Thanks for having us for dinner tonight. The food was so delicious and the staff was on point. I'm already looking forward to my next visit back. Definitely worth it.
The food was excellent! The service was excellent, used the Open Table App to make the reservations and they personally call to confirm the day of. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.
Great atmosphere great service great food. I would definitely recommend this restaurant
My husband Azri Hami and I dined there tonight. What an unexpected pleasure. It was the best meal we had in Toronto. Thank you to the owner, and the wait staff. All were exceptional and added to our fine dining experience.
Amazing food, lovely staff in a beautiful setting that doesn't break the bank.
Anyone visiting Toronto should try this place out.
Very beautiful place. Amazing delicious meal. Exceptional service. And good music.
My friends and I visited the Elm Tree this weekend for a birthday celebration. We had a member late for our reservation, but the staff & owner were still very patient, providing us with outstanding service!
We were all raving about how good the food was after our meal.
Will definitely be back!
I had a friend visiting from out of town and staying at a nearby hotel. Since the the temp outside was so beautiful we wanted to enjoy eating outside. We had a great meal with a waiter that was attentive but a looked two friends time to gab and enjoy the meal at our pace. Will be back again soon!
The best way to describe it
OUTSTANDING
The service the food
Great job
Since last Sept. have visited regularly. Allways a fine meal with wonderful service. My family were in town this weekend and enjoyed a summerlisous meal thst was to die for. Do your self a favor and check out the best on Elm street.
We had dinner here on Wed Oct 28/15. Amazing food, great price! If your looking for a good meal out while in Toronto then check this place out.
Denise DeMelo Hettinga
+5
As soon as I walked around the corner onto Elm St from Bay and saw the twinkling lights in the trees that lined the street, I knew the evening with friends at this restaurant was going to be great! I just had that feeling....could have been that I wanted a spot with a quieter and comforting ambient vibe to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with friends that we don't nearly get enough time to spend with. Along with the cozy feel of this restaurant came impeccable service, tasty menu choices, (the fried cauliflower appetizer was delish as was my Cornish hens and hubby's mushroom risotto) and a good selection of craft beers.
Extremely happy that the positive reviews I had read prior to our first visit were accurate. This won't be our last visit! Thanks for making our dining experience so pleasant!!
Awesome service ! And the food! Oh so good...a place to stop and enjoy the experience...
Exceptional
Thanks Bruce (Bartender) for putting
The Elm Tree Restaurant in my radar...
Will be back... with friends, and family.
Cheers!
Atendimento maravilhoso, prato muito bem elaborados e deliciosos. Recomendo.
The best restaurant in the city of toronto nice trendy clean bright decor
Food is traditional Mediterranean with with French Italian and Spanish influence
The wine selection is super they carry wines from all around the world at very affordable prices
The service is impeccable knowledgeable well trained stuff with a lot finesse friendly and relax approach
Certainly this restaurant is unique
Way to go
Amazing lunch off the new lunch special menu! Great food great price!
Amazing!
Amazing! I truly enjoyed my meal. Started with the fried cauliflower and continued with the strip steak. The steak was beautifully cooked, the arugula and mushroom risotto the perfect accompaniment. Then ended the evening with warm beignets! The staff so courteous and attentive. Will definitely be going back!
I’ve been here twice now and loved it both times. A friend brought me the first time and I raved about it to my partner so we had to return so he could try it. Both visits were for lunch. Even with an almost full restaurant it never gets too noisy. The fried chicken sandwich is one of the best I’ve ever had - so big, juicy on the inside with a great crunch on the outside, and a pile of delicious fries. The cauliflower dish is out of this world. The second visit I got the beef shawarma and it too was delicious - really lovely spice combination and cooked perfectly. Our waiter was always friendly and attentive. Definitely going back.
The Elm Tree has become our "go to" restaurant in Toronto when we would like near Fine Dining at a fair price. Service is very good. Menus are small but diverse, with a good wine list
Decent flavours and menu offerings. The fried cauliflower was tasty and nicely prepared but I found the labane it was served on top of (yogurt based cheese that tastes like sour cream to me) was a distracting flavour for me. I’m not used to it perhaps, as it was the first time I tried it. I did enjoy the lamb shank, which was very tender with a sweet sauce, but with the carrot purée? Hmmm, it was tasty, yes - but I guess I was craving a solid texture, more rustic. The crispy brussel sprouts were delicious. Oh, and the nutella cheesecake? Yum! Service was excellent.
Had to make a last minute reservation near the Eaton Center and this one seemed to be one of the better restaurants available. The place didnt look like much from the outside but we were pleasantly surprised when we got there. Dining room was nice, old style wood, and a pretty romantic setting overall.
Food was surprisingly great. For apps we shared the Charred Eggplant/Tahine, Hamachi crudo, Fried Cauliflower and Sweetbreads. All were great and packed alot of flavors while tasting different, but if i had to pick two i would pick the Eggplant and Sweetbreads. For mains I had the Lamb shank which was very tender and not too "wooly" - good portion size as well.
Service was pretty good, however like another reviewer mentioned the waiter kept refilling our wine glasses even though they were half full, a bit too eager..
Not cheap for sure but the food did hold up and we did enjoy our dinner.
My first visit to The Elm Tree was in May 2016. It was extraordinary. My family, my aunt and I came back in August 2016 to celebrate the wedding anniversary of my parents. The host knew that we had something special to celebrate before we even entered the restaurant. We were taken in charge from the beginning with an amazing wine and table service. Our server (Sean) was very friendly and was making everything in his power to make this moment a memorable one. We even had a surprise at the end of our service which was not expected. By far, this is one of the best restaurant I have ever been to when it comes to ambiance, food, price and hospitality. I would like to sincerely thanks The Elm Tree for the experience that we have had. Please try it, you won't be disappointed.
Phenomenal food and service here. The front house staff and culinary department exceeded my expectations. I ordered the Seared scalops, Cous cous salad, Seabass. The scallops were perfect and plump. The cous cous salad was plated so gorgeous. Very light and full of flavor. Finally the Seabass, wow... My taste buds were dancing in circles. The mushroom risotto done amazingly well. I would recommend this place to anyone. My experience here was very memorable. I will definitely come back again and try other items.
What a nice little gem just off of Dundas Square!
We were impressed with the very friendly and prompt service as well as the relaxed vibe of the place.
The complementary bread and hummus was a nice touch as were the crispy hand cut fresh fries we chose to start with. I know....I know, not so fancy but when you need fries, you need fries.
I had the lamb shank with couscous and my friend had the pan seared Cornish hen and we couldn't stop nom noming. The lamb was fall off the bone tender and the juices soaked into the couscous resulting in an angelic experience while the crispy outside and succulent inside of the Cornish hen was also a hit.
We didn't end up having room for dessert. That's rare!
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Food was excellent although we did have a rather rude waiter. We are not fussy about wine and just ordered the cheapest red. They were sold out of that, so the waiter brought us a different bottle for our approval. When asked if this was being offered at the same price we were informed that this would be another $6. We asked to see the wine list again and chose a cheaper bottle. This got us off on the wrong foot.
I really hate it when staff hovers over the table and keeps refilling your half empty wine glass. It makes it very hard to pace alcohol consumption. Waiter acted insulted when we asked for the bottle to be left on the table so we could do our own pouring.
The three of us shared a green salad and a beetroot and goat cheese salad. I was astonished by how good a simple green salad could be. Tasty shallot vinaigrette, a large variety of greens including dill and exclusively tender young leaves. The excellent beetroot salad was actually beet done three ways. Crisp deep fried chips, lightly pickled roast wedges, and thin raw slices. Dressed with crumbled goat cheese, tiny pickled shallots and a sesame oil dressing.
We were all happy with our mains. I had confit duck with mushroom risotto. Tasty rice dressed with truffle oil where nasturtium leaves added a fresh green bite. Confit had a crisp skin but I've had more succulent flesh on previous occasions, albeit mostly in France. The other mains were Moroccan lamb cous cous and very crispy skinned Cornish hen.
Shared sides were exceptional as well. Roast turnip was buttery and distinctly caramelised. Slices of grilled aubergine were served in an extremely fresh tasting tomato sauce. We could taste very ripe tomato, onion, garlic, a hint of caramel and micro coriander. Not a trace of tinned tomato or passata.
I was really impressed by the food both in terms of execution and design, though balance of flavours was better thought through than textures.
Our waiter did eventually redeem himself by charging us only for the wine we originally ordered. Don't be tempted to fill up on the nondescript baguette and hummus brought to the table as you sit down. It's worth saving your appetite for better things to come.
celebrate my friend birthday here. Strongly recommend pan seard scallops and ginny hendricks, this cocktail is so fresh. they add mint, cucumber and green lemon in it. BTW, Lief is the most awesome waiter i'v met!
We went to Elm Tree Restaurant because we saw some really good reviews online... and we were not disappointed! Sean was an excellent server, very helpful in his recommendations and friendly. We each thoroughly enjoyed our meals - bursting with flavour and beautiful presentation. We will go back again and recommend Elm Tree to others.
From the appetizer, to our mains, to the dessert, everything was so tasty. We ordered the calamari for appetizer. I ordered the sea bass for my main, which was so juicy. My husband ordered the New York steak. He said it was perfect marbling and was a very generous portion. The pouched pear for dessert was so soft, sweet and flavourful. All the staff at Elm Tree were so professional and accommodating. Sean, in particular really went out of his way to ensure we were having a good night. The rose at the end of the evening on Valentine's day was also very sweet and much appreciated. Overall, an awesome experience.
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My boyfriend took me to The Elm Tree Restaurant for dinner. The atmosphere is romantic and classy. Service was excellent - a server would bring out our meals, then our main server came over to tell us the dish ingredients, cooking style etc.
DRINKS:
Sauvignon Blanc, Eradus (for me) - more on the sweeter end, which I preferred.
Pinot Grigio, Serenissima (bf)
APPETIZERS:
PAN SEARED SCALLOPS (3/5)
(Seasoned with curry salt, green apple purée)
The scallops were seared perfectly - very delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't think the green apple purée was a good match with the scallops.l, it was too sour. 3 points goes to the scallops though!
MAINS:
DUCK CONFIT (4/5)
(With wild mushroom risotto)
Mm the duck confit was delish! The skin was very crispy with just the right amount of fatty and duck meat. The mushroom risotto was also great - it gets salty after a while but still a great mix with the duck leg.
PAN SEARED CHILEAN SEA BASS (4/5)
(Saffron infused rice, caper meuniere sauce, diced tomato)
For those who would like something more healthy tasting, this is a good choice. A very light dish - the sea bass was tasty and fresh. I enjoyed this dish very much.
DESSERT:
TOFFEE CAKE (5/5)
You would be missing out if you didn't save room for this dessert!! I looooved this toffee cake. So good - there was a crunchy glazed toffee on top of the vanilla ice cream and the toffee cake is at the bottom. I would come back again just to order this dessert. So so yummy, great end to our meal! :)
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I went to Elm Tree Restaurant for a friend’s birthday. We had almost 20 attendees and I was surprised they were able to fit all of us in this cozy restaurant. Starting off with these complementary appetizers, they gave us several little jars of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions on top. It came with a few small pieces of baguette, which we finished quite quickly but were given refills. The second complementary appetizer they gave us was an olive-based paste, it was also quite good but I enjoyed the mashed potatoes more. Better yet, because we were such a large group, we got refills quite often.
When it came to the main course, I decided to order the Duck Confit ($19). I think this is one of their better dishes as the duck was crispy outside and the meat was tender. It was paired with a bed of mushroom risotto, which was buttery and soft. The duck was also well marinated.
I also got a chance to try some other items, including the Cornish Hen ($22), which was a little too crisp but the quinoa with raisins was good.
Some other items that were ordered at my table was the Orzotto ($18), which was a type of risotto made with saffron and garnished with shrimp and 2 scallops on top. I think I liked the taste of this risotto better because it wasn’t as buttery, but it could use more seafood. The Braised Lamb Shank ($20) was also beautifully presented, but has quite small portions.
Lastly, I tried the Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass ($32), which was also small but quite crispy and fresh.
This is a nice restaurant to do birthdays at because they also gave a complementary cake with sparklers. (Although they did spell my friend’s name wrong). This was on their dessert menu, which wasn’t on their website so I can’t search up the name. It was quite good when I tried some, like a caramel and vanilla ice cream brownie.
Such a great atmosphere, Great meal duck confit was the best, Tracey was the best waitress👌🏻, definitely worth the experience at elm tree !!
Amazing!! Every single dish we has was perfection! The waitress was very helpful and gave us good suggestions! Make sure you try this place out! We came from our of town and were very impressed!
Just all round delicious. Went to Elm Tree pretty recently before catching a show at the Mirvish. Quiet, romantic ambiance, friendly wait staff, and clean establishment.
Prices were really fair and both the duck confit and cornish hen were really good.
The duck confit had this incredible hint of an aromatic bouquet that really accentuated the meatiness of the duck, and the risotto served alongside it was velvety, rich and savoury.
The Cornish hen had a really crispy skin and juicy, juicy meat. It's simple stuff but executed pretty much perfectly!
If you guys want reviews of more restaurants and stuff, feel free to check out my blog on my profile page for more information on restaurants around Toronto!
Amazing. Friendly staff, great food, large drink menu 10/10
This place is amazing! Everyone must come try chef Nicko's delicious food!
Amazing!!! The service was so friendly and warm. Great first impression. The food, was DELICIOUS! The quail, sea bass, rack of lamb, olive spread to name a few things we ate were spectacular. Highly recommend this place and very affordable :). BONUS!
Amazing menu selection, and we ordered most of the starters- the quail with polenta is one of the best I've had.
Friendly staff and great location for a group or just a night out
All in all great experience. Great food as well as alcohol selection. Il definitely be recommending this place to my buddies.
Amazing food , everything is fresh, tried the steak and Chilean seabas- out of this world
Wowed by Elm Tree!. My wife and I were staying at the Eaton Chelsea just across from the brand new restaurant, The Elm Tree. We walked down Elm St. and decided to try it out. We had a nice seat by the window and immediately were offered fresh olive tepenade and bread. I had the Blanche de Chambly bottled beer and my wife had the Hobgoblin. We shared a very nice beet and goat cheese salad (home made goat cheese!!!) and quail appetizer. Our mains were delicious and my rack of lamb was cooked to the perfect 'medium rare'. All in all, very satisfied with our experience at the Elm Tree. Suggesting it to those at the Eaton Chelsea and local Torontonians!! Good luck!!!!
Amazing first impression, Must Try!. I was walking down Elm st. with a buddy to dundas square when we noticed the "Open Now" sign and we decided to check it out. We were not disappointed at all, the staff was great. I didn't recognize any of the beers they had so I asked for a recommendation from the server, you must try the Barking Squirrel on Draft! The food was absolutely fantastic! I recommend the Lamb Shank and Duck Poutine!! Will definitely be back!
Wish this restaurant success!
The food was exceptional. The octopus was cooked perfectly and the sauce was amazing. The lamp had a wonderful char and again the sauce was amazing. Service was on point and the outside seating area was refreshing. So glad I had the opportunity to eat here. Definitely a must try.
One of my favourite restaurants in Toronto. Fantastic food, service & decoration. Beautiful place for either a small or big group. I have been there over 10 times now and I absolutely love it!
Wow! This place is really worth it 😋 all the dishes we had were superb 👌🏽 the Octopus, the salmon, and all the appetizers we had were amazing. Surprisingly the bill was low compared to the quality of the food and ambiance. #Yeswaa
Came here for a celebratory dinner with my mom and we were so thrilled. Great service, amazing food, fantastic ambiance. We will definitely be back. Had the carpaccio, risotto, and cornish hen, and took home the pistachio dessert, as we were too full to continue eating at the restaurant. My pictures do not fully show the quality.
Excellent food
Greek salad had great flavors with capers & marinated red pepers. Unique twist but id say the best greek sald ever
Salmon. I wish it was a bigger portion.
I would have to say a great place to go
High end food
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As a local, I have always avoided restaurants that are fairly close to hotels just on the basis that it "might" be an overpriced tourist trap, and hence avoided the area around Elm street. Luckily, a food event brought me to The Elm Tree Restaurant, and I have to say I am a fan of this place!
For our dinner, we had a sampling of their winter menu dishes, so we had smaller portions that usual (so ignore the portion size of my pictures). They are now at their Spring menu, but some items will probably still be there.
- Pan Seared Scallop: This was perfectly seared and scallop was not overdone. The sunflower seed pesto was great with it, as is the confit tomato.
- Beef Carpaccio: This is a great starter and I loved the truffle oil with the beef.
- Grilled octopus: I tend to be picky about octopus and hate it when it is not done right. I am happy to say it was quite well done here. Love the giant caper berries and the chorizo salsa with it.
- Pork belly: This item has all the other reviews raving about and I can see why. Pork belly needs to be tender to be good and this one is tender! It comes with sauerkraut which is not my favourite, but a good dish nonetheless.
- Cornish hen: While not an overly photogenic dish, it is quite decent and I like the roasted brussels sprouts that came with it
- Duck breast: This dish was a slight miss for me. While the duck breast is perfectly cooked (pink in centre) and has great flavours with the pistachio rumble and duck jus, the cut of the breast was not good and there was a hard ligament within the meat. It took us a bit of effort to chew. YMMV on this one.
- Herb crusted rack of lamb: This was my favourite dish. I loved the combination of the lamb and herb crust, and the parsnip puree was so good with it!
Overall, I really liked The Elm Tree Restaurant and the prices are not too bad considering the location (Yonge and Dundas very close to Eaton Centre and TTC; $20 to high 30's for mains). I think this is a great dining option in the very competitive downtown Toronto scene.
We went today for a work anniversary and the food was amazing. The waiter was funny and made us feel at home. Had the scallops as an appetizer and the mushroom risotto as my main. One of the best risotto I've ever had! The scallops were so delicious, I was sad when my plate was empty. Great place with amazing food. Will definitely be going again!
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