Sassafraz

Sassafraz is one of the most well known restaurants in Toronto and not even a devastating fire back in 2006 could shut this place down.  The restaurant has been home to some of the most lavish parties and is a huge hangout place for many celebrities when they come to visit Toronto from out of town.  Their top of line menu and first class chefs make sure that all of their guests are well fed and that only amazing quality food is served at all times.

Prior to eating, the usual complimentary finger foods were being served by the waiters and waitresses.  There were so many of them that it was actually difficult to keep track of them all.  Needless to say, the food was exceptionally good and it sure did not disappoint.  In retrospect, it was actually good that they had served us a good handful of appetizers because the dinner meals, albeit good, took a while to arrive.  It was almost over an hour after the first soup had arrived before the entrees had begun rolling out.

Once we sat down, the first appetizer I decided to go with was their Ontario Asparagus and Potato Soup ($9.00).  I apologize again for the not so great looking pictures.  The room was very dimly lit and so taking pictures was extra hard that evening.  The soup was made to perfection where it was not too watery and not too thick.  Sometimes potato soups can come out extra thick and can be difficult to make and consume as a result.  However, the chef was spot on for this soup.  There were also some pancettas and cheddar added in the middle of the soup which added that extra bit of flavor that made this soup stand out.

Ontario Asparagus and Potato Soup

After a long while, the entrees began to roll out.  The first of two was the Soy Glazed Digby Scallops ($21.00).  Two rather large pieces of scallops, which were perfectly seared were added with some mini cauliflowers and immersed into a bowl of forbidden rice and dashi broth.  Personally,  I found the rice part to be just a tad bit salty.  I'm not too sure why that was.  The presentation however was very good with the dark rice contrasting very well with the scallops and the cauliflower.  There were also a couple pieces of samphire which were added to give some extra color as well.  The scallops were perfect in taste and in texture as it had that perfect bounce to them.

Soy Glazed Digby Scallops

My other main course that I had chosen that evening was the Ontario Beef Artisan Tenderloin ($37.00). Two pieces of 6 ounce striploin beef were carefully placed and surrounded with potatoes, asparagus and spicy collards.  Truthfully one could not taste the spiciness at all of the collards.  The beef was nicely marinated and had a nice flavor to it.  The only thing I found disappointing was that the meat was just a little bit overdone. My colleague sitting next to me had a perfect medium rare piece of meat while mine was actually closer to being well done.  Unfortunately that made the meat a little bit more chewier than I would have really liked. Otherwise the tenderloin was not bad at all.  

Ontario Beef Artisan Tenderloin

Last to arrive was the Milk Chocolate Mousse with some roasted candied almonds.  This was a perfect way to end off the evening.  The milk chocolate was actually not overly sweet.  It was soft, light, creamy and delicious and mixed with the almonds it really tasted pretty good.  There was also a touch of olive oil ganache added on the bottom of the plate but overall it was not a very thick or heavy dessert despite the amount of mousse that was presented on the plate.

Milk Chocolate Mousse

Overall, it was a good evening spent with great people at Sassafraz.  I understand that when there are about 50 people at this dinner, that making the food all at once would take time so hence the one hour wait from the soup to the entrees.  If the beef tenderloin was just made to my liking, it probably would have scored a pretty close to perfect score.  Oddly, none of the waiters despite being there all evening, ever asked whether my tenderloin was good or not.  Oh well, what can one do.  If one is in the downtown area, do visit one of Toronto's best.   The atmosphere is great and who knows, you might run into a celebrity or two.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Sassafraz
100 Cumberland Street
Toronto, Ontario

416 964 2222