Favorites Thai BBQ — Restaurant in Toronto

I have to be very honest and say that while the lamb chops were probably the most delicious lamb dish I have ever had, the atmosphere, the seating situation, and the overall value of Favorites really left me wanting more. I had very high hopes after hearing that Favorites had been awarded a Bib Gourmand. I booked a reservation for dinner as soon as possible and was very excited to try.

We ordered the sticky rice spring rolls which were good. The sauce was great too, even if a bit too spicy. The chicken curry was way too spicy with no warning. I would think that if a dish was going to be that spicy, the server would be knowledgeable enough to inform us of that beforehand and either offer varying spice levels or at least just let us know what we were signing up for. The chicken curry also had a weird bitter taste and for the price, the portion was laughably small. Same goes for the rice that came with the chicken curry. There absolutely should have been more if I'm going to pay TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS for chicken curry.

The oysters were solidly yummy. Nothing to write home about but nothing to chirp on either. Would get if you like oysters.

The lamb chops were INCREDIBLE. Fall off the bone soft, incredibly flavorful and moist, good portion size. The sauce was also delicious even if also too spicy.

The Thai TEA-rimisu was delicious and very much worth the value. The marscapone cream was very light and fresh.

We were seated at a communal table (which I have no problems with as a concept) but we were WAY too close with people on either side of us. Not to mention the restaurant was too loud so the close proximity AND the unreasonable volume levels is just a recipe for an uncomfortable dining experience. It felt unnecessarily cramped and excessively loud. Does anyone actually enjoy having to shout to your dinner guest all evening?

Overall, the food was too spicy to not be given a heads up and the value was seriously lacking. The lamb chops (and maybe the dessert) were the only redeeming things about the entire dinner. For everything described, I paid $87.34 after tax and tips for my half. RIP...

This place is truly worth a visit on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. It’s a dining experience you’ll genuinely appreciate, especially at this price point.

We had the ceviche, sour curry, and short ribs.

I truly loved the ceviche and sour curry. The ceviche was by far one of the best I’ve tried, so it’s worth getting. Though there were only four thin slices of tuna, the flavour combination they were able to curate was noteworthy and the effort that went into creating it was evident.

For the curry, the addition of the pomelo worked perfectly with the fish. It’s such an expert choice as the pomelo breaks down in the curry with a push of your spoon, so you can enjoy it with the fish. The cod was also cooked perfectly - soft with no pungent fishiness. The addition of lime leaf was well thought out; it worked perfectly. It’s unfortunate but there wasn’t enough curry to go with the amount of rice given. If they had given just an ounce more, it would have felt more fitting. There was also no small knife provided for the fish. Small details but worth noting.

I personally didn’t enjoy the short ribs which was ironic given BBQ is in their name. It was cooked well, and the flavours were well thought out with the veggies and sauce choice. However, the flavours felt too muted for me. The sauce and seasoning were a bit too underwhelming for the heaviness of the ribs to make it standout. Yet, if you truly appreciate the taste of meat, you’ll love the dish because it tries to highlight the ribs as a standalone.

Con to the atmosphere was how close everyone was sat together despite half of the restaurant being empty. I was a foot away from the next table though there were empty tables all behind me. The tables were too tightly spaced.

However, I appreciated the effort of the wait staff. Genuine smiles and they don’t overwhelm you with attention but keep a distant eye on the tables to make sure to clean up quickly or cater to your needs. It’s a thoughtful approach to waiting that I very much appreciated.

Was a bit disappointed to see that the Thai ice tea was not on the menu. Really wanted to...

Went to Favorites with high expectations, given that it’s on the Michelin guide - but was disappointed, to say the least. I don’t eat meat or seafood, and have certain preferences for food - there were 3 items on the menu that were vegetarian. The duck curry was for $45, and upon asking the waitress if I’d be charged the same price if I asked for the duck to be substituted with mushrooms, she said it would probably be $5 off - making it $40 for a mushroom red curry. I didn’t think I wanted to pay that for one dish, when I dont even enjoy mushrooms that much. I attempted to order charred vegetables, and the waitress truly looked at me with contempt and disgust and said “I wouldn’t order that - I’d strongly recommend you go with the curry coz that’s just vegetables.” Her tone was extremely rude and unpleasant, so I decided to skip food. I didn’t want waitresses looking down upon my food preferences. Anyway, she walked away before I could complete my sentence - she said “Oh you’re not eating, then?” and I was in the middle of ordering a drink but she walked away. She also told us that we would need to order at least 2 dishes per person, but we would have 100% over-ordered if we had listened to her advice. Between 5 people, my friends ordered 3 curries (2 chicken and one prawns), 2 plates of wings, and the impossible relish. They were all satisfied with the portions, and the quantity they ate. My friends found the food to taste pretty good, but nobody’s mind was blown away by the taste. The prawn curry was a little hard to eat. The chicken curry was very flavorful, the lychee gave an extra burst of flavour but there were only 3 lychees in a large dish. We were all put off by the waitress’ demeanour - she actually was rude to 2 others (in a group of 6) as well. I had the Yuzu Gin cocktail (when I finally managed to get the waitress to take my drink order) - it did not have as much yuzu as I’d like, but it tasted nice and tart nonetheless. Overall, great ambience, good drinks, decent food, but absolutely terrible service. Unfortunately, none of us will be going...