Bijan V.'s Profile

One of the most over-priced and underwhelming restaurants on the tourist-trap area of King west. We got wrangled in with the lure of live music (a pianist who was actually not bad) but ended his act 10 minutes after we sat down.

The food is pretty pricey and VERY mediocre. There's nothing exorbitantly 'French' about it and the flavours are very bland. At half the price I wouldn't have anything to complain about but when they're charging $22-35 / main I'm expecting something special!

Contrary to my fellow Yelpers, I find the atmosphere to be tacky and outdated and completely tasteless for an upscale restaurant. The waiters were rather unprofessional on this quiet night, stolling around and whistling as if they were bored out of their minds.

I could go on and on, but regardless this is one place you SHOULD not drop by into after watching a show on King St.!

Bahn Mi boys have big plans for their little sandwich shop! Taking the place of a rather dilapidated Shwarma place, they've pretty much kept everything as is (for now!).

They have a very small menu (5 or 6 items only) but they're incredibly great tasting and made fresh! Served on a nice soft bun (rather than the hard baguettes they're served in other places), they still kept the unique bahn-mi flavour, added some great meat to it and still kept the prices relatively low (around $5 for a 'gourmet' bahn-mi sandwich that should fill up a good portion of your stomach).

I would be a little disappointed of the space but I overheard one of the owners speaking of what they're planning to do with the space (move the kitchen to the back, renovate the space, etc) and it should be a pretty great shop once they start going for real!

I think it's incredibly hit and miss here and if it's a miss - it's at a rather high price!

I called in for a same-day appointment and they placed me with someone at their Institute (rather than the Academy which is the school upstairs, the institute is supposed to be the graduates who practice here). Surprisingly they didn't mention the level or price point but honestly I didn't care - I was going to be late for a Yelp Elite party!

I was seated for about 10-15 minutes longer than my scheduled time and they have no real seating area - I was just in the middle of everyone as they ran around handling their clients and it was quite a bit awkward.

My stylist greeted me and figured out what I wanted to do with my hair, got the resident guru involved and it all sounded fine.

2 hours later, multiple consultations with the guru and $45 later, I realized I probably could've gotten a better haircut at top cuts! My stylist had no idea how to cut 'guys' hair - recut areas multiple times, generally didn't seem like knew what she was doing and the whole 'experience' was very underwhelming.

Will definitely not be coming back here!

This was a great party to get back into the Yelp scene after a bit of absence! An almost UYE type setting, the event at Herban Infusions was small and intimate I met a lot of new elites I hadn't had a chance to speak to before.

The drinks were all amazingly tasty and clearly had a lot of love put into each of them (hence the never-ending line ;) ) and the treats from next door were well done (especially the marijuana duck - that's right - and you all missed it!).

I kind of hope we get a few more of these types of elite parties! It's a good change to the massive parties Vivek's gotten us used to!

I'm going to sound like a coffee-snob but after having hit up a good portion of cafes in Toronto, I feel I can safely say Spot is one of the places I will never order coffee from again!

Burnt roasts with baristas who don't really have too much knowledge on pulling a proper shot, their coffee is not one to look forward to. Burnt taste, crazy bubbly foam rather than the velvety smooth, old beans, just... don't bother.

On the other hand, they have a great space that's always filled with interesting people and they have pretty good food options. Unfortunately their food items take quite a while to prepare and when you're in a rush in the morning to get to work, waiting for 10 minutes for them to prepare a breakfast sandwich isn't always the best option.

Their service is also pretty quick and friendly so it's not all bad. I'm sure I'll eventually come back here since it's really the only coffee shop in the area but now you all know it will begrudgingly be so.

*Slow clap* Well done Michael, well done.

Here is an owner that knows how to put together a small shop and serve up some amazing food. Grade A service (Michael et al are super friendly, remember their customers and know how to provide customer service).

I've tried a good number of the things they have on the menu and I can for sure say you need to try their Miss Vickie's batter (don't worry you can get two pieces and try a different batter on each to compare) and their sauces are to die for! Portions are large (I don't think I've been able to finish all the fries yet), and prices are very reasonable.

On the plus side is their crab cakes (probably one of the better ones I've had in the city!) and to outdo themselves, Michael continually tries to come up with something better to please his customers. In the summer he was serving real cream soft-serve (not of that air-y fake milk stuff). It's too bad he had to get rid of it, but now he's made up for it with some incredible  poutines!

Anyways, it's without question I send everyone to Fresco's when they ask me for Fish and Chips, and rightly so no one has ever disliked my recommendation!

I had to take 3 or 4 takes before I finally stepped inside Freshslice. $1.00 A SLICE (Tuesdays only)!? Is this place for real? I had a feeling I was part of a Just For Laughs gag or something, honestly it's crazy!

The pizza isn't great but they've got some good slices (they don't skimp on the toppings) and two slices would be a good addition to any already boozed up stomach.

I won't be looking for Freshslice when I'm walking down the Little Italy strip but once I get liquored up, you damn well better know where I'll be going after!

I was hoping I would never run into a place like this but it just has to be said - Bikkuri is by far the worst Sushi joint I've been to in Toronto. The only upside is the location and atmosphere (which is very nicely) and helps really define itself as a TRUE 'tourist trap' (especially being across from the expensive Le Meridien King Edward Hotel).

Maybe it's because we came on a Sunday, maybe we just happened to run into an un-experienced waitress but honestly there was no excuse for the mediocrity from a place that charges this much. Your meal will probably be at cheapest $18-20 and what you get for it are:

- Tiny pieces of sushi with day old rice
- Slimy, congealed seaweed salad
- Salad dishes that have already been pre-sauced and placed in the fridge for days (making the lettuce mush)
- Over-salted Karage
- Mediocre teriyaki with a pretty poor excuse of a sauce

Plus it doesn't help when the waitress comes over 5 minutes after you order to ask you to repeat your order. And then forgets to remember what comes with a bento box and gives us the bill without bringing out the rest of the items!

I don't think I've ever been so dissapointed from a place in Toronto before but do yourself a favour and AVOID!

A solid 4 stars bordering on 5, Wvrst is a new addition to the King west lineup and thank god we finally have a place like this in Toronto!

Toronto is infamously known for it's lack of good German food and while I would err on calling this place "German", Wvrst is certainly adding a bit more to Toronto's vocabulary. Dressed with long communal tables, this hall of sorts can fit a crap ton of people and the way the sound echo's I can imagine will be thunderous come Oktoberfest.

Wvrst serves essentially one thing... and that is sausage. Glorious sausage (no homo - and not that there's anything wrong with that). I've given a go at both their "normal" sausages and their currywvrst and if you're not having the currywvrst here you're wasting your time. The regular sausages are no different than many of the street sausages you can get but get the "game" sausages on currwvrst and this plain ol' sausage just becomes magical!

From duck to rabbit to guinnea fowl, Wvrst has quite the interesting selection and what turns it up the notch is the rather authentic Belgian fries (fried in duck fat - yes please!). The dipping sauces (especially the Wvrst sauce) are amazing as well.

And what of the price? Very reasonable! ~$8-9 for a sausage and $3-4 for a healthy portion of fries, you cannot go wrong with a quick meal here. The only thing that disappointed me was the rather high price of beer here. For a rather quick meal and drinking hall that Wvrst seems to be, the $8 Tecate type beers was a bit steep.

But I'll keep coming back... *drool* Oh yes I will

This being the first open Yelp event in TO, I had my expectations but this blew everything out of the Chinatown Julip's I was having. By and FAR the best Yelp event I've been to and I think a lot had to do with the venue!

There were tons of people but it was never "packed", bar lines were serviced relatively quickly, people were amazing (and the ever-so anticipated return of Kat!), tons of stuff to do (Photobooth was amazing, and a shout out to Paintlounge!) and most importantly Hotel Ocho knew how to approach Yelpers. Hit 'em with strong drinks right off the get go and get the party started early!

It was great seeing all the old, medium (!?) and new Yelpers all over again and I'm sure I'll be seeing everyone again!

I know I've said this before... but honestly there's no way Vivek will ever be able to top this!

P.S. I love how it asks if it's "Good for Kids" below... did anyone else notice the kid at the party? Amazing!