Canoe - Toronto, Ontario

Stunning views rain or shine. Pleasant attentive service one step ahead of your needs. Food was spectacular with beautiful presentation. Wine and bourbon options were wonderful with many options to chose from.

I made an advance reservation for the spring chef's tasting menu at $185 per person. It included eight courses from 9:30 to 12:00. Apart from the first course of oysters with black truffle and one later dish with lamb, I honestly had no idea what I was eating. The flavors ... were confusing—not bland but not distinctly flavored either, making it hard to describe whether it was sour, sweet, bitter, or spicy. The fresh ingredients didn't come through, and there were no unique flavors. I also felt unsatisfied, like I hadn't eaten enough. This restaurant is only good for the view and some drinks. Don’t expect much from the ingredients or flavors. Also, the service was rushed. The waiter would chat briefly and then quickly move on. Honestly, the food at the CN Tower was better. There were four of us, and including tips and taxes, the bill was nearly $1,000 (my husband was too kind and gave a 20% tip because we stayed late). The hostess was impatient. Although we had requested a window seat when reserving, she seated us far from the window without asking if it was okay. When we complained, she looked annoyed and said we would have to wait for a window seat. After we agreed to wait, she came back in less than a minute saying it was ready. It was really frustrating. Read more

The atmosphere and service was incredible. The view was also remarkable. I went to celebrate my anniversary today and our waiter was absolutely incredible. The two critiques I have of the place are mostly in regard to the food. It unfortunately didn’t meet the expectations that would’ve been warranted by ... an $80 dish. The flavors were often bland and were missing seasoning - especially the lamb dish. The other little pet peeve I had was that I wasn’t informed about the cost of the water - I understand the demographic of customers is high end and money is not an issue, but it would’ve been nice to know that the small bottle of sparkling water was the price of a beer! Read more

Canoe tasting menu review: I liked the eccentricity of the selection - haggis and pig ear portions were more out there. However, overall the flavours did not impress me too much. It started off strong with the oyster/truffle combo. The rest was a little more flat and dull. Pigs trotter dish needs ... improvement - ~5 pieces of pasta on a sauce that tastes like ketchup. Also, did not like the peas with the lamb. Dessert was great. Not sure where they draw their Canadian inspiration from though. There are better tasting menus in the city. However, the atmosphere is great here and I would recommend to come for a simple dinner. Read more

Made a reservation for Feb 16 online. Followed up with a phone call to inform one guest was vegetarian. Process was very easy. Arrived on time, and fortunately received a window seat. The views are amazing. Please insist on a window seat because this is one of the main reasons ... to come to this restaurant….the views! We decided to go with the Tasting Menu (seven course meal decided by the chef, based on the local available ingredients). The food was really good, however, not once were we asked how we might want certain food cooked. It was all decided by the chef. The wait staff were very attentive and professional, very efficient and quick, and can’t say anything bad about their service. Top notch. We paid over $600 for dinner for two, and overall feel like the food was overpriced, based on the quality and experience. We likely will not come back because there are so many other choices within Toronto with amazing food and service for the same price. Read more