with a few more sips sitting in it still), - I asked him what kind of Chardonnay was it, since it tasted "off" to me. To which, much to our surprise he said (quite literally) - "I don't know what to say".

I was left speechless.... My friend and I looked at each otjrw in disbelief as the waiter walked away. A properly trained server would either investigate the bottle or present an alternative option to the guest, at the very least... The last thing he could say is "I don't know what to say" - leaving us feeling awkward and inadequate . But this server seemed to have no desire nor the expersite to provide adequate service or wine knowledge in response to my concerns.

We hoped to sweeten- up the night with a hard-to - miss dessert: creme brulee. Unfortunately this was a miss, too. Served cold with a thick layer of hardneded sugar on top, this tasted like it came out of a box. Maybe it would have been better if it as slightly warm. So while we are paying high - end prices, we definitely did not get the quality we expected for this price point. From the size, to the flavour and texture - this dessert was underwhelming.

I wish I had nicer things to say about this spot, as we were so looking forward to tonight.. but the lack of care from the servers after I've raised my concerns about the wine was probably the most disappointing. What sets one restaurant from the rest is outstanding food and courteous, professional and knowledgeable servers. This spot scored a 2/5 on both, and this was not just my option, but that of my friend as well.

Thank you for the band for their...

Very disappointed. My friend wanted to celebrate her birthday here because she wanted a nice night out to dress out and thought it looked very elegant from the photos online (which it was, in person, to give credit). But the service was very mediocre. Or rather, lack of service. My group of friends and I came here on a Fri July 12th and arrived at 10:30pm, it wasn’t super busy at the time. Truffle fries and drinks were promptly ordered, we wanted to give the birthday girl a custom drink & chat over cocktails and a snack. I also gave a small birthday cake to the restaurant and asked them if they can serve it with a candle to the birthday girl. Nearly a whole hour later (50 minutes), around 11:20pm, we still didn’t have the ordered drinks. Let me remind you it was a) not busy and b) been 50 minutes or waiting for cocktails. The only thing that came was the truffle fries (which was just ok, I’ve had better). After nearly an hour wait time, we told them we were leaving and could we get the birthday cake out at least. We were convinced our drinks weren’t even made/ordered wasn’t even placed to the bar and was perfectly content to just leave and go somewhere else. It was only when the server knew we were leaving that the bartender made our drinks quickly and they came over with our order apologizing for the inconvenience, and said they would comp a couple of the drinks (in this situation, the best thing to do is to just comp the whole receipt, it was just a bad experience). And the fact the drinks only came over when we said we were leaving indicates either it was a rush work from the bar (the drinks didn’t taste good), or the order never made it in the first place. Also, I thought they’d at least bring out the cake with a candle to serve to the birthday girl— they literally just brought it to her back in the cake box. This was not the girls night / best birthday night my friend deserved. Granted we all got to dress up and enjoy a nice atmosphere (I’ll give Chambers this, it’s a lovely place), but the pricing and the service does not live up to expectations. If you’re paying these prices (eg at a 5-star hotel restaurant or supper club), you expect stellar, fast and attentive service. It took forever to flag down a server just to ask about our order, lol. I would not come back. The problem is not the pricing, I’m happy to pay for good service/good food, but this was not it. I’ve had better service and warmer reception at chill, humble family owned places. Why they didn’t make our whole bill on the house for the inconvenience is beyond me, especially since it was for a birthday. Also, I almost never leave negative reviews (you can see my profile, I’m generally very positive), so you know this was a bad time. Big miss.

Disclaimer: I know it’s not the server’s fault that the bar didn’t make the drinks fast enough however she never checked on the order or on us (till we flagged her down). I’ve never waited more than 20 minutes for a cocktail before, also I make drinks, it doesn’t take that long. You don’t even wait that long for a customized tea or latte at a cafe. Even in a busy environment, if a drink is taking that long, there is a major issue. Maybe they were understaffed that night? But even so; experience was disappointing.

Nope. Just nope. Not...