Vivoli

665 College St. Toronto On M6G 1B7 416.536.7575

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - site on a street corner on College, has a rooftop patio and street-level patio which is a bonus. Inside is quite nice, boasts a huge pizza oven, very appetizing. Nice furnishings, pretty sleek for an Italian restaurant, Very nice, very comfortable.

2) Service - sat ourselves on the roof-top patio but had to wait quite some time before any servers took notice of us, and it wasn't that crowded. Service was friendly but i wouldn't necessarily call it spectacular. They kind of just served you, very basic and functional.

3) Portions - great

4) Taste - great. Had the Arugula with Pear salad and the Gnocchi in a rose sauce. Loved it!

5) Price - very very well priced! Um, but Martini's are $11.95 compared to the spectacular $5.00 martini's across the street at Eat My Martini. So got to Eat My Martini first, then come here for dinner. Except don't order the house wine, 'cause it tastes pretty cheap.

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - all kind's of patio's and staircases everywhere. Cool and fun!

2) Service - ok, kinda slow

3) Portions - shared everything with Amal, was great for a snack

4) Taste - Gnocchi was really good!

5) Price - fair

Eat My Martini

648 College St W Toronto 416.516.2549

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - love this place. Not too fancy, but definately hip. Gets crowded fast. Has a cute street level patio. Made use of the original brick in the building, cute chandeliers.

2) Service - friendly and knowledgeable

3) Portions - Martini's are great. App portions are good.

4) Taste - Calamari is awesome. Don't love the bruschetta. Haven't ordered a full meal there yet.

5) Price - amazing!!! $5.00 martini's!!! Well-priced apps!!! You must go!

*special tip* great place to go on a date because it's not too quite, it's right in the heart of little Italy, so there is much to see and do.

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - cozy.

2) Service - good both times i've been

3) Portions - mostly just had the martini's and they're great!

4) Taste - Martini's!!!! yum!

5) Price - 5 bucks 5 bucks 5 bucks!!!!

Jack Astor's

219 Rathburn Road West Mississauga ON L5B 4C1 905.566.4662

A M A L says DO NOT DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - big, kind of crazy, dimmed. American style, like pop American.

2) Service - friendly, although not the most efficient.

3) Portions - large

4) Taste - I think i only like their beer & cheddar cheese soup there. It's quite phenomenal actually. I have gone on 2 separate occasions in the last couple of weeks: fish n' chips - too oily, not flavorful. Rack of Ribs...dry. Had to be sent back to be re-heated. Fries - don't even bother.

5) Price - average

C H R I S says DO NOT DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - kinda feels like your at the movies and a pool hall and the arcade....all rolled into one. TV's everywhere, its very distracting. Good place to take a date, if your not really into your date.

2) Service - all kinds of servers and hostesses flying around, yet the service was slow.

3) Portions - large

4) Taste - ah......ok.

5) Price - fine

California Sandwiches

3018 Winston Churchill Boulevard Mississauga ON 905.607.5445

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - cold and empty, too many hard surfaces, although an improvement to their pre-reno interior. They have added some interesting drop-ceilings, and used some more sleek colours but they would benefit a lot from adding a few booths on either side of the restaurant, sill leaving room for their tables. They could also use a bit more colour in the kitchen area, maybe some tile, rather than the stainless steel backsplash they use.

2) Service - you order at the cash, and they make you your sandwich. Friendly, fast.

3) Portions - huuugeeee

4) Taste - delicious. I have only ever ordered the veal sandwich with tomato sauce, cheese, and mushrooms.

5) Price - $10/person. Pretty good.

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - kinda school cafeteria-ish

2) Service - fast and friendly

3) Portions - one sandwich is enough for most normal people, sometimes i get two.

4) Taste - Awesome! I have only ever ordered the chicken sandwich with cheese and mushrooms.

5) Price - Good deal for a good, quick meal.

Mengrai Thai

82 Ontario Street Toronto Ontario M5V 2V3 416.840.2759

Note: we went to this place as part of a wedding, so the entire restaurant was reserved as such. We had buffet.

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - small but cozy. Not particularly high-end. I had high expectations, given this is one of Toronto's best Thai restaurants. You normally need to book well in advance to guarantee yourself a seat. Appearance was very typical for that part of Toronto; well-used hardwood flooring, white painted brick, kinda cute. You walk in and are immediately greeted by a large framed photo of Jessica Alba and Mengrai's famed chef. Since we were there for a wedding, it offered a very modern take on a reception, as none of the traditional aspects of a wedding were present, e.g. no room for dancing to the live band, etc. But it was definately still nice.

2) Service - extremely friendly and great, hard working.

3) Portions - we had buffet, so no coomplaints.

4) Taste - pretty good. Their pineapple chicken curry with lychees was phenomenal. Also their appetizers were quite good - vegetarian dumplings as well as Yam deep friend rolls...really great. To be fair, we plan on going back and ordering off their menu in a non-wedding guest capacity. =) Definately great food for a wedding, if you are thinking about booking this restaurant for such an event.

5) Price - can't comment for this particular posting.

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - kinda felt like i was having dinner at someone's house, i liked it.

2) Service - servers were always there when you needed them.

3) Portions - buffet!@ i pigged out!!!

4) Taste - i agree with Amal. the food was great but i can't wait to go back again.

5) Price - can't comment cause of the wedding situation.

Cafe Demetre At the Oakville Centrum

2085 Winston Park Drive Oakville, Ontario L6H 6A6 905.829.2400

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - schizophrenic, not particularly nice, too colourful, don't really kno what they're going for, but it's ok. The desserts always look great

2) Service - not usually mind blowing, they are only serving deserts after all, but in particular the last time we went, it was ridiculously slow. Waited about 20 mins for our ice-cream, and we were only there to kill time before our movie...needless to say we made it as the previews had already started.

3) Portions - huge

4) Taste - great. Seriously as good as it looks. I got the Black Velvet Waffle with vanilla ice cream.

5) Price - approx. $10 per person

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD

1) Appearance - kinda reminds me of playland at McDonald's

2) Service - see Amal's comment

3) Portions - great!

4) Taste - i've only ever had the Unforbidden Fruits Waffle thing with chocolate sauce....yum! its always good.

5) Price - not bad, perfect for a snack before a movie

Axia Restaurant and Bar - Mississauga

5045A Plantation Place Mississauga ON 905.608.2942

A M A L says DEVOUR THIS FOOD !

1) Appearance - Very interesting restaurant - I was a little surprised because the sleek design of the signage and very cool exterior of the restaurant was a bit of a contrast to the interior, but I was definately not dissapointed! The interior is quite large, and Axia means what it says when they say they specialize in serving Asian cuisine. The restaurant boasts two kitchens in the back, one headed by a Korean chef, specializing in Japanese-Korean food, and the other, by a Chinese chef specializing in Thai and Chinese menus. Glazing frames the perimiter of the space, allowing a lot of natural sunlight during the day, and a comfy romantisicm at night. Paper street lanterns hang from the ceilings, while street lamps are scattered throughout the space, giving the feeling of being seated in an outdoor terrace somewhere. Also, the restaurant was quite clean, which is always nice.

2) Service - very impressive. Our server, Ricky, took great care of us.

3) Portions - huge. great. perfect. (because as you know, we love to eat)

4) Taste - pretty much the best Mango salad ever. We tried a bit of everything there, since they specialize in the different cuisines. Spicy crab rolls were great. California rolls were outstanding, even though I typically pass on the california rolls. Barbequed Shrimp skewers were huge, juicy, and amazingly tasty. Ricky recommended the Mango salad, which was genious, considering we had ordered the Beef with green onion and ginger dish(Chinese), with the Thai Chicken with pineapple fried rice...mmm...
and the warmed Sake is, of course, a must.

5) Price - great. Not expensive at all, and they also have great specials for both dine-in and take out!

C H R I S says DEVOUR THIS FOOD !

1) Appearance - very comfortable, I really liked it there. They also had little rooms for some privacy or larger parties if you needed them. I enjoy watching the chefs work, so it was great that the Japanese kitchen was visible.

2) Service - Ricky was amazing! Ask for Ricky! Management as well was great with us (Thanks, Brad!)

3) Portions - big. I couldn't finish. This says a lot.

4) Taste - like Amal said, Mango salad has to be the best we've ever tried...Ever. Everything was great, AND they don't use MSG, which is a bonus! Even the Chinese food was great, and I don't typically enjoy Chinese food. The chicken and pineapple fried rice had such a great, distinct flavour and aroma, it was very enticing.

5) Price - Great, can't go wrong.