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Chinook
Category: Restaurants Canadian (Traditional) Canadian (Traditional) [Edit]
302 Wellington Street EAurora, ON L4G 1J5
(905) 841-4434
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
7 reviews for Chinook
7 reviews in English
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Review from Vivek S.
Innnnnteresting. Chinook is half high-end grocery store, half middle-end restaurant, and half dry mountain winds from the Rockies. Drove by this plaza while exploring Aurora and decided to stop here for lunch. Decor is 905-chic: it's gapingly large with flamed concrete floors, these 16 foot logs that resemble an ogre's breadsticks, and charmingly mismatched napkins and placemats. I'm not sure why they bothered with the tablecloths since they covered the tables with white paper, but hey, maybe that's how ogres decorate. I don't judge.
Anyway, the menu is a mux-up (new term, you like?) of various cuisines. There are soups and salads, pastas, quiche, sandwiches (lots of these actually), artisanal cheeses and house-made ice cream for dessert, and some Asian-influenced dishes for good measure. Some would call this "fusion" but to me it just seemed like juxtaposition. (And why is there jerk chicken on this menu?) With a name like Chinook you might expect some aboriginal influence, but again, I'm no ogre.
Anyway, my DC ordered the lobster grilled cheese and was happier than a pig in stuff that pigs like. My sole bite was Good. My order of the Spicy Chicken pita wrap, however, was a Poor Choice. It was just some non-spicy chicken tossed inside a storebought fluffy pita. With the deliberately-spaced service, I'd have to rate my restaurant experience a three star out of five.
The grocery portion however, is another story. Their selection of gourmet cheeses, meats, mustards, crackers, pasta, duck confit, preserves, soups and greeting cards (yes, gourmet greeting cards) is impressive. They even had some badass gourmet marshmallows. When was the last time you had a gourmet marshmallow? Don't lie to me. This little market was definitely a five-star experience, so let's settle on a quattro stelle for this Auroran breeze. Capiche? (Ya, mon.)
Obligatory Title Pun: This Aurora resto is a little BORE-ealis, but the market has some interesting Chin-OOKS and crannies.
Menu Readability: Well laid out, but please: fewer options.
Need to mention: Don't be so gullible. The greeting cards aren't really gourmet. What would that even mean?
What this place teaches me about myself: FEE FI FO FUM, I hope you liked that double pun. (Because that ish ain't free.) -
Review from Indu S.
Aurora, ON
2/11/2012
The first time I visited here was for coffee and dessert. It was pretty good. I visited again for dinner this time, the portion sizes I found was a bit on the scanty side, not in par with the prices. I like the atmosphere though.
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Review from BURB G.
Newmarket, ON
11/27/2010
The first time i went there I really enjoyed it. It had a great feel to the place. I loved the decor and I thought it has some nice characteristics to the place that made it feel a bit unique.
The second time I went I felt the portions were ok but that they did not provide enough vegetables with the dinner as there were only two pieces of zuccihini and 2 carrots with the main course.
for the price they are charging I would have expected more.
In total I've been there 3 times. I think there are other local restaurants that may not have the same wonderful ambience but were more enjoyable. -
Review from Grant T.
North Vancouver, BC
8/27/2009
One of the mixed blessings of Newmarket is that it is 30 miles north of Toronto. Consequently, those in search of truly fine food are wont to make the trek to the city. This leaves the town with the plight of many suburbs - having a surplus of chain restaurants and a shortage of truly good food. There are, in this wasteland, a couple of oases, one of these is Chinook. I've been here for dinner on previous visits and found it mostly good with uneven service but innovative food.
For lunch this time, the service was just right in its warmth and attentiveness. The quiche was substandard and seemed to have been warmed in a microwave. However, the fig and port gelato was perfect. If only it were open Sundays, I'd have been happy to go back and give them a chance to redeem that awful quiche.Listed in: Grant's 2009 Familial…
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Review from Jason D.
Aurora, ON
11/9/2009 2 photos
Went for a Sunday lunch with my wife. Definitely a nice little restaurant with great food. Would be better suites to be on the top if a hill, overlooking a nice lake, rather then looking out the window at the Timmi es drive-thru!
Greeter was owner and/or Manager, made sure we got exactly the table we wanted and took our drink order too. Food was well prepared and served fast. Especially loved the bread dip served with the appetizer.
One o the nicest features is the "deli" attached where you can pick up their specialities to take home... As we did the dip!
Best croutons I've found found north of TO. -
Review from Roni L.
3/9/2011
Quite a nice place for lunch. Tasty szechuan noodles. Juices seemed a bit pricey, and service was a bit slow overall, but nice portions of fresh food.
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Review from David T.
Newmarket, ON
2/9/2011
Came back after a year. Remarkable change. Well worth a visit.
