Oysters
East coast, shucked to order. The reason to arrive early.
Contemporary · Roncesvalles
The Westerly
Roncesvalles’ dining room and bar in one, and it manages both
ContemporaryRoncesvalles, Toronto$$$Details being confirmed
The review
Most restaurants that try to be a dining room and a bar end up doing neither well. The Westerly is the exception on Roncesvalles: an actual dinner reservation until about ten, and an actual bar after that, with the same kitchen running through both.
Oysters are shucked to order and are the correct way to start, particularly early. Steak frites is the dependable centre of the menu and the frites have had thought applied, which is rarer than it should be. The seasonal vegetable plate is where the kitchen is actually showing off and it changes constantly.
Honest notes: the prices are downtown prices on a neighbourhood strip, the menu turns over often enough that a favourite dish may simply be gone, and after nine at the weekend it is loud. But it serves until one, and on Roncesvalles after eleven the alternatives are a short list.
What to order
Steak Frites
The dependable order, and the frites are not an afterthought.
Seasonal Vegetable Plate
Changes constantly, and is where the kitchen shows off.
What works
- One of very few rooms on Roncesvalles still serving late
- Cocktails are made by people who care
- Works equally for a dinner and for a drink after one
What doesn’t
- Prices are downtown prices
- Menu changes often enough that a favourite may vanish
- Gets loud after nine at weekends
Verdict
Oysters early or a cocktail late. The only room on the strip that genuinely does both.