Canoe - website

Located on the 54th floor of the TD Centre. That would be the downtown district in Toronto. This place is famous for the view, the food, the high class dining. So it has a lot to live up to.

Service <1> : The service I found impeccable, for the most part. We got to the door, an offer to take our jackets. Someone always saying to us to enjoy our meal, it got annoying after a while, but still nice to have. Some nice recommendations by the waiter. What I did not like was the pepper was not offered on top of entree, they just place the shakers in front of you. And the lady who got our jackets, offered the wrong jacket to us. 0.80/1.0

Environment <1> : This would have been better if we got a window seat, but I will not deduct for that. Entrance looked grande, the hall towards the reception looked like some club or something. Oh, there is a hall in the Ontario Science Museum that looks just like it. The fact that the inside tables were on a raised platform was a good idea, that way they get some what of a view outside. One thing I was not a big fan of was the ceilings. They chose to go with the minimalist choice, where you could see the vents and the pipes, not a big fan of that decor at such a restaurant. 0.60/1.0.

Food <1> : I will try to talk about everything we had, including the wine.

Wine

House Red Wine, Biff. - Suggestion by the waiter. It was alright, was not great. I'll consider not ordering the house wine next time, and trust myself to get one instead.

Appetizers

Tartar of Atlantic Salmon with Lady Apples, Horseradish & Caperberries - The salmon tasted great. They cut it into little cubes it seemed. The dressings (apples, horseradish, and caperberries) added a nice hint of flavour to it, which was nice.

Creemore Springs Beer & Cheddar Chowder - I am not a fan of cheese at all, but I tried this nonetheless. I could not taste any of the Creemore Springs beer. I could taste the cheese, but it was not so overwhelming that I did not like it. I thought the texture was a tad rough, but still it's a chowder, so that's alright. Wasn't anything special.

Entrees

Pan Seared Yarmouth Scallops with Habitant Peas, Leeks & Olive Oil - The scallops were really good. However the portion was not too great, so unless your a small eating girl, then this is not for you. But I really liked the taste of the scallops, although they are not those huge ones you expect at a Chinese restaurant. The peas were a nice addition, they did not taste like peas, nor look like them. But they were of a good texture that they were not overcooked nor undercooked.

La Ferme Organic Breast of Capon with Pumpkin, Wheatberries & Rosemary Sherry Vinaigrette - capon is basically chicken. The fact that it's organic made no difference. I don't even remember the pumpkin, but still the chicken tasted nice. It was on the juicy-dry end of the spectrum, but I found it was still nice. I would say order something else if you come.

Dessert

Caramelized Wild Rice Pudding with Mulled Spiced Pears & Cabernet - I would never order rice pudding, but my mom had the other one, listed below. And I heard a good review about it, so I tried it. The first taste was, hey, this is not bad. Several bites after and it's like, this does not look any smaller. I thought the spiced pears and cabernet added a nice touch to it, because rice pudding by itself would have no flavour. But also it being carmelized added a nice softer texture to the rice. I would say this is a dessert for two, even though it is small, because rice is still carbs, it was heavy.

El Rey Chocolate Ganache Cake with Pecan Brittle, Blood Orange & Pistachio Ice Cream - This was a very good dessert. The pistachio ice cream was very very good. Pecan brittle I could do without but the cake was exquisite, but not better than the ice cream.

Overall - Food - The bread was served with hummus, and was a walnut bread. I really liked it, but I did not want to eat the whole basket and ask for more, along with the hummus. It was really good though. I think I need more convincing on the food at regular price. 0.70/1.0

Presentation <1> : If one thing was good it was the presentation. And it must be so at a high class restaurant. The scallops were neatly arranged on this very long plate. You can't make rice pudding look nice but the ganache cake with ice cream looked delectible. my chicken looke very appetizing too, with the fixings around them. 0.85/1.0

Price <1> - I went for the Winterlicious menu, so it's a flat $30. I would say if you wanted to come to this restaurant and was unwilling to shell out the normal prices, than $30 is not too much to pay for the diner, not including wine of course. If it's regular menu, I don't think the food we got was worth more than $40 total though. If we want to pay for view, then I better get a window seat. However seeing the original prices and if it was same quality of food, I think it's overprices and overrated. 0.45/1.0

Overall <5> : Let me put it this way, unless I am rich and have money to burn, it's paid by someone else, or I'm really trying to impress some girl, probably would not come back. This place did not score poorly, just I can't justify eating here for no special reason, bcause of the price alone I think. 3.45/5.0.