Nuit Social - Toronto, Ontario

Sharing is caring, oh so the saying goes. Sharing is what Nuit Social wants. In fact, create your own charcuterie “social boards” dominates half their menu where diners choose one, three, or five items from meat, cheese, and olives selections to create a sharing platter. Opting for five meats ($17) ... and three cheeses ($13), our board was enough for our table of five to have a taste each, the meats more so than the small bits of cheese. Of all the items, the ones that stood out were the Tyrol schinkenspeck, the salty pork letting off that faint smokiness that’s synonymous with speck, and the bresaola (extra $1), which is best eaten plain as it’s fairly neutral and the leaner cut allows you to taste the beef. Really everything we chose – Rosette de Lyon French salami, Prosciutto, and the spicy sopressata - were all solid charcuterie. Meanwhile, the cheeses were good but when paired with the strong meats felt a little lost. Whether it was the Vermeer gouda, Rondin du Poitou goat cheese, or the Charlevoix, the mild cheeses were flavours I enjoyed but couldn’t hold up against the bolder meats. The last third of the menu is dedicated to “social plates”, which could be renamed to “social bags” given many arrive in a rolled down brown paper sack. Some items like the crispy frog legs ($12) and arancini ($14) are understandable, since the paper helps weep away the extra oil. But, for the Buffalo Brussels sprouts ($11) it’s a little strange as you can’t really get to the pool of hot sauce settling on the bottom. If you can get past the image of a frog looking at you as you bite into the frog legs, it really does taste like tender chicken or, with its small size, sort of like a less gamey quail leg. They were lightly dusted and mildly salted, but I would have liked them fried a bit longer. Both the arancini and Brussel sprouts are dishes I’d avoid – the risotto balls so crumbly and dry that it tasted like fried dirty rice rather than a creamy porcini base. That bit of melted fontina cheese in the centre helped a bit, but could hardly save the dish. As for the Brussel sprouts, it’s a personal choice as the tangy harsh Buffalo sauce drenching the vegetable is something I normally don’t like anyways. Items that were actually served on plates (or some case bowls) were the highlight of the meal and should be featured prominently rather than being relegated as the last things on the menu. I can still taste the sweet maple soy glaze on the pork ribs ($17) giving it a bit of stickiness but thin enough that it didn’t feel like you’re biting through a heavy sauce to get to the tender ribs. And the bed of smoked macaroni & cheese it sat on was equally delicious. Read more

Service was great, the place was really loud due to a few large groups. The food however was really disappointing. I'd come here before and it's been good, but all our food was so salty and 3/5 of us couldn't even finish it all because it was so salty.

WHAT TO TRY?? The steak is really good. If you like the steak cooked medium rare, this is something you can order and won’t be disappointed here. The charcuterie board is nice too. Lots of cold cut selections and there’s olives marinated in different styles. The steamed mussels cooked in minced ... garlic were fresh too. I came here for a friend’s birthday. This restaurant specializes in various sharing plates so for a big group, this works out if you order from their prix fixe menu. We had ordered a prix fixe menu which comes out to roughly $45-50 pp. I thought we had a lot of food to go around with this prix fixe menu and enough to share for all of us to feel full. This place is small so if you have a big party, make sure you reserve in advance so they can accommodate you. It can get pretty loud in here and the ambiance is very cozy given that lights can be very dim here. LAST TIP?? If you can’t make up your mind on the menu and you have a bigger party, ask the server to suggest a prix fixe menu or ask what they recommend. I find their recommendations are pretty good that will feed your whole group!! Read more

CHARCUTERIE LOVERS!!! ASSEMBLLLLLEE here. Nuit Social is a must-try for lovers of cheese & meat plates (olive plates too). My visit last night greeted me with top-notch ambiance, service, food & drink. The cocktails were freshly made by an excellent mixologist (Tess I think was her name). For best results, ... ask Josh to be your server. My lady & I love charcuterie boards, so we ordered all 10 meats and 8 cheese (they usually have 9 but they were out, so we doubled up on 2 of the cheeses), as you can see in the images below. Read more

We came for the Thursday $20 steak and wine deal, and we were not disappointed. For the price we paid, we got a wonderful meal in return. The steak was cooked well and the chimichurri tasted great, and the glass of house wine was not too bad, either. Another highlight of ... our visit was the charcuterie. They offer a well-curated selection of meats, cheeses and olives that they serve with compotes and breads, and we loved all they had to offer. The serving sizes were generous - we ordered three meats and three cheeses, and it was more than enough for our party of four adults. Definitely a 5-star experience. We'll definitely be back and try more of the weekday deals and the charcuterie. Read more