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Pangaea Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Canadian (New) Canadian (New) [Edit]
1221 Bay StToronto, ON M5R 3P5
Neighbourhood: Yorkville
(416) 920-2323
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Classy, Upscale
- Has TV:
- No
26 reviews for Pangaea Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"Are you kidding, roasted pear butter." In 3 reviews -
"...end my week of irresponsible Summerlicious-ing than with 20..." In 4 reviews -
"I am a fan of meringue, so I thought I would love the..." In 3 reviews
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26 reviews in English
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Review from Nithya S.
Fantastic Food! above average service.
Since we were in Toronto for only 2 days we decided to see what the city had to offer in the area of fine dining. We were recommended to try this place by a lady who was in charge of the cookbook store around the corner (who better to recommend than a person working at a cookbook store right).
The Chef makes all the cheese required for the dishes and has a tasting platter of the house made cheeses as well. We decided to start with the 6 Cheese platter. The cheese portions were just right paired with some Fiji Apples, so tasty!!!! Among the cheese, the chefs cow's milk blue was amazing (i couldn't believe i said blue cheese and amazing int he same line).
The Beet salad with baked goat cheese for appetizer -delicious!!!. I am a sucker for Mushroom Risotto, if I see it on the menu I have to have it which is exactly what I did here as well. The Risotto was cooked to perfection, my only critic there could have been more mushrooms and little less of greens. We almost skipped the dessert, but we changed our mind and ordered the Citrus Ricotta filled warm Doughnuts with Orange Cardamom Milk Shake to share. I have never ever been so happy to have ordered dessert ever in my life. The milkshake surprisingly was very light and the orange+cardamom was a perfect complement to the cinnamon sugar dusted doughnuts. . The folks get extra points for splitting the milkshake 3 ways before serving.
All in all props to the chef for creating such wonderful dishes. If I am ever back in Toronto, am definitely going here again. -
Review from Curt M.
Toronto, ON
4/4/2012
Had an excellent meal. I had a steak, my lady had lamb shank: both were cooked exactly as requested.
The server was gracious and warm, without being too talkative. The sommelier came over to chat with us and recommended a wine to suit both of our entrees.
The decor was nice: perhaps a shade darker would have made the restaurant more intimate for those on a romantic evening out (like we were) but still a wonderful overall experience.
Dinner for 2 plus wine was $350, so we won't be eating there every weekend, but for an occasional treat, you couldn't find better. -
Review from Heather G.
Toronto, ON
3/22/2012
After hearing great things about this place, my boyfriend and I decided to venture here for Winterlicious. At $20 for lunch it seemed like a steal. While waiting for our first course we were served bread with the most amazing spread - beet butter! The beets added an intense magenta pink colour and a sweet and savoury flavour. Unfortunately we were only given two small pieces of bread each. To be fair I didn't ask for more bread, but isn't it the servers job to be on top of things like this? It's a good thing I didn't hold my breath, because no such offer was given.
For my first course I ordered the smoked duck and was disappointed by the very small portion that included 4 or 5 very thinly sliced pieces of duck. It was nevertheless delicious. The celeriac remoulade and lambs lettuce paired perfectly, but the dainty portion was so unsatisfying. I was looking forward to my entree, which was an ocean trout served with a soy glaze, baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, red onion, and a lime caramel sauce. However, I was puzzled to see my trout served skin side up after seeing it plated skin side down for other guests. Whether this was intentional or not I do not know. Despite the presentation, my main course was very good. The fish was perfectly cooked and the flavours were clean and well-balanced. The portion again was a little on the small side, but after reminding myself that I'm getting 3 courses of quality food for only $20 the portion sizes didn't bother me as much. For dessert I had the pumpkin spice bread pudding. It was surprisingly bland. I expected much more after eating such flavourful food during my first two courses. I ended up swapping dessert with my boyfriend who ordered the maple-pecan tart. The tart was rich, sweet and buttery. It was a great way to end a light meal.
Overall, the food was a hit despite the portion sizes. Service on the other hand was absolutely horrible! Our server was excruciatingly slow and inattentive. We were seated for a good 10-15 minutes before our drink orders were taken and our food order wasn't promptly taken after dropping off our drinks. She made us wait another 10 minutes to order! It was unacceptable! I'm sorry to say that the exceptionally bad service overshadowed the exceptionally great food. With so many other great restaurants around the city, you can bet that I won't be coming back to Pangaea. -
Review from Grayce Y.
Calgary, AB
4/24/2012
I came here for lunch with my cousin on the recommendation of a friend. We did not have a reservation but we were able to be seated nonetheless. The decor was nice and cozy. It reminded me of someone's dining room rather than a restaurant.
We ordered the Lamb Shank and the Roast Beef Sandwich. The bread came with something called Beet Butter and it was really good. It was sweet but not too sweet and the texture was a bit thicker than butter. The Roast Beef Sandwich came with fries, which unfortunately was the best part of the meal. It was crunchy and seasoned with salt and basil. The sandwich itself was small and the bread was overly toasted and so hard that it was not edible. The Lamb was also really small for $26 and not as flavored and tender as we had expected. It came with 2 pieces of asparagus.
Our bill came to a total of about $60 without wine and I had wanted to get dessert but I was so disappointed with the meal that we opted to go across the street and get Pusateri's instead. -
Review from Karen S.
2/8/2012
This second time around didn't quite live up the fantastic memories I had of the place, but we still quite enjoyed this restaurant for Winterlicious 2012.
Portions - tiny
Food - oh-so-very-very rich
The paper thin slices of duck breast were ridiculous small to look at, but a very delicious, fatty, hefty and rich experience in the mouth. It's definitely more substantial than it looked. The seafood paella - oh-so-rich - and tasty - not that memorable though. The weighty pumpkin spiced bread pudding completely filled out the corners left by the small portions of the previous courses. While delicious, it was served lukewarm, and I'm not quite sure why.
Service - fantastic
Atmosphere - a bit loud, but appropriately dark and refined
A good choice for a nice evening out to impress your date. -
Review from Madelyn S.
Toronto, ON
2/9/2012
Met friends after work for to share in the tail end of a birthday dinner surprise. Upon entering the dining room, I was amazed by the design and décor. It was a lovely restaurant - loved the mix of tables ( if you decide to go with a group, ask for one of the round tables) Furniture is all mission furniture....reminding me of my parents dining room. Cozy, lovely. Felt lovely.
My bf decided to order the Winterlicious menu, and the service was quick and spot on. Warm bread was served - apparently baked in house. I cant eat it, but bf said it was delicious. I had a glass of house Winterlicious wine and nibbled from his plates. He had the smoked duck - very small portion, nothing fancy or to write further about. Entrée was the scallops. Small small small portion again. Lots of seafood. First bite was delicious but the rest lacked flavour. blah. blah blah.
not top 11 winterlicious at all - speed at which food came out could have been our first sign. agh.
throughout this experience the server was pleasant, joking, and attentive. this is important later.
The bill for my dinner with the bf came separately. He paid & tipped appropriately. Nothing was said.
The larger group - six people - typically an autograt is put onto it. The group was a bit confused as 4 people were paying for six ppl's dinners. it is always awkward to discuss money around others - esp when you are treating them to a dinner; while this is not an excuse the server's response was not ok.
She yelled at the table - ok, just want you let you know you left a xx tip on xxx. It was shockingly low - esp for a table of people who have worked in the service industry. The other tables around us heard and it was incredibly embarrassing.
Discussed with manager - however, he said it was the second last night of Winterlicious - that is no excuse for having a server yell at a table. She could have quietly given the cheque back and let us fix it.
I demanded an apology to the table and that was not given. The server disappeared for the night & was not seen by any of us. We would have loved ot have had the chance to correct what didn't go right the first time - thanking her for her service.
I don't plan to go to restaurant again. if you can't deal with Winterlicious, book the time off or don't do it in your restaurant. -
Review from Yvonne T.
7/22/2011 8 photos
What better way to end my week of irresponsible Summerlicious-ing than with 20 of my dearest friends? I want to thank each and every one of you for making my 25th so memorable.
I had called around to several restaurants prior to the official Summerlicious start date, and few restaurants had availability to accommodate a party of 20. Pangaea was one of the few places that could meet this requirement.
I had previously dined at Pangaea during non-'licious time and had quite a good dining experience. However, with Summerlicious it can sometimes be a hit and miss in terms of how the food and service reflect the norm. After my experience this time, I wonder if Pangaea falls into that category...
Being a party of 25, it was not possible to seat everyone at the same table. We were placed into what would be the private dining room which they inevitably opened up no doubt to accommodate a full house during this promotional period. Our server was well-mannered and always provided smile with a service. We weren't given a hard time even though I arrived 30 minutes past the reservation time. We were not hurried.
A bread basket with Beet Butter was brought to our tables prior to the commencement of our meals. When the bread was consumed, our server quickly refilled it. I ordered a bottle of Riesling and it had hints of citrus in it without being too dry. This rang in at $50. For starters, I ordered the Beet & Goat Cheese Salad. Although the description includes fried ginger and radish seedlings, I didn't taste either of these ingredients in the salad. The goat cheese was presented as a circular disk, as were the beets. The sweet flavour from the beets balanced out an otherwise salty goat's cheese. It was nice and light.
Unfortunately I neglected to take a picture of my main, but I had the Venison which was served on a bed of bacon, Napa cabbage, mushrooms and apricot jus. To me, the veggies were tastier than the actual meat. The food was only lukewarm, probably because they wanted to have all the dishes ready to serve and kept several dishes on warming plates. I like my food piping hot. As for dessert, I ordered the Pavlova. I am a fan of meringue, so I thought I would love the pavlova. But again I was disappointed. The pavlova was way too sweet and lacked in freshness.
Verdict:
The portion sizes are quite small at Pangaea when you compare them to other Summerlicious participants. Although the service was good, the same cannot be said about the food. This was a totally different dining experience from when I paid regular prices to dine at Pangaea.Listed in: The more the merrier...
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Review from William T.
Scarborough, ON
7/24/2011
Clean basic interior.
I ordered from the summerlicious menu.
My appetizer, Lamb Sausages: Grilled, on pearl barley with Stilton, grape tomato & wilted mustard greens. Taste, moisture levels were good, but portions was quite small.
The main, Speckled Trout: Amandine, broiled on long beans with almonds, steamed new potatoes, brown butter & lemon. My main was very tasty but my portions were so abysmally small.
For Dessert, Artisanal Cheese Selection: Three varieties of Local cheese with walnuts, amber honey & pear compote. The cheeses were alright & it was neat combining it with nuts & sweet petrified fruits. I liked the dessert very much.
Overall service here was attentive & quick, but the portion sizes are quite depressingly small. -
Review from John G.
Toronto, ON
1/31/2012
We hit this place as part of Winterlicous. The ambiance inside the place is quite nice. Up scale. Staff were polite and courteous. They have a reasonable wine list including wines by the glass, half bottle and full bottles. There are wines in a number of the price ranges. We had the Bison Striploin which was good and well cooked. All ingredients were fresh, well prepared and nicely presented. Portions were a bit on the small side even for me and I am not a big eater. Even with Winterlicious prices this place is not cheap. With 2 glasses of wine we were over $130 with tip.
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Review from Jorge L.
6/2/2011
Server and food are amazing. Our server was very courteous and knowledgable - knows his wine selection and ready to make recommendations. This is a place to bring a date if you want to make a good impression or take your clients out. Be prepared to spend, however.
i tried the duck breast and it came well prepared. Presentation was also appetizing. Yum. They score points just for presentation alone.
I remember the place being too quiet though which can be awkward. I did not know the person i was with that well (whom I hope is not reading this) so there were lots of awkward moments and silences. The lack of funny characters you'll find in some restaurants leaves you nothing to talk about.
I do not drink so the "fine wine" selection was unappealing.
I will come back for business reasons but this will not be my first choice if I am looking for a good restaurant in downtown Toronto.Listed in: Bring-a-Date: Nice Restos
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Review from Olivia S.
North York, ON
7/16/2011
Went to Pangaea for their Summerlicious dinner menu, and it was one of the best meals I've had in ages! I highly recommend it! Although this place would normally been a bit out of my price range, the $35 fixed price menu was a fabulous deal.
I got the squid ink linguine as my main, it was perfect! SOooooo good! Even the bread passed around before the meal was fresh and delicious. A very classy restaurant, the waiters seemed a little snarky at first (and I always feel a little bad for getting such a good Summerlicious deal) but they were still attentive and once we were friendly to them, they were more friendly to us.
Be aware, this is one of those fancy restaurants that serves small portions. -
Review from Michael T.
Toronto, ON
5/12/2011
I've been going to Pangaea for at least 15 years now, very sporadically. It's a good place to take out-of-town acquaintances for something formal where you can actually have a conversation without yelling.
It just doesn't ever live up to the expectations it sets up.
Yes, the food is fancy and has depth, but there is always something "meh" about one of the dimensions. And always one sprig of something too many. They are toying with pretentious and get burnt sometimes.
The service WANTS to be high-end, but it's always that overly-self-conscious "we are supposed to be high-end". It doesn't come naturally, as it does at Opus, or as it did at BoBa. And then there's that really obnoxious French waiter who confirms the horrible preconception about all French waiters. If I wanted someone to tell me what I will enjoy today I would ask someone who actually knows me.
And in case you were wondering why I keep going back... I _really_ like the concept they are trying to live up to. And I have a really lousy memory for negatives. -
Review from Melissa a.
Toronto, ON
1/29/2012
We have been to the restaurant a few years ago and it was better then as opposed to now. This time we went to Pangaea for a Winterlicious dinner. Even though we had reservations at 7 we were not seated until 7:30. My meal was butternut squash soup, bison striploin and pumpkin bread pudding. The soup was delicious. The bison was a major let down. Only 2 tiny slices stacked on mushrooms. The portion of the main was what I would consider a portion of an appetizer. A serious serious let down. Not just because of size but also it didnt taste like anything special. The pumpkin bread pudding was decent. I ate about half. It was very dense and tasted like a dense version of pumpkin pie. My boyfriend got the calamari to start, the bison striploin and the hot chocolate for dessert. He liked the calamari, scoffed at the striploin for the same reasons as I did and really loved his dessert. He said the hot chocolate was so delicious.
Overall the reason why I feel the place has downgraded is when we were here a few years back. There portions were more appropriate. A main course was the size of a main as opposed to an appetizer. I would rate my 3 courses, 2/5 and he would rate his 3.5/5. -
Review from Christine D.
4/4/2011
Fancy-dancy from start to finish. The first thing I ate here was just bread and butter, but wow, way to set the bar with freaking roasted pear butter! Are you kidding, roasted pear butter?! I could have just eaten this like pudding and been happy as a clam. I need to learn how to make this magic butter.
Next was gravlax, which was very light and surprisingly I didn't mind the fennel at all, nicely done. I had artic char for my entree, it was alright but not really anything special. Now what I originally came here for: dessert. Doughnut holes filled with ricotta (and orange?) cream and served with some kind yum milkshake. Very satisfying.
Service was awesome, the place is a bit formal and business-y but that's ok.
Now all I need is more pear butter and "crusty french" bread. -
Review from Jon L.
Scarborough, ON
2/8/2011
Amazing food, fantastic ambience, and great service.
I went to Pangaea on Monday, Feb 7, 2011 for a Winterlicious dinner with three of my friends. Our server quickly greeted me upon arrival and gave me some bread that my party had already been munching on. There seemed to be a roasted red pepper spread in the middle of the table that was delicious, but I just wasn't sure what it was.
I ordered the trout gravlax, the mahi mahi, and the hot chocolate for my three courses. The trout was full of flavour and complemented perfectly with the potato rosti underneath it. The mahi mahi was sitting in this wonderful chowder full of delicious sea food and the mahi mahi itself was cooked perfectly. The hot chocolate was a perfect way to end the meal on a cold winter day, and the scone and vanilla bean marshmallows were great sidekicks for the hot chocolate.
As my party and I were getting ready to leave, Chef Martin came out and I introduced myself as the fellow who had a brief exchange with him on Twitter the week before. He asked if we were in a rush, and when we said we weren't, he came back with a bottle of 10 year old port and poured us each a glass. A personal touch that was a wonderful end to a great meal.
Thank you Chef Martin for making an amazing meal and an even better experience. I will definitely be coming back. -
Review from Raymond W.
Toronto, ON
12/31/2010
The most difficult thing to find during noon on a Saturday is a quiet lunch in Yorkville.
We needed a break. Navigating the departments at Holt's, riding the never-ending escalators of Harry Rosen, and roaming from store to store on Bloor while enduring that awful construction, yes, we needed a break. I decided whichever the first restaurant North on Bay would do, and that very quickly revealed itself to be Pangaea.
It was one O'clock, the place was virtually empty, and I never thought I'd be happy for it being so. Peace, at last!
The bread arrived as soon as we took our seats. With spread, Thank God!
"I'll have the grilled capon breast with mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, and black truffle jus."
"Very well, Sir."
Melanie order the Veal Osso Bucco. I don't think I've ever gotten food ordering over with so fast, carrying all those bags really worked up an appetite. We debated on a chardonnay, but that's as far as we ever gotten.
Something about the place gave off an Ocean Cruise liner vibe, if we hadn't taken the window seat, I would have thought I was on a ship. The chairs were actually more comfortable than it looked, everything was so...clean.
The helping of bread was generous, so the wait for the food went unnoticed. Our waiter was very knowledgeable, 50 years old tops, the Man certainly had character. Melanie thought he was cute. I had to agree.
We ate our entire meal in soothing silence. All of the jackhammering and vicious honking never for a second penetrated the glass of Pangaea.
The capon breast was very tender, and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. All praises from Melanie as well. It felt like we've unintentionally chosen a health-conscious eatery. That's what the food suggested.
The private dining room at the back keeps distracting me, and before we left, I asked for a walkabout into the area. We were the only ones there, so they were more than happy to cater to my curiosity.
An hour, that was all that it took for us to comfortably have our lunch. Can't complain! Refueled, re-energized. Time to tackle the rest of bourgeois Toronto. -
Review from Lara P.
1/15/2012
I was whisked away into this restaurant for a romantic dinner a deux. The food was very sexy and the sommelier treated us so wonderfully well. We had intention of starting the night with a bottle of champagne and then ending it with a bottle of red because we both chose meat entrees. We had a tender amuse bouche of trout ceviche, which definitely Set the tone for the evening. We shared the crab cakes as an appetizer, which perfectly complemented our drink. They accompanied it with lovely avocado mash giving it a velvety texture. We are meat eaters so inspite of the fact that this place had lots of beautiful and responsibly sourced seafood, we still opted for the meat; I had the lamb chops and he had the rib eye steak. They were classically well cooked. The lamb was crusted with crispy bits of nuts and garlic and cooked to a perfect medium. The ribeye steak was charred and smoky but cooked to liking inside. At that point, we realized we have not finished the champagne so we asked for a glass of red each. The sommelier brought us a great California Cab-Sauv that actually smelled like California at the first whiff. California dreamin'. As my boyfriend said, he always hesitates to order steak at a place that is not a steakhouse but Pangaea is not one of those places. I ended our meal with dessert, which was called the Chocolate bar, a deconstructed Milky way. It was rich and decadent and unfortunately too rich to finish. Sated, full and a little tipsy, I was whisked away home with tender and delightful memories of Pangaea.
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Review from Derek L.
Oakville, ON
2/20/2011
Came here for lunch with some colleauges. We made reservations and were seated immediately. We all had the prix-fix Winterlicious deal, which was about $25. I ordered the duck, and it was great - they get 1 point for food quality!
The service was also decent, it was quick, and they were friendly, and they didn't screw up our orders, what more can you ask for?
Overall, there are better places in Toronto to eat at, and that's what prevents this place from getting a 5/5 rating. There is no real WOW factor here. But you will have an enjoyable evening here. -
Review from Ktimene G.
8/26/2009
The service was excellent, but I wasn't over the moon with Pangaea.
My striped bass was very bland, and they subbed out my fava bean puree for fennel. I LOVE FAVA BEANS and I HATE FENNEL. But it was a business lunch, so I didn't speak up.
The semifreddo desert with poached plums & cherries and a gluten-free meringue melted in my mouth...well, more like disintegrated in my mouth...in the most delightful way.
Again, the service was 5-star-- warm, personable, professional and thoughtful-- seamlessly. I really don't think our server realized the collateral damage caused by the fennel fiasco, and for that I forgive.
The place was a bit of a scene, but had some private "nooks" where we had a lingering 3 hour lunch without too much distraction.
Go for desert. -
Review from Xi Y.
Toronto, ON
2/3/2012
The food is good, and the service is nice. Winterlicious is coming, I can now save some money for going to this restaurant now, yeah!
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Review from Melinda M.
Toronto, ON
11/11/2009
I am so glad I have an expense account and can afford lunch at Pangaea!
The owner/manager impressed us with a quality bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that I have never seen in an LCBO. The wine list is enormous, and we were lucky to have the personal recommendation of the owner. He was very friendly.
I started with a plate filled with thinly sliced beets topped with a large dollop of smooth and creamy goat's cheese. My entree was a serving of extra-large scallops mixed with green beans, mushrooms and spinach. It was truly delicious. That beet salad is huge and filling. I really didn't even need an entree after that!
The room is very big with high ceilings and comfortable tall chairs. The atmosphere is fairly formal but not stiff. It is a big room and gets popular at lunch, but it never gets loud. I appreciate that as often I am there for business lunches, and like to hear my companions talk.
Another plus is you can make your reservations online through open table, which makes life easier sometimes.
I have eaten lunch at Pangaea (on expense account) time after time and have always thoroughly enjoyed the food. The service is also always impeccable. The servers are there when you need them and know their stuff.
All in all, a great place for lunch if you can afford it.Listed in: Dining Near Yonge and Bloor
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Review from Timothy R.
8/21/2011
In town for business, I was looking for a restaurant that exhibited a consciousness about the food they served. I prefer meat from animals that are raised properly on small farms; fish that is sustainably caught; and vegetables and fruit that is in season locally. Luckily there are lots of places in Toronto that cater to PITAs like me. I ran by this place and Earth after work that espoused environmental consciousness. Since Pangaea was closer to my hotel and it was late, I went there.
Pangaea is associated with a conservation program called Ocean Wise that helps chefs make environmentally responsible choices on ingredients and suppliers. Although I've never heard of the organization, it's mentioned prominently on the menu.
Pangaea is a seafood place. Meat makes a cameo appearance on the menu, but given the wide selection of and heavy emphasis on fish, I'm not sure why one would choose a meat dish unless you don't like fish and walked into the wrong place.
The by the glass wine menu looked good enough. I am surprised that I drink enough red wine to recognize labels and know if they're good (to me). I dislike the Grayson cabernet so had a Finca Martha Malbec that was pretty good at C$11/glass. The second glass was a much heavier pour than the first, which was already pretty good.
The menu lists small plates, starters and mains. My server said that small plates were very small servings, which was perfect for me. I had a tasty slice of scallop on a piece of pork belly.
My main was the Haddock special, served on green veggies and fingerling potatoes. The dish was served from the kitchen so quickly that I could taste the fresh heat of the pan on the potatoes; that really knocked me out. The serving wasn't huge, which I was thankful for, since I hate getting giant servings that I can't finish or have to take home. The fish was flakey and perfectly done.
Without much effort, the waiter talked me into having a chocolate bar for dessert, which is a frozen chocolate mousse on a meringue cracker (sort of looked like a crispy Pop Tart) with a caramelized pear. The pear itself was pretty awesome. The frozen mousse was much creamier than a sorbet.
Downsides: It isn't the most expensive place I've been, but it ain't cheap. The room was much larger than I expected - you can't really tell from outside - and the setting and ambiance of the room was more formal than I expected. That doesn't really have much to do with the food or service, but the set up of the room, decor, etc. didn't really make me comfortable.
Service was outgoing, friendly and helpful, and knowledgeable about the menu. If I was there for work, I'd certainly visit again. -
Review from SJ C.
Toronto, ON
10/14/2011
I don't often write reviews of restaurants, however when restaurants consistently exceed expectations, I am compelled to. Also, I find it truly awful that the first reviews that come up are from Summer-vicious clientele. Foodies in Toronto don't go out during the "licous" seasons, they stay at home and say slient prayers for restaurant staff. It is not the appropriate time to review a restaurant. Having dined at Pangaea on numerous occasions, I can provide a more complete picture of what you can expect from this Toronto icon.
Pangaea is dedicated to sustainable fish; you'll find a thoughtful and well-executed array of ocean-wise seafood dishes. The Chef du Cuisine prepares the cheese for the cheese board in house. Some will understand what a significant achievement this is. This sums up the attitude of the kitchen- experimental and thoughtful preparation of sustainable products.
They have won awards for risotto. @Thomas R., servers in fine dining restaurants would never tell you the price if you don't ask. That would be seen as extremely rude. But I digress.
A friend took me to Pangaea last month for a birthday lunch. Service was warm and friendly. The mushroom risotto was, as always, delicious. Steamed Halibut with shaved truffles was perfectly executed, tender and moist. The crab cake is extremely flavourful and not to be missed. The daily selection of cheese was varied, and did not disappoint.
It really doesn't matter what you order here, it will be delicious. It doesn't matter who serves you, they will be knowledgable and attentive. If you have someone to impress, take them to Pangaea. -
Review from Joanne W.
7/26/2010
My second restaurant of Summerlicious 2010. I went for lunch with about 6 of my friends on a Saturday.
I ordered the following:
- Chilled Fruit Puree
- Grilled Sirloin Beef
- White Chocolate Panna Cotta
The chilled fruit purre was an interesting started since it was sweet (yet had a little kick due to ginger). However, I didn't really like it very much due to the sweetness to begin my lunch. If I were to redo my lunch selections, I would've chosen the serrano ham as my starter.
As for the entrees. It seems like the entrees were VERY small (but in the end, still quite filling). The sirloin was much better than the lamb, in my opinion. Not much, but it was still fairly good.
I think the dessert was our favourites. No one got the cheese dish. The panna cotta was absolutely delicious and well-presented. I have no complaints with that.
Service was a bit slow that day. We were there for quite a while. Granted, it was quite busy, but I felt like the service could have been MUCH better.
Would I recommend this for Summerlicious/Winterlicious? Not really. -
Review from Thomas R.
10/9/2011
I must have eaten here 15 times 10 years ago but on a recent visit to Toronto I visited this restaurant twice. Both times the experience was a disappointment.
On one visit I had the white truffle risotto - price listed on the menu as "market" - the appetizer turned out to be $45 for the small dish. The risotto was delicious as it should be for $45 but any restaurant that serves a $45 appetizer should have the means to print daily menus with prices if indeed "market" value on a truffle is unpredictable. Or the server should indicate that information.
The halibut dish was very bland with awkwardly shaped and cooked garnish. The beets and potatoes were mushy and the skins were falling off the clumsily sliced potatoes in the pool of flavorless broth like small band-aids in water. A really poorly conceived dish, and for $38 the worst restaurant value in my recent memory.
The calamari appetizer had a weird consistency and tasted only like char from the grill but was very mushy overall with the garnish. Same for the lobster gnocchi - half a lobster seemed more like 1/4. Is there something in the Canadian exchange rate that makes the portion so small? Overall the dish tasted nice but it was a mushy appetizer portion.
All this leads me to wonder if Pangaea's clientele is mostly old women with bad teeth or no teeth, afraid of large portions that threaten their waistline, yet have endless money. No deal guys. -
Review from Tina H.
3/13/2010 1 photo
The food is good but expensive. The service is pretty decent, but depending on who's working, can be somewhat pretentious, especially the wine guy. The first time I went their wine was delicious, then the second time I tried to get the same wine but couldn't. We ended up settling for a bottle that wasn't as good as the first time we went. He kept bringing new ones out, which shows great customer service, but they'd keep dropping in quality, as if we don't like nice wine. The chocolate dessert is absolutely delicious. I'd say this place is a solid 4 stars. It's not the best value, but the food is really good (what I had anyhow). I like when restaurants serve game meat. Bison, pretty good red wine, nice rich chocolate dessert and a pretty good selection of high quality loose leaf teas makes this a great place to go if price isn't an option.
