The Good Son Restaurant

This restaurant is quite well known for their pizza and their oven was imported from Italy, but I didn't like their pizza. I didn't like the texture of their soft (but not chewy enough) crust. Their toppings were fine. I tried the Hawaiian and the margherita pizzas. The toppings on the prosciutto pizza looked very very good, but I didn't try it. One of the people in our party gave their burgers a very very good review. I liked all of the other dishes that I tried: the pork rinds were very airy, puffy, and light and they had a very tasty seasoning/sauce; the mussels were seasoned very lightly (which I liked) so you could taste the seafood; the sweet and salty nuts were good, but nothing special; the cocktails were inventive and smooth; the guacamole was good. I really like the variety of their menu. Something for everyone. There are a few other things on their menu that sounded very good to me that I look forward to trying. Also, I absolutely love the decor.

What a gem The Good Son is! Cozy, inviting decor with a wall of grandfather clocks, varnished wood tables and a stunning vintage chandelier that gives a warm glow to the dining area. The wood oven baked pizzas do not disappoint.

About two weeks ago, a small group of foodies were invited to The Good Son for a #ZomatoMeetup. The meal was a Zomato x FoodismTO collaboration dinner to celebrate the Toronto launch of FoodismTO. Foodism is the largest food and drink magazine in London, UK, and Toronto marks their first international foray. The web version launched earlier this past November, and the free print magazine will be released sometime in the fall (likely September 2016). FoodismTO will follow the same format as its London publication, as it will be a free magazine (funded by ads) featuring high quality images and food-centric articles on Toronto's food scene. Additionally, President’s Choice’s PC Black Label Collection recently signed on to be Foodism's official launch partner, which is pretty exciting news for the publication.

The Good Son is a neighborhood restaurant and bar in the Queen West area. The restaurant opened its door in 2014, and is headed by Chef Vittorio Colacitti of Top Chef Canada. Rather than focusing on one cuisine, Chef Vittorio Colacitti brought forth a multicultural menu that celebrates the city's
multiculturalism. The restaurant also focuses on using local and seasonal organic ingredients, and their menu changes seasonally.

Our dinner at The Good Son was a 7-course tasting menu prepared by Chef Vittorio Colacitti, and his team.
Some of the menu items were made specifically for the event, and are not on the current menu like the Double Duck Pizza.

Interesting crowd, menu, and décor.  All the making for a great restaurant but the service could use some work.  We had reservations and upon arrival were seated in a dark corner next to the service station where every waiter/waitress had to come bump into us to retrieve some cutlery.  Fried Rice is great as well as the Short Ribs.

I have keen to go to the Good Son since it opened. It’s on the fringes of the Ossington strip which means by geographical location they are mandated to incorporate some of the hipster doctrine into their existence ( the nice way of this saying that is embracing the local Queen street culture as stated on their website). Good Son is a project of Vittorio Colacitti who gained national attention for his appearance on Top Chef Canada 4. His also has a biography page which, designed a bit like a dating site, outlines his many culinary achievements as well as telling us he is a rooster according to the Chinese Zodiac.

I took and seat at the bar and scanned the cocktail menu. I have no idea who Tony is but I went with “That Thing for Tony” which featured gin, citrus fruit, Campari and some fresh basil. My issue is always that fact that a gin and fruit drink shows up looking like something Mary Poppins would make. This drink didn’t have the umbrella but did rock the orange slice which served as a vessel to hold the up the straw and combined with the pink was a bit of a kick in the nuts. Nonetheless, gin and campari is always a great combination and a whole lot of fresh basil was added a garden vibrancy.

I started with the sweet pea tortellini ($18) and it didn’t disappoint. The pasta was as tender as the peas themselves and stuffed with a tasty filling which paid homage to this great summer legume. The tortellini sat atop a sauce laced with citrus and butter flavours and was finished with some grated cheese. At first the portion size looked a little dainty but it was deceptively filling. Overall, it was a smart and suave dish which honoured fresh and available ingredients.

For the main, the barkeep suggested the bulgogi short ribs served with kim chee fried rice and a quail egg ($18). Unlike the smallish pasta portion, this dish was huge. Although the ribs were a little tough, they were flavourful. The rice was equally tasty but a little greasy. I loved the chucks of kimchi (or kim chee). The quail egg was cooked perfectly..I just wish there was more of it. Both the hot and the garlic sauce smeared on the plate were fantastic and removed any monotony of repeated bites of meat and rice. I also liked the abundance of the scallions on the dish from both a taste and appearance perspective. All in all, a very satisfying (and large) dish in which I could only finished about a third.
The Good Son succeeds in offering high quality food and drink in a fashionable environment. Given the creepy family on landing page, horror movie buffs may fear that many of the plates hanging on the wall may become projectiles in a poltergeist rage. In fact, I credit the web designers whose family dinner masterly predicted the movie “The Visit” in which old people finally become the homicidal leads as opposed to the first victims in most other horror movies (just ask Mrs. Deagle in the Gremlins). It is welcoming with a partially open kitchen and a very visible prep area. As described on the site, the Good Son’s menu is “a reflection of the melting pot of cultures that has gentrified the Queen West neighbourhood in Toronto”. I agree….I had a little Korean, a little Italian and a little hipster. One of the questions I always ask myself after a dining experience is “Would I come back?”. I think this place has one of the most intriguing menus in the city and I felt I only scratched the surface meaning I’d definitely come back in a second to try something like the steak tartare (which I have heard is incredible), jerk shrimp or the burger. In the end, it’s much better than a Macaulay Culkin movie and as inviting as a Norman Rockwell painting not to mention it’s oddly dreamy that Vittorio’s Chinese astrological sign is compatible with an ox.

Came here last night with a party of six for an early dinner. No reservation but we got seated within 5 minutes. Niki was our server and she was fantastic. Checked all my allergies and even offered to make fresh ginger tea (which is not on the menu). Service was great. The food was delicious. Overall really enjoyed our impromptu dinner.

We love it here, always a lively atmosphere with solid food and friendly service. We book an early seating so we can go with our daughter and we always find items she can eat on the menu. Craft cocktails, delicious desserts including in house gelato but I always go back for the burger and brussel sprouts app.

-Wait time for seating was decent -Pizza was good -service was good -cocktails were really good (an generously poured) -carrot cake 15/5 - best EVER! Minus 1 star only because it was LOUD and very hard to hear a conversation at the table, otherwise, very nicely run establishment.

Such a wonderful restaurant! My party was a large group of 20 ladies and we had the best experience ever!!! Our dinner was apart of the Prix Fixe menu and the food was above and beyond our expectations. Each dish was so delicious and the food came out at a great pace even with such a large party. Food sensitivities were easily accommodated by the restaurant as well. Everyone had such a lovely time. The atmosphere, the staff were just as amazing to say the least. Nana was the coordinator for our reservation and was super accommodating when our group was delayed due to the severe weather that happened earlier that day. Natalie was our server and she was very attentive to our large group. Thank you guys again for being so wonderful.