Mott 32 Toronto — Restaurant in Toronto

Very excited to try Mott 32 after all the hype and wait. Especially since we want a reliable pre-opera/ballet restaurant. Very disappointed by both the food and the service. To start, the elevator pot lights do not work, and instead there is a work lamp plugged into an electric panel. There was no warning from the staff. If feels like we are in a horror movie. Not acceptable for a supposedly luxury restaurant. On arrival to the top floor, we greeted our hostess by the name informed by the check in staff. She barely acknowledged us and just turned to walk to our table. The servers seem scattered, and we were warned that there will be multiple servers. We explained that we are going to the opera and do not wish to drink a lot of alcohol, and asked to split a glass of prosecco. We were told that it was not allowed. We cannot even ask for an extra glass to split it ourselves. We have dined at high (including 3 star michelin) and low restaurants around the world, and this is the first time that this request has ever been refused! Instead, she suggested maybe we can try tea. How is that a substitute for prosecco! A more experienced server may have suggested mocktails, etc. The food is dropped off without any explanation. The taste is like an average Chinese restaurant. A server brought the wrong dish. When we told her that, she just starred at us, as if we made a mistake! I was dining with pescatarians and did not try the peking duck. The few that rolled around looked extremely small and did not look like the delectable peking ducks that I grew up eating in HK or while visiting China. The few dishes dropped at neighboring tables either look boring (I have never seen a less appertizing plate of rice noodles) or small (teeny plate of jelly fish). I feel like the people who rave about it are like the people in The Emperor‘s new Clothes. They rave about it because of all the hype, or perhaps have never had luxurious Chinese food. At least we tried it, and do not need to visit it again. There are so many better restaurants that are more worthy...

This will not be your usual four-star restaurant review mainly because we are vegetarian, and much to our pleasant surprise, Mott 32 has a dedicated vegetarian menu. We ordered the wild mushroom dumplings, the pumpkin soup, the pea shoots, the tofu with morel mushrooms, and the vegetarian fried rice. The tofu and the dumplings were very good. The pumpkin soup was too thin for my liking and the fried rice was passable but nothing special. However, it was the pea tips (shoots) that stood out for me. Although pea tips (dau miu) may simply look like a plate of spinach to the uninitiated, in fact, this is a very difficult dish to get right, mainly because the shoots have to be both fresh and prepared with minimal stems. Therefore, restaurants who want to prepare this dish “properly” have to source their ingredients carefully and make sure the stems are short and the shoots are fresh; otherwise, the dish will be tough. Mott 32’s pea shoots were the best I’ve had in Canada. The only time I’ve tasted better was at Lung King Heen . (I hope I don’t sound like a snob). We didn’t try any plant-based dishes because I feared that they would be made from textured wheat, but when I asked Eric, who is very knowledgeable about the ingredients, he told us that they are tofu based, i.e., quite healthy, and made in-house, so I will try next time. As for the staff, on the night we went, they were friendly, well-trained, and knowledgeable. When I asked where the toilet was (which was clean), a staff member escorted me right to the door. Little touches like that make a difference to one’s total experience when dining out. Clearly, Mott understands omotenashi As it was my birthday, we received a dessert gratis with a candle. Nice touch. Also nice that it was discreet (without waiters singing “Happy Birthday”). In sum, kudos to Mott 32 for having a veg menu and caring so much about their ingredients. It’s about time that Toronto had a high quality fine dining Chinese restaurant and Mott 32 fits the bill. We...

Spanning three levels, Mott 32 can be entered from University Avenue or the Shangri-La Hotel lobby. Once you entered, you will see the bar and lounge, here you enjoy innovative drinks, including the delightful Hanami cocktail, which we called it the "Tsunami." Because it will hit you like a tsunami.

Second level houses 4 private dining rooms. On the south side, there are three rooms: two with large round tables and one long table in the green "Stock" room. Retractable walls allow these rooms to be combined for larger events. The fourth private room, the Theatre Room, inspired by Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, is the most private and romantic.

The third level features a spacious open-concept room with many tables.

The Signature Applewood Roasted 42-Day Peking Duck took about 50 minutes to prepare. The skin was super crispy, and the homemade wraps were some of the best I've ever had—paper-thin yet strong, with the perfect chew. Filled with hoisin sesame paste, scallions, cucumber, and crispy duck skin and meat, each bite was heavenly.

The Charsiu, BBQ Iberico Pork with Yellow Mountain Honey, was mouthwatering—the best I've ever had. The fried rice was probably the best I have ever had too, the rice was dry enough, and was so perfectly fried, it elevated the flavours of this dish. I really liked their Lobster Mapo Tofu and the Cold Free Range Chicken as well, extremely well done. Other dishes we tried included Steamed Whole Garoupa, Nova Scotia Lobster Har Gow, Hot & Sour Iberico Pork Shanghainese Soup Dumplings, Braised Egg Tofu, Wok-Fried Gai Lan, Pumpkin Seafood Soup, and Wild Mushroom and Water Chestnut Dumplings. And every single dish was so delicate and delicious.

They don’t get named Toronto’s most anticipated restaurant for nothing; the excitement and buzz surrounding this place are well-deserved, thanks to its innovative menu, exceptional service, and unique dining experience.

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