Reds Midtown Tavern

Last time I was at a Reds restaurant, it was at their sister's restaurant at the downtown location and the food tasted so good that I wanted to give their midtown one I try.  I don't really know why they call it the midtown location when the restaurant is located just a few blocks north of the downtown one but midtown it is.  We had just finished a business meeting and decided at the last minute to have dinner at the restaurant.

Before we sat down for dinner, we were wined and dined with many of their appetizers including prosciuttos, sausages and cheeseburger sliders.  Truthfully, one could have gotten full and be very satisfied with just their appetizers alone.  They were all very delicious, had a great variety to choose from and really one could not just hold back for just one piece of appetizer.  After scanning their rather enormous menu, I settled on a Crab and Corn Chowder Soup ($8.25), An Aegean Lamb Sirloin Salad ($19.80), a Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon ($20.85) and a side dish of Sauteed Mushroom ($2.75). 

Crab and Corn Chowder

The Crab and Corn Chowder was the first to arrive and it looked pretty good.  The colors were vibrant and every ingredient stood out from bottom to top.  The soup itself was about as good as any soup I have had before. The soup had plenty of kernels and the corn soup was evenly distributed from start to finish.  The thickness was perfect and the crab meats were small but juicy.  It wasn't overly salty and the ingredients in the dish were given a chance to showcase their tastes.  I actually enjoyed this soup and I would recommend it to anyone who wants an easy yet delicious soup to have as an appetizer.

Aegean Lamb Sirloin Salad

I actually didn't personally order the Aegean Lamb Sirloin Salad however I was very curious as to how well this dish was going to turn out.  I actually like lamb but there was no way I could finish this dish and eat everything else that I had ordered.  Looking at the plate, I was delighted to see how well it stood out with respect to presentation.  The lamb was nicely cut and each piece was medium rare on the inside.  The vegetables and the dressing in the middle provided the perfect compliment to the meat.  The lamb itself was nicely marinated and tasted delicious.  I really liked how soft and tender the lamb meat was.  For any lamb lovers out there, I am sure you won't be disappointed with this dish.

Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

The Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon was actually my own dish.  Looking at it, I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed with the overall presentation.  Seeing the previous two dishes, my plate didn't look overly appealing.  There was no color and no contrast, just a couple of blobs.  A couple pieces of asparagus or some carrots would have made it look much more presentable.  As for the food, the filet mignon was a tad bit dry and with a lack of sauce, it made it even more dry.  The seasoned mash potatoes was satisfactory however I would have preferred to have some sort of gravy or sauce instead of the potato. 

Sauteed Mushrooms

Oddly, my side order of sauteed mushrooms might have actually been the perfect compliment for the filet mignon.  There was a delicious sauce that went amazingly well with the mushrooms.  I actually used the sauce for my meat and it turned out fantastic.  What they should have done was take some of these mushrooms, add a few vegetables and add them to the mignon.  That would have made it an excellent dish to have.  Having said that, this dish here was probably the best $2.75 I have spent on any side dish ever.

The only disappointment of the night was the filet mignon.  I looked around the table to the other 9 to 10 dishes around the table and every dish looked colorful and appealing.  As mentioned, the pre-meal appetizers were amazing.  Service was great as the servers kept coming back to make sure our glasses were full and that dishes were cleared almost immediately after our meal was done.  I would come back and give it a second try however I would probably avoid the bacon wrap filet mignon.  Overall, I would give it a 3.75 out of 5.

Reds Midtown Tavern
3 Yonge Street Unit 6
Toronto, Ontario

416-598-3535