Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill

33 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario                                                RATING: Good

"Salmon fillet, arm & leg"

I patronized this restaurant with 3 co-workers on a summer Friday afternoon in Toronto’s financial district. We chose to sit inside the restaurant in order to avoid the endless construction sounds and smells that are a Toronto epidemic this summer of 2014. 

We sat in a comfortable booth, away from the din and clatter by the swinging kitchen door.  Our server was polite, pleasant and incredibly efficient, which is exactly what we wanted and needed.

My attempt to watch calories had me ordering the grilled Atlantic salmon ($24). The menu said that it was accompanied by roasted heirloom carrots and mini Yukon Gold potatoes. The salmon was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and mouth wateringly tender on the inside. There was a smattering of horseradish pesto on the top that was nicely understated because it added a hint of flavour but didn’t overtake the natural flavour of the salmon. The two small potatoes, and I mean SMALL as in the size of a walnut, looked appetizing but they could have used another minute of cooking because they were too firm for my liking. What are heirloom carrots?  The two small 2-inch long root vegetables that were on the plate didn’t resemble any carrot I’ve tasted, and looked more like parsnips. They were bland and crunchy so I pushed them to the side of my plate. 

One of my colleagues ordered the Turk Pizza ($16) which was spiced ground lamb, hummus and feta on a fairly thick crusted pizza. He said there was no sauce or cheese on it, although the menu stated ‘feta’ so there must have been very little.  He enjoyed the pizza and ate every crumb on his plate.  My other colleague had the Tandoori Chicken Burger served with a mint & onion marmalade along with sweet potato fries ($16). He said it was good which was evidenced by the fact that he also ate every crumb on his plate.  Lastly, my other colleague ordered the Friday special which was shrimp & salmon cake on a nicoise salad with olive tapenade vinaigrette & caper remoulade ($17).  She wasn’t impressed with this because the ‘cake’ was actually ‘cakes’, about four seemingly walnut sized cakes (again with the walnut analogy) that were heavily deep fried so they were mostly crust.  Not much flavour and the salad that was underneath it looked fairly unappetizing (did they use iceberg lettuce?). My co-worker barely touched the salad. 

Ironically my meal was less than half the size of everyone else’s and was significantly more money.  I walked back to work feeling hungry and shocked that my lunch was $35 all-in including my soft drink. Unfortunately that delicious salmon wasn’t the last taste in my mouth; it was the bitter taste of disappointment for having spent far too much on a lunch that wasn’t worth it.  But, I would give this a Good rating because three of us devoured our food, and only one said the food was ‘okay’

Restaurant website: http://oliverbonacini.com/Jump.aspx