Last week a few of us decided to celebrate a friend's birthday out over at Glow Fresh Grill and Wine Bar located at the Shops at Don Mills. We had made reservations and upon entering the restaurant we were directed to our seats. There was a live band playing inside and the place was half full.
Taking a look at the menu, there seemed to be a lot of elaborate dishes ranging from $6 to $18 in the appetizers column and $20-$40 dollars in the entree department. They also had some specials for the day which came on a separate sheet of paper. The four of us decided to go with the charcuterie board, a seafood special of the day and a roasted french veal chop.
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| Charcuterie Board |
The charcuterie board arrived first and looks wise it looked pretty good. It was served on a log and contained various organic meats, sliced parmesan wedge and preserves. The sliced meat and cheese were very thin and very good. When the two were combined, it provided the perfect contrast to one another. I highly recommend this to anyone coming into this place as it was one of the best dishes on the menu.
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| Lobster Tail and Seafood Special |
Next up was the seafood special. On this evening there was a lobster tail served with shrimp and on rice. Appearance wise it was certainly very interesting because there was also a piece of green onion? slapped on top of the lobster tail. The lobster tail itself was not the greatest in that one can tell it is not fresh. The tail my wife had was mushy in texture which often means that the lobster tail has been in the fridge for a little while. Taste wise both the lobster and the rice were a little bland as I could not get the full taste of either one. It might have been better had they had some special spices to it or even just at some diced garlic or onion on top of it. The green onion was neither appealing nor did it fit with the entire dish. I did not try the shrimp so I can not comment on that part.
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| Roasted French Veal Chop |
I myself had actually ordered the roasted french veal chop all to myself. This was served on soft polenta, sauteed swiss chard and puttanesca sauce. The sauce itself was fine however I have to admit this was probably one of my least favorite dishes of all time. The meat itself was very tough in some parts and very rare in others. The meat when placed in this "messy" dish made it almost impossible to cut. I was more worried about splashing part of my dinner onto my guests as even with a very sharp steak knife, the meat was just not co-operating. The sauce made the meat very "soggy" which compounded the problem and it was just as chewy when one is trying to chew the meat. This was certainly not a very highly recommended dish.
Overall the appetizer had an amazing wow factor to it however the entrees were certainly less than desirable. There was some side parking near the restaurant which we took advantage of however on a busy night don't be surprised if you have to find parking at a nearby lot. Certainly a restaurant of this sorts commanded top dollar however the food unfortunately did not quite match it. Avoid the two dishes mentioned and you might have a better time. The only good thing besides the appetizer was that wine in a glass or in a bottle was half price on Mondays. Otherwise I certainly have had better food at other places. I give this place a 2.5 out of 5.
Glow Fresh Grill and Wine Bar
7 Marie Labatte Road Toronto, ON M3C 0J1
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