Canoe

DO NOT EXPECT MUCH BUT THE VIEW!
Horrible experience recently! Their welcoming staff is friendly, but SOME SERVERS are NOT! We have received such an attitude from the guy who served us. He seemed so unhappy with the orders we made and the time we «took» waiting for our friends! (He shouldn’t care at this point at all!)
What was up with him we have no idea, but it shouldn’t worry us at all…
Giving me a hard a time with desserts by saying that i ordered it too early and why haven’t i got a main course. And it wasn’t in a friendly way of talking to me for sure!
Anyways, i can go ahead with all the details, but place like this one MUST have at least friendly and caring servers… Especially for the prices they charge,
Bad, bad, bad experience…

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the st… wait, I mean my canoe and this canoe is in the sky so high. What an amazing venue and view. It’s worth the exorbitant prices just to soak in the 6ix not to mention their culinary masterpieces. We closed down the place to the public on a Saturday for my brother’s wedding and me thinks it was money well spent. The manager Michelle was attentive, Rick my server was on point and the house DJ played the most random tracks to keep us jumping. The only reason I gave them ⁴⁄₅ is because Terrence a.k.a. «don’t call me Terry» the bartender was off his game. Only offered bar rail when we gave specific instructions to serve anything under $ 16 and wouldn’t serve shots but would put 1 ounce of alcohol neat in a rock glass… really Terry? Reeeeally?

Went for business lunch, service was great as usual, food was amazing, food came out relatively fast. Definitely on top of the list for lunch meeting.

Best meal I have had in a long time
Had the prawn chowder, oysters, beef tenderloin, and duck. With the milk chocolate salted caramel desert and the berry crumble.
The flavours were amazing. Best steak I have ever had. Prawn chowder was so tasty. Prawns 4 ways.
There’s a reason this is a 5 start restaurant. Will be back without a doubt.

Being probably the most well known fine dining experience in Toronto, as a visitor, I made a mandatory visit and was left disappointed. The food itself is quite delicious and accents rare Canadian produce and flavours in expectedly small portions. The food is not the problem as the trout I ordered was cooked perfect. The duck breast was very tender and not overly salted, the Alberta lamb saddle also melted in your mouth. Finally, the beef tenderloin was again, cooked great with a lighter sauce making it a great entrée. We also shared two appetizers beings first the venison tartar which was my first time trying game meat and I was pleasantly surprised. It was an interesting texture and wasn’t too wild tasting if that makes sense. We also tried the baby gem lettuce salad and although very very small, it was refreshing and exotic with the egg. The desserts ordered were the butter pecan tart which I adored for a smaller but maple filled taste and pecans. Their crumble bits were also great. Also tried the date trifle and i didn’t really get it but interesting with many little details.
The main reason for such a poor rating is not the food or even the high prices but the service. Our server was not only absent most of the night. He didn’t seem to care about our table at all. When he came to give us dessert menus he just placed it in front of us, not a word spoken. The bills is what irked me the most because instead of asking my dad to pay, he came by with a machine, stuck his hand out and waited, again not a word spoken and did the transaction with no emotion, questions or thanks. In my opinion, food defines a restaurant more than service but for this kind of fine dining experience, he made the entire night kind of a hassle trying to find him to order, get water or anything else. I wouldn’t recommend coming at all because yes, it’s expensive and in no way does the service live up to their expectations.

We were lucky enough to have a wine paired dinner at Canoe and I have to say it was one of the best I have ever had. The food was not only beautiful but it was paired superbly with wines for every course.
The view is the other attraction of this restaurant. You look over the lake for miles with an unobstructed view. Summer time is great, as you’ll see sailboats and winter works too, as the lake is so quiet it’s sublime.

Good attention to reservations. Wonderful table with a view (perfect) Madding somewhat older crowd;consistent neither the tab. Staff balancing frantic with friendly. Bread sourdough only– not my metiere. Great starters: oysters! Fluke crudo, shroom soup all fine+. Trout bottomy (tank at Loblaws?) lamb saddle = big boy lamb a facon Canadien; so tough = uncutable!!! No steak knife available. Inedible. ’ Can I bring you some thing else
No Thanks’
Unappealing dessert menu .Good wine list; had dry Greek Muscat– Fine.
Expensive. Billed for the tough lamb.Noisy.
Night out for the folks.
Not again

First time I tried Canoe, had a fantastic experience. So suggested this place for a Customer meeting/​Dinner and was totally disappointing. Only good things to write about are the drinks, Wine selection and the View (being on the 50+ floor giving a great view of the city).
Food was mediocre and service was outlandish for this fine dining restaurant. Had to keep calling the waiters attention to refill wine, water etc. At one time asked the host to find our server and all i got was a clueless expression with an answer «I don’t know who your server is». Definitely not a sign of an establishment training their staff well. Overall for the price paid, this was not a good experience.

First we were given table away from the Window but my girlfriend asked for one and we got it. Amazing views. Night is better since you don’t get to see the dirt and grit of Toronto.
Food here is to die for. Everyone should eat here at least once, so they can put the food in other Toronto restaurants in perspective. Local, farm-​fresh ingredients — you can taste the freshness in the mouth.
If Canada had Michelin-​starred restaurants — this one would be so.

This is a review of their Summerlicious menu. I found the overall experience lacking. I’ve been to Canoe for regular dinner service, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the service was infinitely more attentive and warm. I’m not saying that subpar service is right at any time, but it’s the unfortunate reality I’ve observed during Summerlicious/​Winterlicious at various restaurants in the city. I was just expecting better from a restaurant that’s touted as one of the best in the city. There should be some consistency across the board.
I had the Ontario bufala mozzarella, which was perfectly sharp and full of flavour. It was a good start to the meal. The Alberta beef strip loin was less impressive. It was bland and forgettable. The Valrhona chocolate ganache cake was redeeming. I haven’t had a bad dessert at Canoe yet.
To be honest, I don’t recommend coming here during Summerlicious or Winterlicious. Save it for a special occasion and hopefully they’ll step up to the plate.

Wanted to like this place more but didn’t live up to the reviews. Being from NYC it reminds me of a place that gets hyped up to tourists but the locals know it’s overrated.
The ambiance is top notch but the food was pretty standard. Got the lamb and while it was presented nicely it really didn’t have any flavor and was pretty average. For what this place is supposed to be that was disappointing.
On the plus side, again the bar is great and the cocktails are on point. But if you’re in town for a visit I’d think there are better places to spend your $ on.

This is strictly a review of their winterlicious menu.
First off, I want to point out that the service was spectacular and that we had the most amazing view of the CN Tower – It really made the lunch something special! However, I do admit that the food left something to be desired. Nothing was inedible, but nothing was especially great either… It was decent meal, but nothing to remember – at least food wise. I had the pleasure of tasting everything on the winterlicious menu, so here is my take on all of it:
APPS
Lentil soup: great! Warm and comforting. The turkey was a nice touch. Personally my favourite starter, but a soup is a soup is a soup – if you know what I mean. (3.5÷5)
Baby Gem Salad: Fresh, tasty dressing, the purple potato chips were fun. Nothing too special. One salad came with a strand of hair in it though, oopsies. (3.5÷5)
Pig Cretons: the croûton like bread thing that came with it was fabulous, everything else was eghhh (³⁄₅)
Mackerel: tasted like it literally came out of a tin. (¹⁄₅)
MAINS
Lamb: horrid; I’m not much of a lamb person though (N/​A)
Pork: well cooked but terribly seasoned. The only redeeming aspect of this dish would be those delicious mustard greens (2.5÷5)
Croquette: like canned fish fluffed up, deep fried, and put on a fancy plate (¹⁄₅)
Campanelle: HALLELUJAH! Delicious delicious delicious– the pasta was fantastic, but again, was it because all the other dishes were mediocre? (⁴⁄₅)
DESSERTS
PB&J: super decadent, reminds me of a chocolate bar (³⁄₅)
Panna Cotta: quite good, the Panna cotta was great but I could have done without all the mess around it (3.5÷5)
Pumpkin cake: like every other pumpkin tasting thing imaginable (2.5÷5)
They gave us bread and hummus to start, and I also ordered their pineapple mint juice which was alright. The wine pairing was 32 dollars extra, but if you got the pork, they gave you cider to go with the main – which was not great, to be honest. We were informed that we could switch it out before hand for a nice glass of wine and we should have.
Although the meal was meh, I do want to return on a non-​winterlicious day to get a sense of what the restaurant is like without all the hoopla. Give it a go if you have the money, it’s really a bargain for a three course meal.

What’s the best/​cheapest way to dine on a 54^th floor?
During winterlicious of course!
My bf ordered:
Pickled Atlantic Mackerel
Cider Brined Ontario Pork Loin
Hewitt’s Dairy Muscovado Panna Cotta
My order:
Baby Gem Salad
Braised Alberta Lamb Shoulder
Kernal’s PB+J
I’m not a fan of mackerel so I didn’t try it. The pork was super soft but it has a strong pork taste which I’m not a fan of (personal preference). The Panna cotta was delicious, rich and creamy.
Salad, nothing special besides colourful presentation. The tiger blue cheese was pungently awesome. The Russian dressing tastes like wasabi.
I LOVE the braised lamb shoulder dish! It was so soft and juicy and delicious. The lamb shoulder melted in my mouth. I could eat that everyday. Everything on the dish was perfect and each ingredient complimented each other.
The kernels pbj was good too. The mousse was soft and light which I liked. My tongue was tango’ing with my dessert.
Overall I am very impressed with Canoe despite being super duper busy during this time of the year. I would love to try other dishes but I’m pretty sure they’re fully booked :/​
Oh and who said fine dining will leave you hungry still? I wasn’t hungry until around 10pm.

I’ve been to Canoe three times now and each time has been a great experience. Service for the most part is decent, they are attentive to the table and food comes at a decent pace.
Food wise, this is their strongest point. Each of their dishes are plated professionally and also taste great. My most recent visit was for their 2016 Winterlicious menu. The beef Wellington from their entrée menu was kind of a miss as the meat wasn’t the greatest. Otherwise the appetizer and dessert were delicious.
Canoe’s location is also really nice if you have a window seat.
If you drove down and parked in the TD tower, you can get parking validation from them before you leave.

We came to Canoe to top off our trip to Canada. What a way to end! We got the 7 course tasting menu with the wine pairing. Not cheap at $ 150 a head but to be honest every mouthful and sip was worth it. This was hands down one of the tastiest meals I have ever had. The wine pairings were excellent and our server Kevin was fantastic. This was an expensive evening but a very special one. Make sure to ask for a window seat when you reserve a table and take in the exquisite view of Toronto from the 54^th floor of the TD building!

Great, great, great… I mean, great experience. Yes!-Tha Unilocal Daddy gets around!!! This restaurant towers downtown Toronto and the lights of the city brings this elegant restaurant to life. Canoe means romance to couples on a loving date, anniversary or a birthday. Canoe means style to those who are looking to unwind after a day or week of hard work. Canoe means socialize to those business people who are looking to expand their social communities for better networking opportunities throughout the city. For me, Canoe meant «the grand taste of Toronto.» Listen, after your ears pop from shooting 54 stories in a fast elevator, you will enter the dimly lit ambiance of a high-​toned restaurant.
So, the location, yes… kinda confusing if you are using a GPA, so-​MEN– you might have to ask somebody for better directions. The décor-​classy. The city view– AMAZING!!!-so take it all in. The service-​outstanding, professional, kind and neighborly. The food-​fully of rich flavors and incredible. The drinks-​creative with unique twists. And the desserts-​extravagant! The price-It’s worth the experience.
**Note:Great place to take your spouse to for a special occasion… Men-​great place to propose to your girl-​of course, if she is truly worth it. But if you are someone who’s still trying to figure out what life is all about then this place might not suit you or agree with your cashflow.
So, check it… I ordered the b a b y g e m l e t t u c e, which was really tasty. I also ordered the Tea Smoked Duck, which was really flavorful and I got the toffee for dessert-​so, very good. This place is excellent-​Tha Unilocal Daddy approves!!!

Located on the 54^th floor of the Toronto Domnion Tower (TD Tower). I went into the TD Bank Tower, and was pretty confused because I didn’t see the 54^th floor. Turns out when I asked the receptionist, I’m not the only one who makes this mistake.
Heading up the elevator, Canoe was easy to find, we made a reception and were seating right away. The waitress asked if we were celebrating anything special, I’m pretty sure if we were there to celebrate they would bring out a cute little celebratory dish decorated with fancy words.
The atmosphere was definitely a business casual type of setting. We did not go during Winterlicious or Summerlicious, so we had the regular menu. We were served with warm bread with delicious oil. In addition, we were asked if we wanted more bread after. We ordered some coastal half dozen oysters, which were delicious. They were well cleaned, I didn’t taste any sand in them.
In between the appetizer and the main course, we were given a special small dish to cleanse our taste buds. It was really refreshing!
For the mains, I got the Canadian barley risotto. It was definitely a small portion, but I enjoyed EVERY bite of it. The risotto was so smooth and lightly chewy. The complimentary herbs and sauces mixed really well together.
We decided to eat dessert elsewhere, and even though we did not want any dessert, they gave us a complimentary bite sized cake which was also great quality food.
Canoe is one fine Oliver and Bonacini restaurant with delicious food and a marvelous view.

Summerlicious Lunch 2015.
Here’s the long and short of it: Dessert, drinks, and a beautiful view redeemed the experience, somewhat. Otherwise, utterly forgettable (but prettily plated!) food — nothing outstanding for the perceived calibre of the restaurant.
Selections for a party of 3:
Appetizers (decent)
Potage of Peaches & Cream Corn
Heritage Salmon Tartare
Entrees (decent)
East & West Coast Fish Cake
Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi
Tree Syrup Glazed Beef Short Rib
Desserts (all on the sweeter side)
Hewitt’s Dairy Yoghurt Panna Cotta
Valrhona Chocolate Ganache Cake
Thyme & Apricot Mousse

Sitting on the 54^th floor of the TD building, this place is a definite go-​to for its view. During the day, you’ll have a nice view of all the buildings and the lake, as well as the boats out in the lake. At night, you’ll have a nice view of all the buildings, the lights, and the CN tower lit up. I’ve been here for dinner and for a private event, with the service being great both times.
Of course, the taste and the presentation of their food are both great. For dinner, I had their Summerlicious menu and even though the serving sizes seemed small, it was really filling. For the private event, the servers walked around offering bite-​sized foods to us – mini burgers, samosas, etc, and even those were cooked to perfection and still nice and hot when they served it to us.
So overall, there’s really nothing to complain about this place, except that the prices are on the expensive side. It’s a great place to go for business lunches/​dinners or just to get a few drinks after work.

Canoe is a «top table» literally, not just figuratively; on the 54^th floor overlooking Lake Ontario, it doesn’t get much better.
And Canoe doesn’t rest on its laurels — it’s always working to stay «on top», and it shows. The cuisine is «new Canadian» and takes pains to use so, so many local ingredients. As a visitor, I’m looking for these exact things when dining out: locality, authenticity, and great tasting food, and Canoe never disappoints. Even if you have dinner plans elsewhere, I’d recommend stopping in for a reasonably-​priced cocktail ($ 12 for a Moscow mule, and a huge selection of manhattans starting around $ 13) with one of the best views of toronto.
The critics love Canoe, and I do too.

Wir waren zum Lunch im Canoe. Nicht nur der Ausblick aus der 54. Etage ist fantastisch, sondern auch das Essen. Die Bedienung war auch sehr fix und freundlich. Wir haben es jedenfalls sehr genossen!!!

Un restaurant comme Canoe, c’est une fois dans la vie pour un grand événement. Situé au 54e étage d’un immeuble du quartier financier, le restaurant est tout ce qu’il y a de plus chic à Toronto. Vous y dépenserez une somme folle, mais que de souvenirs à la clef si vous êtes avec de bons amis. Envoyez paître le sommelier, il vous proposera un vin qui ira à merveille avec votre plat mais avec un prix qui ressemblera à un numéro de téléphone …

Irgendwie scheint mir Toronto zu liegen, denn nachdem ich hier meine persönliche Hotelentdeckung (Le Germain, Mercer Street) des Jahres machen durfte, habe ich auch den Genuss gehabt, ein absolut innovatives Restaurant kennen zu lernen.
Positiv: Sehr einfallsreiche Küche. Rentier etwa als Hauptgang perfekt zubereitet oder lokaler Fisch in einer hinreißenden Saucenkombination, spitze! Auch liegt das Canoe im 54. Stock, man hat eine absolut traumhafte Aussicht auf den Ontario-​See (perfekte Location etwa, um einen guten Eindruck zu machen). ;-)) Zudem eine Bedienung, die sich echt am Gast interessiert zeigt und auf europäischem Niveau agiert.
Negativ: Die Weinempfehlung des Sommeliers war, nun ja, überraschungsfrei. Und: Das Canoe ist ein Restaurant, das sich ausnahmsweise nicht an nordamerikanischen Grundsätzen orientiert, das heißt, die Teller sind nicht überbordend voll gepackt, so dass sehr gute Esser auf mindestens drei Gänge kommen.
Fazit: Candlelight-​Dinner in Toronto? Dann auf jeden Fall hierhin!

A pleasant experience in our vacation. We come again! Tasty and great service. We have well filled us very. Unfortunately’s goes back again … Until next time!