Goods and Provisions — Restaurant in Toronto

The ambience of this place transports you to the olden days in Toronto or a cozy European bar. Although hard to read the menu (especially the one on the mirror), food is definitely great and well thought out. The place was busy and we sat at the "barrel tables", but there were still some tables available at the back. However I was told (who looked like a manager and was rather dismissive) there were 10 parties ahead of us when I asked to move to one of them - a couple remained empty throughout the evening, though. Menu items were running low but our server was great and tried her best to get our orders asap. We shared a plates: the tomato and golden "beets" salad (yummy but there were no golden beets in it, maybe a typo on the menu or last minute substitution?). The tomato bread was delicious, one of the best I've had in Toronto. The fries were equally good and creamy in the inside, crispy on the outside - the mayo it comes with could do with a bit more acidity, other than that it was great. My companions also had the tartar, and an order of mini oysters, and said they liked both. I'd definitely come back, and make sure I ask for a table right away as the barrel tables are anything but...

The owner, who was also our server, greeted our party of 3, cheerfully seated us and we told her it was our first time there. When ordering a variety of dishes to share we asked if we'd ordered enough because it was dinner time and we were hungry, she assured us we had, saying "yes, beautiful." We are not large eaters and we understand the concept of “tapas-style”, but we were taken aback by the shockingly small portions for the prices charged. For example, a dish consisted of just one deviled egg to share among three people, another dish had only one piece of shrimp tempura, and yet another dish offered a small portion of cheese with a tiny slice of honeycomb. Why did she not advise us to order more when we asked if we ordered enough? When done, she asked how everything was and I politely told her that we were still hungry to which she replied “It is not our business to overfeed people.” Wow. Thankfully, the Leslieville neighbourhood offers plenty of great alternatives, so we quickly found another spot who believes in offering value for money. The owner seems to be full of herself, likely due to her nice spot, and has lost sight of the importance of...

This restaurant uses peanut oil in their fryer (as of Nov 2024). Sharing this because I know others with severe allergies check reviews for allergen information. I was told that they are using peanut oil, but that the temp is so high that the protein is burned off and won't trigger a reaction. The server didn't mention anything about how refined the oil is.

My whole life, my allergist has told me to always avoid peanut oil. I know others who have had their allergist tell them the same. There is back and forth in the allergic community around this issue.

Because of this, I think the delivery by service staff around the use of peanut oil could be better. I don't know that they should be advising people with peanut allergies that it is safe. Anaphylactic allergies are life or death. And even if a reaction doesn't kill you, it is still traumatic.

We stayed for a drink and my husband had the oysters, which he said were amazing. This is a cute and cozy spot, the staff are all very kind and welcoming. If you have a severe peanut allergy, I would ask for clarity around how refined the oil is, or do as I did, and don't eat...