Richmond Station — Restaurant in Toronto

Birthday Dinner at Richmond Station: A 7-Course Tasting Menu Adventure

This year, I celebrated my birthday with a truly unique and unforgettable dining experience at Richmond Station in Toronto. It was my first time trying a tasting menu, and what a way to start! My wife and I had so much fun savoring a carefully curated 7-course meal, exploring bold flavors, creative presentations, and the welcoming vibe that makes Richmond Station so special.

Why Richmond Station?

Known for its focus on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, Richmond Station offers an ever-changing Chef’s Menu that keeps diners on their toes. Every few weeks, the menu transforms, providing new opportunities to discover innovative dishes. I love the element of surprise that comes with not knowing exactly what to expect—it adds an extra layer of excitement to the experience.

The atmosphere was warm and lively, and the staff were incredible. From explaining the intricate details of each dish to engaging us in fun, casual conversation, they made the night feel both special and personal.

The Experience: Chef’s Menu Highlights

Here’s what we indulged in for the November 26 - December 9 Chef’s Menu:

Selection of Canapés These small bites were a perfect start to the meal, setting the tone with a burst of creativity and flavor.

Pasture-Raised Beef Tartare This dish combined tender beef with beet chutney, pickled onions, and aged cheddar. The balance of tangy and savory flavors was spot-on.

Cookstown Sunchoke Velouté Served with black garlic and smoked mushroom, this creamy soup was earthy, comforting, and beautifully presented.

Honey Mussels The mussels were paired with gai lan, red curry, and crispy rice. This dish was packed with bold flavors and contrasting textures.

Duo of Howick Farms Lamb This was the highlight of the meal for me—a beautifully cooked lamb served with charcoal-grilled eggplant and sweet garden peppers. The smoky, sweet, and savory elements came together seamlessly.

Chocolate Cherry Tiramisu A modern take on the classic dessert, this tiramisu featured smoked cherries, chocolate ladyfingers, and amaretto coffee. It was indulgent and rich, with just the right amount of sweetness.

Frozen Yogurt The meal ended on a light and refreshing note with frozen yogurt, red fruit granita, and milk chips. It was the perfect palate cleanser.

Vegetarian Chef’s Menu

For those looking for plant-based options, Richmond Station also offers a Vegetarian Chef’s Menu that’s just as impressive. Some highlights include: • Cookstown Beet Salad with honeycrisp apple and hazelnut cream • Stonetown Cheese Agnolotti with pumpkin mornay and charred onion • Charcoal Grilled Eggplant with sweet pepper velouté and chickpea fritters

Our Takeaway

This tasting menu experience wasn’t just about the food—it was about the entire journey. Sharing it with my wife made it even more meaningful. Each dish felt like a celebration of creativity and care, and the warm, engaging staff added an extra layer of joy to the evening.

If you’re looking for a dining experience that’s both refined and approachable, Richmond Station is a must-visit. The ever-changing menu ensures there’s always something new to explore, making it perfect for special occasions or simply treating yourself.

Practical Tips • Reservations: Highly recommended, as the restaurant is quite popular. • Menu: Changes every few weeks, so check their website or call ahead for details. • Location: Richmond Station is centrally located in Toronto, making it easily accessible for locals and visitors alike.

Final Thoughts

This birthday dinner was more than just a meal—it was a memory. I highly recommend Richmond Station for anyone looking to try a tasting menu for the first time (or the 100th). It’s an experience that will leave you inspired, satisfied, and looking forward to...

A couple months ago I had the opportunity to try a variety of dishes from Richmond Station's à la carte menu with a big group of friends. From start to finish, I was stunned with novel tastes and textures, so when I had the opportunity to head back for their holiday chef's table tasting menu, I leapt at the chance.

Richmond Station opened in 2012 in the core of Downtown Toronto. Good luck identifying what kind of cuisine they have there. Just know that you'll be having seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, and an eclectic array of dishes.

Sitting at the chef's table, you have a direct view of the dance happening in the kitchen. Additionally, when you dishes are prepared, different members of the staff appear in front of you, present the dish, and chat with you a bit if you're so inclined. Though I didn't expect to, I really appreciated the variety of servers that we had. From the usual wait staff to Chef William Kresky who helped designed the menu, you'll be able to chat briefly about the food with those closest to it.

We started with a selection of canapés, which are typically small pieces of bread topped with something savoury. My personal favourite were the duck pâtée bites. The pâtée itself has a rich flavour that I seldom get to experience, along with a delightful, smooth texture that pairs with the slight crunch of the pastry it's served in.

Next up was the kombu cured salmon crudo. A crudo is something raw served with a vinaigrette. Of course you'd expect the salmon to be fresh, and given it's a crudo, for the dish to be zesty, but what surprised me the most was how much the truffle contributed to the depth of flavour of the dish. Before realizing there was truffle in the dish, I figured they'd somehow sourced the richest olive oil I'd tasted, but on further inspection, those truffle bits were shining.

My personal highlight of the meal was the sunchoke custard. If you want to go on a flavour journey, try this dish. Given it's a custard, you take your first bite expecting it to lean on the sweeter side, but instead the custard is a mellow backdrop to the sweet brown butter bouillon, the rich but not overbearing black garlic purée, and the vibrant lemon slices. The whole thing is topped with holiday-appropriate chestnut chips for texture.

The mains of the experience were a Nova Scotia lobster risotto and a game pie. By the name, I'd thought that the game pie was more of a pot pie, but it's in fact more a beef wellington, and they used a trio of different meats.

The experience ended strong with a dark chocolate molten cake. The unctuous chocolate cake is sat in an inspired red wine peppercorn caramel sauce, and topped with vanilla ice cream. The caramel sauce is so red wine forward that you easily forget it's a caramel sauce at all. That sauce on its own needs to be bottled and sold!

Finally, as an unexpected and unlisted denouement, you're served a brittle meringue cookie topped with what I perceived as a thick raspberry sauce and a ginger mousse, and a jelly candy.

The whole experience was heart warming, fun, and of the highest quality. If you're okay paying for the fine dining experience, and you're looking to treat yourself, I can't suggest anywhere better. The...

Went there for my birthday and didn't feel all that special because it felt very rushed. Finished dinner in less than an hour. It was amazing that we got greated immediately once we sat down along with drinks but everything felt super rushed.... like they can't take sit to have us out. Pretty much had less than five minutes to go over the menu and asked for order twice. Yes, I could have asked the server to come back... I could appreciate my finished dishes taken away, but not when it was so immediate barely seconds after putting the cutlery down and the next dish was served within a minute after. I barely finished chewing the app and the main was there. I don't like eating cold food so of course I just continued eating. Perhaps it's a Toronto, large city thing? The table next to us was empty the whole time so I wouldn't call it too busy. We had a dinner reservation so it just felt so weird.. disappointed.. One can call it "very attentive stellar quick service" for people who's in a rush between work. I just felt like wow, hmm ok now where should we go next? dessert somewhere else? (I don't even love dessert, I just had the feeling "wait that's it?") I probably shouldn't have come on my birthday...hence 3 stars .... good for any super busy- when you have no time to eat kind of day. Then it probably would have been 4 stars perhaps.

Limited options when you have food sensitivities. (dairy free/gluten free)

Had the duck lettuce wraps as an appetizer - great Korean fusion flavours (contains butter)

Fried and grilled organic chicken meal: top notch flavours. They really thought this plate through with every detail. the dill and mint made the flavours pop. (this contained buttermilk)

Vegan option (I eat Paleo not vegan but I chose this dish to be safe): Grilled Teriyaki Eggplant with napa was very tasty but I wish they took off the burnt char skin on the bottom so I did not have to the work. Perhaps some people might like burnt charcoal food but not when all you taste is the char killing the pallet. I didn't notice until I had the first bite because it was on the bottom. I was glad it was fairly simple to remove the completely black parts without it interfering with the rest of the eggplant so it tasted great after realizing I had to remove the bottom layer. I didn't eat the fried onion fritter because I forgot it was indeed gluten free, so cannot comment.

gratuity included in menu pricing

didn't bother to try dessert even though they did have one paleo option (their coconut cream pudding). Just had a tea because there was literally no wait time in between eating apps +mains so I felt like I needed time to just breathe and digest a bit before walking out. The fudge was tasty at the end which was cool to know the lovely server made it. I am not used to eating sugar so that woke me up!

Overall, Service was good. I like how the back of the house works the front as well. Loved how passionate the server was. Food tasted amazing. It almost felt like the most flavourful gourmet food in fine dining setting but definitely quick in-and -out service.

undecided about this place now because it just felt like we were shoo'd...