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Pearl Court Restaurant
Category: Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Ethnic Food [Edit]
633 Gerrard St EToronto, ON M4M 1Y2
Neighbourhood: Riverdale
(416) 463-8778
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
14 reviews for Pearl Court Restaurant
14 reviews in English
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Review from Juliana H.
Toronto, ON
2/2/2012
Went here yesterday for lunch. The restaurant wasn't too full and there was more of the caucasian persuasion than I expected. No racial, just observing. We immediately started selecting stuff from the various dim sum trays being carted around. We began with the shuimai, a scallion dumpling, rice rolls with shrimp, and sticky rice with pork. All were good. But then it seemed like we waited forever for them to bring around and offer something different than the initial offerings. This wouldn't be a problem if you're in for a long leisurely lunch, but as it was, we were dining with a two year old getting dangerously close to nap time.
We flagged down someone who looked official and asked if we could order chasiu bao and har gow. We were graciously accommodated. We rounded off the meal with three egg tarts.
Honestly, I enjoyed my lunch and for $27 with tax and tip for the three of us, I think it's a great deal. Also, I really liked the fact that I didn't have to line up forever and hover awkwardly over someone's shoulder for an eternity while waiting for a table like I do at Rol San. Pearl Court was also quiet enough despite the many full tables, that you could actually have a conversation without yelling.
In short, I'll be back. -
Review from Aydin T.
East York, ON
1/21/2012
This is one of those places that I've been going to for years. I've tried all types of meals there - dine-in, take-out, delivery, lunch, dim-sum (weekday and weekend) and dinner.
I know it's not the best Dim Sum in the city, but it's still quite good, and it's a very good value. If I'm going for GREAT dim sum, I'll go to Pearl Harbourfront or Dynasty in Yorkville, but I'd put this as more of a casual, wallet-friendly choice, almost as good as Rol San on Spadina.
For me, where they really leap into 4-star range is with their delivery service. I've only ordered for dinner, but it's always been fantastic. We live in a city where far too many Chinese delivery places proudly serve chop suey and sweet and sour chicken balls. It's nice to have a place like this where people like me, who grew up on Lee Garden and Happy Seven and Rol San can order good quality, authentic Cantonese food in the east end.
The soups are all very tasty, the noodle dishes are prepared in the way your remember (though they're great at making substitutions, like chicken instead of beef), and the fresh seafood is worth the price of the order alone. You can get lobster, crab, live spot prawns - whatever is fresh and in the tank is available for order and delivery. These items are not on the menu, but if you ask the person on the phone, they'll tell you if there is any good fresh seafood. They will even let you order some dim sum items, if they haven't run out. They're great at filling any special request. We often order Chinese broccoli with prince mushrooms, which is not on the menu, but they make it for me!
Some real stars on the menu include spicy eggplant with shrimp, deep fried seafood with garlic pepper, deep fried black cod with soy sauce, rice noodle with beef and black bean sauce, deep fried crab claw appetizer, pan-fried shrimp with chive dumplings (dim sum) and if you're feeding kids or the unadventurous, the fried rice options and moo shu pork are also VERY good!
The food has always arrived hot, within the quoted time, and they use good quality take-out packaging. They know how to pack up the food so it travels well.
No website, and no menu online, so you'll have to drop in to pick one up. Or just call - they'll make whatever you want and send over a menu for next time! -
Review from Rick L.
Concord, ON
1/7/2012
Been here many times over the years, quality has gone downhill. This use to be the place to go, now they are the only dim sum place left in east china town. With no competition, they can server underwhelming food and people still will go there cause there's nothing around.
Dim Sum is pricey, large dim sum are 4.00. And trust me, there quality is not worth 4.00. Your better off driving to T&T, its much cheaper and quality is on par with them. They have a early bird for 2.80 or something, but I didn't get there on time.
I reluctantly went there for dinner last year cause my father didn't want to ride the dvp up to Markham. The quality of the food was terrible, like done by a amateur cook. and the food was soggy. Only reason I go there is cause its easier for a family meet up cause east china town is close to my house.
I usually go up to Markham for food, we go there so much, we were sick of it. So we decided not to travel up. But that was a mistake, we paid over 200 bucks for a course meal, and it wasn't worth it at all. -
Review from Daniel O.
11/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
Stopped in for dim sum on Sunday in the mid-afternoon.
Arrived to a nearly empty dining room, not a good thing for dim sum. Took a couple minutes to get someone's attention to show us to a table. Decided on our order, chose the classice, steamed shrimp dumplings, fried pork and chive, lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice, beef balls, steamed pork dumplings, fried calamari.
First out was the calamari. It was cold. And stale. And oily has hell. We had a couple bites and shifted it to the end of the table. Out next was the shrimp dumplings, which were good. Waitess noticed the full plate of calamari and that we weren't eating it. She asked why, I told her it was cold. She took it off our bill.
We enjoyed the bulk of the steamed and fried dumplings. The sticky rice was terrible, full of mystery brown meat and tons of hard chunks (please god, tell me it wasn't bones). So bad.
Service was okay, a bit rushed.
Wouldn't go back. Would rather battle the hordes of dim-sumers on Spadina. -
Review from William T.
Scarborough, ON
8/22/2011
Came here with "The Fin" & friends for dinner.
We ordered to share with each other, braised short ribs, snails in black bean sauce, sweet & sour pork & Singapore noodles.
The ribs were delicious, tender & went well with snails, snails of which were very tasty having soaked up it's black bean sauce. I had a bit of a surf n' turf thing going eating land & sea meat in alternating rapid succession.
Sweet & sour pork was very good as it possessed a crisp outer layer, was moist on the inside & was completed with a light glaze of sweet & sour sauce.
Our base food to eat everything else with was a platter of Singapore noodles with shrimps & scallops, this was a very good dish, variety of flavor with a bit of spice. I was satisfied with the taste & quantity that came with this order.
Overall service is good & portion sizes are generous, decent place for some Chinese cuisine. -
Review from Huyen N.
Toronto, ON
3/20/2012
One of my favourite foods is dim sum. So when I recently moved into the neighbourhood I was thrilled to learn that this restaurant is about a pleasant 15min walk from my pad. I've been going there for lunch for the past few months and it has been consistent and tasty everytime. The staff are decent. Especially the ladies who push the carts around, classic dim sum style. They smile and say thank you and even talk to your kids. A major plus with me. The servers seem weeded all the time and are hardly there. But the cart ladies make up for them in my eyes. I find the food pretty good and fair in terms of price. They even have crab claws and chicken feet, my favs! This place gets pretty packed on the weekend mornings all through early afternoon so expect to wait about 10-15mins if you're a deuce and maybe more if you're coming in a larger group. All in all, it's worth the wait and the food hits the table like lightening. They've made sure that the cart ladies go by every table, even if you're way up front furthest from the kitchen. Which in most other dim sum restaurants with the same serving style you'd be SOL'd sitting so far away. Definately give this place a try if you're in the area.
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Review from Ken L.
Toronto, ON
7/10/2011
I stumbled upon this place for dim sum and have been back twice since so my review is based on take out and dine in dim sum. I don't come this way often but had to bring my mom to her doctor nearby so we stopped in to pick up some take out. Found out afterwards that my mom's doctor has been coming here for the past decade (they even have a reserved seat for him... so I'm assuming if it's good enough for him, it's fine for us). It's a push cart system so the downfall is they don't always have enough food by the time the cart rolls around (also depends on which side of the restaurant the cart woman decides to roll out). My suggestion is get a seat near the kitchen if you can.
We we're pleasantly surprised with the quality and size of our portions and even more surprised with the prices. Everything we ate was good except the lotus leaf (a bit dry) and don't expect caviar on the dumplings for the price you're paying. The decor is dated and not all that impressive compared to the fancy places but it's not any worse than those on the other side of the city downtown. It's Ok for this side of Chinatown as it won't embarrass the family but it's not very spacious and it won't win any awards for design. The service is a bit slow and they were definitely slow in refilling our tea. Service is 3 star or less depending on the time or how busy it is.
Unbeatable value: Take out or dine in is $2.80 a dish for large size har gow, sui mai and cheung fun ($2.40 if you check out before 10:30 AM)... Holy cow Batman!!! Rol San is 50% higher and the lineup is much longer. Crown Princess and Dynasty is in a different quality league but easily double the price. It's a huge difference if you like to go often and not so much if you're only doing dim sum a few times a year so definitely worth the trip east. Bang for the buck is excellent and worth the drive or transit ride compared to the other Chinatown on Spadina. Definitely go to place for regular dim sum but won't impress your boss or a date and unlikely place for dinner given the many options available elsewhere that is more convenient. Still worthy of a solid 3.5-4 stars for dim sum quality and value :). -
Review from Peter L.
Toronto, ON
12/6/2011
Ever since I've been able to eat, I've been going to Pearl Court; whether it is with my parents, a date or friends. The prices are very reasonable, the quantities of food ample and the service professional. It is written up in various newspapers and recommended by Zagat and Now Toronto, although many of the reviews date back to the mid-nineties. The ownership has changed throughout the years and as such the cuisine has, and it is not quite the pearl in the court of Chinatown East, but it is still a failsafe option for late-night revelers in the area. The flavors are sharp and defined, with no "Canadian Chinese" influences evident. The specials on the wall change with the season and the seafood is fresh. There are times when the food doesn't live up to how it usually is, so if there is any problem I have with Pearl Court, it has to be the inconsistency.
All in all though, it's good, solid, authentic Chinese food at a great price. -
Review from Joanna L.
Toronto, ON
10/27/2010
I couple of my friends decided to grab some late nite eats recently and told me to meet them at Pearl Court in East Toronto Chinatown.
Always a little leary of new places, I was actually pleasantly surprised!
For my meal, I ordered spicy vegetarian pad thai and for only $10-$12 got a ton of food! I was thrilled. Yay lunch the next day!
My friends also ordered 1 dish each and got more than enough to eat.
I recently returned to Pearl Court with my husband and again we got nice big portions and the food was quite tasty.
Admittedly, it's not a place to eat every day as some items are fried and the food can be a little greasy but it sure tastes good!
The service is also fairly pleasant.
The only downfall is that they don't sell hot bubble tea. boo.Listed in: Thai for me - I like it.
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Review from Lulu L.
Scarborough, ON
8/18/2011
I ordered hot n' sour soup, lobsters, deep fried crab claw, fried E-Fu noodle, scrambled egg w/ shrimp and so on last night . Right portions, yummy, tasty and I really enjoyed my dinner with friends. Actually, I live in Scarborough and it's quite far away to get there, but I will come again for sure. It's free meter parking after 6 pm. Lucky me, I could find a spot in front of the restaurant. This is one of my favourite restaurants in this town.
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Review from Thom H.
6/12/2010
This place gets my vote for the best hot and sour soup in Toronto. And their weekend dim sum is also top drawer. Other great dishes here include paper wrapped chicken, which has a spice combination I've never seen replicated anywhere and a sweet walnut chicken that is excellent. Seafoods here are great. The shrimp are larger and fresher than most places.
Like Jimi, I was reluctant to review this place. I had been coming here for years and was just finding that I could not longer enjoy the place. The food was still good, but the ugly, giant room just seemed to get brighter and uglier with each visit. Luckily, someone intervened and after some renovations, the place is much more comfortable.
I'm reserving the fifth star because the room still feels a bit too big during evening meals. They need more diners or a way to make the room feel more intimate. I think I'll go there right now. -
Review from Sheila B.
Toronto, ON
7/11/2010
We usually go to The River (couple of doors down) for dim sum but lately The River is not up to snuf. (I wrote a review on it and the pricing is good but as of late not so good on the food). Pearl Court is more per dish but that's ok still cheaper then most dim sum places.
Our order:
Har Gow
Shrimp Noodle
Stuffed Bean Curd
Steamed Pork Bean Curd Roll
Ginger Squid
Steamed Spare-Ribs
Shrimp Roll
At 10am you order from the sheet that you check off what you want no cart service until after 11am. Also before 11 you eat downstairs. The lower level has had a mini reno, with new carpet, paint and seating.
All the dishes where hot, fresh and good portions. The staff gets what you need and all speak english quite well.
Dim Sum for two with tea and tax $27... -
Review from Jimi S.
ON
1/2/2009
i want this place to be better.
i mean, things are as they are and that is what it is, but id like to like this more than i do because there isnt a better one close by, and id rather have a short walk there, especially i think, since i live five minutes walking from chinatown east.
pearl court is a large restaurant with two floors. now im not sure i totally understand how this works, because sometimes ive eaten dimsum downstairs and other times upstairs. the most recent was upstairs and since dimsum not veggie friendly at all, i went by myself. somehow this seemed more weird than any other solo dining experience ive had. maybe because it was bright in there.
anyhow, i sat there reading for a short time because nothing appealed to me. their selection of items was decent ranging from standards like shoomai and hargow to chicken feet in a gooey bloody looking sauce. i didnt get that one.
if there was a large group of people and i had someone else who was interested id try it out, but its hard when you go by yourself for dimsum. chinese food is all about the share. needless to say i was very selective with my one man eating extravaganza.
the shooooomai i ordered was hot enough and alright. i had a bowl of cut up squid that i had to send back because it was cold. (only did so with the unwritten permission of the mother/daughter asian pair who sat beside me and were peeved that there food was cold also. thanks for the courage.) so we both were outfitted with new ones. i still didnt eat it. ive had better; it was quit rubbery.
the last bit of tasty food i remember having was the lotus leaf with the rice and pork inside. at least i think it was pork. i could never quite get that answer from the woman who served it. i recognized the dish, but it seemed there were two kinds (each with a different filling) and given my best efforts in trying to decipher the contents from her description i couldnt. somehow i thought it was better to just say yes to the last one she said rather than risk the awkwardness of asking her to say it a third time. i did notice a disc of sausage in there, so theres a bit of an answer.
hopefully in my yelp travels i will find a better dimsum place just as close or close enough to warrant a walk of a few blocks further. -
Review from Adam P.
Etobicoke, ON
8/14/2011
This is by far my favourite dim sum place in the city. It get really busy on weekends but the room is huge so you won't wait long. Cart service only runs over the lunch hour.
