Summerlicious is a pretty big deal here in Toronto. Basically a whole bunch of the top restaurants all around the city do a discounted prix fixe for about 3 weeks, and basically either offer a $15 lunch/$25 dinner or $25 lunch/$45 dinner. And reservations go fast! This year was the first year I actually paid attention to the subway ads and decided to do some sleuthing beforehand so we actually got out for it.
We also figured this would be the perfect way to explore a little more of our neighbourhood, so we picked out our restaurant, and made the reservation for a Saturday evening. We decided to go for dinner at Alleycatz, a restaurant with live music we’ve probably walked by a gazillion times, and always said “we should go there sometime” – and so we finally did. Plus they had the $25 dinner, so that was easier on the wallet.
The restaurant itself was pretty and dimly lit, so we didn’t take pics inside, but here are some pics taken from their gallery so you can see it:
And as for the Summerlicious experience itself, here is what we had:
Appetizers – Nick and I both had the mushroom crustini.
Mains – Nick had braised beef short ribs (in a port wine juice served with sweet potato mash and ratatouille vegetables), and I had the giant ravioli (stuffed with roasted tomato & ricotta cheese in a spicy rose sauce, organic spinach, topped with asiago cheese).
Dessert – Nick had the classic chocolate iced brownie with French vanilla ice cream, and I had the tuxedo truffle mousse cake.
It was amazing! Everything was super tasty, and I had to literally talk myself out of licking the plate after the ravioli, it was just. that. good. Salivating as I type right now remembering it.
The other big feature about the restaurant is their live music. Being that it was Saturday night, the band started closer to 10pm, but already at 8:30pm we noticed that they started charging cover and people arrived in a more clubby mood. By 10pm, it was getting pretty busy, and lots of people were laughing and having a good time. Then the jazz kicked in, and we really like live music at dinner, it makes the whole experience more romantic.
All in all, we are super glad we went, and we really liked Alleycatz. The prices for a la carte dinner is still a bit high for our cheapo tastes, but we’ll definitely be back for drinks, dessert, and they have a good constant prix fixe option. Plus we can’t wait to check out their Salsa Mondays – where they do salsa dance lessons!
Their website is listed here, and you can check out menus, live acts, and even order food!
Have you guys tried any new places in your area – or elsewhere? Spill!
Dash of Pink 