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Rated by Eye Magazine as ‘outstanding’, but receiving mixed reviews from Toronto Life who ultimately rated it one of Toronto’s Best New Restaurants in 2007, Quince falls into the group of a must-try – a Mediterranean-inspired place with reasonable prices and a reputation for fresh, innovative flavours. The founders of Quince are Jennifer Gittins and Michael van den Winkel, a husband and wife formerly known from the acclaimed Stork on the Roof. Their new place, started in fall of 2006, is located just a couple blocks south of the busy intersection at Yonge and Eglinton.

Quince is surrounded by a nice patio decorated with teak furniture and a plenty of bright-coloured cushions, but still placed directly across the street from the abandoned hulk where an ill-famed nudie bar named Cheaters was once placed. Don’t be alarmed by the neon sign proclaiming “Adult video & Novelties” just two doors down from Quince and next to the famous place Coquine, however shocking it may seem in a neighbourhood touted for its thriving business district and family-friendly parks. But in the latest twenty-five years, there has always been an eclectic mix of shops on this stretch of Yonge Street between Eglinton and Davisville. You can find pretty much anything, starting from clothing boutiques to bead and paper shops, home decor to adult places.

A hostess kindly welcomes us at Quince’s door and offers us a place close to the bar on low, cushioned banquettes. Even on a Saturday night and in this busy neighbourhood, we are offered a selection of tables, pleading excessive height. I ask: “What’s downstairs?” “Oh, that’s our private dining room,” our hostess replies. It is open for lunches and dinners and it has its own bar and lounge, all elegantly decorated (though the tile floor will tell you it’s located in the basement). This space can host corporate or private groups of diners up to 40 people or cocktail receptions of up to 70 people. You can get a suggested menu along with matching wines, proving that the staff takes care of all the details.

We choose our table and almost instantly, our waiter appears with a short list of specials. I want to say a brief list of specials consisting of a long explanation of ingredients and preparation methods, and how the meals go together. The waiter obviously has a very good knowledge of his field, explaining to us what is a garnish compared to a side dish. He’s personable, friendly and efficient. As I can’t decide whether I should order a whole sea bream (“Most people eat a side with it, it’s just the fish,” our waiter warns me apologetically), we can look around a bit. I appreciate the smartly designed lighting that enhances the whole space of the dining room and adds lovely warmth to it. The space seems to be quite large but still somewhat intimate at the same time. I also appreciate the comfortable volume level – although nearly all the tables around us are full, we can still talk easily and listen to the ambient music – probably D’Angelo and Stevie Wonder. Modern art in earthy hues graces the loft-style exposed brick walls and brings balance to the exposed ductwork, which has been painted in chocolate browns to ease off any trace of sterility. Amazing for voyeurs, a semi-open kitchen offers a glimpse of the wood-fired oven behind the bar. If you want to see the rest of our review, see the full Quince restaurant review.

Rated by Eye Magazine as ‘outstanding’, but receiving mixed reviews from Toronto Life who ultimately rated it one of Toronto’s Best New Restaurants in 2007, Quince falls into the group of a must-try – a Mediterranean-inspired bistro with reasonable prices and a reputation for fresh, innovative flavours. Formerly of the acclaimed Stork on the Roof, the husband and wife team of Jennifer Gittins and Michael van den Winkel came back in fall of 2006 with this new midtown digs, just a couple blocks south of the busy intersection at Yonge and Eglinton.

Enclosed by a pretty patio graced with teak furniture and plenty of cushions in bright, primary colours, Quince is directly across the street from the abandoned hulk that was once Cheaters, an infamous nudie bar. Don’t be surprised by the neon sign proclaiming “Adult video & Novelties” just two doors down from Quince and next to the popular restaurant Coquine, however inappropriate it may look in a neighbourhood touted for its blossoming business district and family-friendly parks. But this part of Yonge Street between Eglinton and Davisville has always had, at least for the last twenty-five years, an eclectic selection of shops. You may find pretty much anything, starting from clothing boutiques to bead and paper shops, home decor to adult places.

We are kindly welcomed at Quince’s door by the hostess, who offers us a spot near the bar on low, cushioned banquettes. Pleading excessive height, we’re offered a selection of tables, which is a pleasant surprise for a Saturday night in this lively neighbourhood. I ask: “What’s downstairs?” We get an answer from our hostess: “Oh, that’s our private dining room.” You can enjoy lunch or dinner there. The space has its own bar and lounge and all is nicely decorated, though the tile floor reveals it’s in the basement. It’s off limits to couples tonight; the room is reserved for corporate or private groups of diners up to 40 people and cocktail receptions of up to 70 people, where suggested menus are paired with matching wines so that all the details are taken care of.

Just a moment after we choose our table, a waiter arrives with a short list of specials. A brief list of specials is completed with a long explanation of ingredients and how the meals are made and how they are going to work together. He apparently knows his stuff, not referring to his notebook as he pauses to tell us what is a garnish vs. what is actually on the side. The waiter could be best described as neat, friendly and efficient. While I can’t make up my mind whether I should order a whole sea bream (“Most people order a side with it, it’s just the fish,” our waiter warns me apologetically), we can look around a bit. Enhanced by clever lighting that adds beautiful warmth to the airy dining room, the space is deceptively large while maintaining a pleasant level of intimacy. The volume level is very comfortable too – despite almost all the tables around us being full, we can easily hear each other and the background music (think D’Angelo and Stevie Wonder). Modern art in earthy colours decorates the loft-style exposed brick walls and adds balance to the exposed ductwork, which has been painted in chocolate browns to remove any trace of sterility. Amazing for voyeurs, a semi-open kitchen offers a glimpse of the wood-fired oven behind the bar. If you want to see the rest of our review, see the original article.

As our car approaches the Regal Heights Bistro on St. Clair just east of Dufferin, the windshield wipers slap at pouring rain that’s turned this stretch of Corso Italia into a churning sea of gravel and muck. The streetcar track/road improvement work on St. Clair Avenue West is still not finished, limiting the traffic to one lane. Fortunately it seems like everyone else stayed at home in this bad weather, so the traffic is light and we find a parking spot just across the street from our restaurant. Jogging along the cracked pavement and among the orange cones in this no-man’s-land, I gaze at the building where I the Regal Heights Bistro is supposed to be located. After a short look, I have to observe: “There’s no sign, there used to be a big sign, and it looks like a pub inside. I hope this is still the right place.” But my partner says: “Yep – Regal Heights Bistro,” pointing at the front window, displaying a small hand-lettered sign and also the trademark Jazz Brunch sign.

Just after we cross the threshold, a hostess is already waiting to seat us, and we can choose a place according to our preferences. At eight fifteen, most patrons are sitting near the bar, with the whole place being about a third full. “This is your first time here? Our sign blew down, and when we write it on a chalkboard, the rain washes it away.” “Tonight you are going to have lots of fun, there’s a birthday celebration and a jazz band is coming.” So now we are sure we are indeed in the right place, although when I look around us, I can see more of a pub than an upscale bistro interior, with the smell of French fries in the air. Next we focus on our menus – a two-sided thing that really disappoints my partner.

“They’ve sure changed their menu,” he observes sadly. Perhaps as an elitist jazz musician himself, he is just uncomfortable about the prospect of a live band. I have to read the restaurant name written at the top of the menu again and again, so that I am completely sure we really are where we want to be. I tried to look up the restaurant’s website but I couldn’t find any, and the only internet information available was a couple of bare-bones positive reviews. But I found some posted menus with dishes like caprese salad, provencale escargots, chicken liver pate, smoked salmon crepes and black squid ink linguine. There is no menu needed to tell me that the chance of a homemade black squid ink linguine coming out of this very kitchen is zero. When we look at the current menu, we can see it’s mostly typical pub food, if a bit gussied up by some unusual flavours and toppings.

When our hostess comes back and takes our order, I ask her what happened, that the menus are completely different from the information we found on the Internet. Different owner? “Oh no, it’s still the same ownership,” she answers reassuringly. “Well, we haven’t updated the website in a long time, our menu has been this way for the last few years. Only the chefs have been changing a lot here. But we strongly focus on fresh food: we shop daily, we cut the meat ourselves, we prepare our own burgers, we don’t use any microwaves… we just want the overall atmosphere to be more casual.” The pub is definitely very casual, even with the paper napkins… but I would still expect a little more sophisticated gastronomy, regarding the wall signage from around the world.

“We shrink from that term gastro-pub,” she laughs, putting us at her ease with a charming, pleasant behaviour.

See the rest of the story at our original restaurant writeup.