Mineral — Restaurant in Toronto

This is one of the best restaurants in the city. No debate. My gf and I went here for her birthday and did a tasting menu. We received complementary dishes and ordered all the additional items. It was phenomenal

The service was attentive and the no subtle details were missed like folding my gf napkin when she left the table. All steps of service were completed down to precise timing of dishes. We went on a Tuesday and it was fairly full for the 2-3 hours we were there but nobody waited at the door. 7:15 reservations. The decor reminded me of the Philippines, with a touch of the TV series “white lotus”. The food really made this experience a 10/10. The experience we had for each dish was different for each: A soup tasting that I wanted a bucket of to eat then and there. A tuna ceviche’ that was familiar but unique. The calamanci flavour with the salmon roe were electrifying my taste buds The pineapple ceviche was a roller coaster ride of flavours. My palette didn’t know what was happening. Acidic, chewy, tender, crunchy, sweet and savoury. The ensaymada was both traditional and reimagined. We added the burrata and that was something that will live rent free in our heads forever. Each ingredient stood out but when added together felt like a wrapped present that my taste buds opened as I chewed. The lobster dumpling was another add on. This item was tasted and uniquely presented but was over shadowed by all the other dishes. the pork belly was so tender and flavourful it felt like a love letter from the chef. Truly this one felt like a gift the chef wanted his guests to experience and an experience was exactly what it was. The sinigang was not a traditional recipe but for the love of all that is good it was immaculate. We described it as the fancy cousin from Europe of sinigang. It was everything you want sinigang to be and more. We are definitely sini-gang members! Plus we added lobster to this course and YOU HAVE to try it with the sinigang. We didn’t know how much we needed this in our life side note the broccolini was so flavourful. Beautiful notes of savour flavours, char, calamansi and a creamy finish of Parmesan. We were given a chicken adobo as a commentary dish. It was perfect. By this point each dish had us saying OMG 5 times each and this one added another 10/10 to the experience. We were given an ube flan and a mango hibiscus soft serve. It was the cherry on the cake of a perfect experience. It wasn’t halo-halo but we mixed it together for a bite and we HIGHLY recommend you do to. This desert could bring tears to my eyes.

OVERALL, you must try mineral. If you’re Filipino or any ethnicity, you will get an opportunity to try a piece of heaven mixed...

Edit: Bruce was very attentitive to our concern and provided me with a breakdown of our first tasting. All the individual items from the first tasting came to a total of $300 not including the wine. I was mistaken to say the caviar was $260 as I based it on a google photo menu. My concerns were clarified and all my questions were answered and so we decided to come for a second visit.

This time the selection was carefully chosen and exceeded our expectations. The variation of tastes in several plates complimented each other. What stood out was the duck confit; some crispness, sweetness and umami tastes all in one. The bone marrow crust over an extremely soft short rib surprised us. The broth in this dish made it a warm comfort food. The scallop had a unique blend of ingredients and beautiful presentation. The mushroom noodle was rich, creamy and filled with truffle galore. Of course, we had the ube flan again with sake pairing. A great touch to the end of the course.

Thank you Bruce and Juliette and the rest of the staff attending to us. We left satisfied and full :)

Old review: This is my first ever review I have written. I really wanted to like this resteraunt as I chose this place to celebrate a special occasion. I booked it a couple weeks ago through their instagram and was really looking forward to it. The price was never mentioned and for the price point of $600 with tip for 2 people, the value was not there. We ordered the tasting menu with 3 wine pairings. We shared each plate instead of getting our own. The taste was underwhelming with hints of Asian flavors where you can find in most asian resteraunts. Its not very fair to add an item that will substantially increase the price of the tasting - caviar for $260 on their regular menu, where all the regular items on the menu would cost $199 not including the wine. They did add lobster tail and duck prosciutto to some of the dishes; but $199 for 1 dish each when there was 2 people did not sit right with me.

On the other hand, they do make the food look aesthetically nice. The best part was the dessert with sake pairing. The service was nice. Overall I was left disappointed though. It's not the money that was the issue it was the value that came with it. We were left hungry and we went to a local sushi place to fill our appetite for 3% of the cost. The 1 star is to demonstrate the confusion for all the...

(An open letter to Mineral)

My Dearest Mineral,

I think I'm in love with you. When we first met back in 2019, I was instantly intrigued by your Filipino fusion ways. You had a pork neck wrap that I couldn't stop nibbling, a duck leg that was so tender, and seafood noodles that had me seeing stars upon first slurp. I wasn't completely head over heels about you yet then, given you're a bit pricey and offered a limited menu. But I went back a few times and knew I wanted to get to know you more.

Then suddenly, you left for someone called Covid, and I wasn't sure whether it would be out-of-sight-out-of-mind or absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder. But now you're back, and after seeing you a couple of times since, I know it's the latter.

Yes, you've changed a bit. Your Filipino roots are still there, but you've branched out more. And the change is good. Tried a few things at our last date and thought they were really good. The scallop inari pockets are not just a thing of beauty but also really tasty and well executed. The crispy brocollini is easily one of the best veggie dishes I've had in the city. The wrapped cod wasn't my favourite, but was flavourfully nuanced and delicately executed. The pairing of foie gras with your butter-golden ensaymada buns just brought it to another level. And the miso and pear torte had just the right level of sweetness, and that coconut pandan sorbet was the perfect complement to it.

But I'm a sucker for your Filipino-based dishes. And the absolute standouts to me were a new dish and an old classic. The beef shortrib sinigang I tried for the first time was soooooo good. The beef was fall-of-the-bone tender and glazed perfectly. But it was the sinigang broth with its distinct sour-savoury that made this dish one of my favourite beef dishes in the city, period. And of course, your classic ube leche flan dessert is still one of the best fusion desserts I've had.

So yeah, I'll scream it from the rooftops: I love you, Mineral. I know you are still a bit pricey and have a smaller space and a short menu. But you are absolutely perfect in how you create dishes that are comfortingly familiar but excitingly new. I hope you'll accept my proposal for a long-term relationship. And don't worry, we can keep it open so the rest of the world understands how amazing you are.

ps: That said, please please please bring back your...