Frilu

I don’t have one bad thing to say about our experience at Frilu. My fiancé took me on a surprise dinner date and I was very pleasantly surprised! The food was DELICIOUS. We absolutely loved their homemade sourdough bread (even asked if they had any left at the end of the meal to take home). All their dishes were so beautifully plated and filled with so much flavour. There was not one bad dish that was served. We both left extremely full and happy. The staff were all great and extremely friendly. I would recommend everyone to try this restaurant. We hope to go again someday when they change their menu to try more of their delicious food.

I think it’s great to find a restaurant like this north of Steeles especially in old Thornhill. One criticism is that it’s exterior is very discreet. We’ve lived in the area for over 6 years and they’ve been open since 2018. The only reason why we know they exist is because a friend recommended them. Parking if a little hard to find and is accessed via a little alleyway to the side of the building. The interior is very simple and would not feel out of place in downtown Toronto. The floor to ceiling windows give you a strange feeling that you are out of place as you sit in this modern, chic restaurant looking out at the architecture of old Thornhill. On to the food, overall I would say the food is great. Some dishes definitely left a lasting impression; the spot prawn with fennel, the Ontario rainbow trout that melts in your mouth; the tarragon ice cream; and the most surprising of all for me was lettuce with coco bianco miso. The other dishes are good but certainly nothing to rave about. I love the use of local ingredients especially the vegetables. It’s the first time I’ve tried parsley root and I enjoyed it very much. The atmosphere is good and the service is fantastic. It’s solely a tasting menu and I wasn’t disappointed with the different flavours and dishes I was served. I would definitely come back and try the menu for a different season.

Mostly tasty and very personal experience! My partner and I ordered the tasting menu and the food was diverse and unique! We enjoyed all (ESPECIALLY the beef tongue omg), but the pickled dish (pic yellow with small orange flowers) which had a bizarre flavour to my taste buds. We also had a sparkling sake which was DELICIOUS! Our waiter was quite the character and it added to the experience. The chefs serve the food themselves and share about the dish, which was a very personal touch. One point of feedback is the ambiance. For a $300+ dinner for two, I’d look for just a touch more pizzaz. The music was a little too low and it was easy to hear the conversation of neighbouring tables. The sound also echoed often in the hard walls, given there was little soft furniture to absorb the sound. Also note the dinner took 3.5hrs in total - not a con, but just to set expectations. Overall, I’d recommend a visit to gauge the tastebuds. This experience taught me I prefer tasting menus over omakase.

Frilu is one of the few 905 places where you can enjoy a tasting menu. Portions are much bigger than Alo but lacks the complexity of some of the dishes of Alo. I would say that I enjoyed alot of the dishes but was not impressed with all of them. Then again, I could say the same thing about Alo. Frilu tried to be innovative and some of the dishes are definitely successful so they deserve credit for their creativity. Overall, I would recommend. An interesting choice for people living uptown or in the 905 area. There is a small alley right off Yonge st. next to the restaurant that leads to their parking lot in the back. Drive fast and you will miss it.