Coming Soon to King Street West & Blue Jays Way

Email kingblue@greenlandcanada.ca for more information
For more information email:
kingblue@
greenland
canada.ca
Register Now for King Blue
King Blue: Who Could Ask For Anything More?

I Got Taste

OLIVER & BONACINI’S LIGHT FARE at CANTEEN

By on

King West - Canteen - Patio

Canteen

330 King Street West

Restaurant Eatery/Grab and Go Counter

Canteen, located at 330 King Street West in the TIFF Bell Lightbox, is a casual restaurant with a laid-back atmosphere and bright, airy interior.

The Oliver and Bonacini eatery, which includes a Grab and Go counter, offers a well-balanced combination of lighter fare and heartier dishes. The welcoming vibe hosts a mix of dining guests, from families and couples, to friends catching up over a bottle of wine, to those needing a quick pre-film bite.

Stopping in for an early Sunday dinner, the hostess seats us immediately. We order a Canteen Derby cocktail ($8.50), a refreshing blend of Pimm’s, ginger ale and ginger syrup garnished with cucumber shreds, and a glass of Farnese Montepulciano ‘Casale Vecchio’ ($8), a delicious red, easily drinkable.

Canteen at TIFF
Our server, Avi, is pleasant, attentive, and extremely patient. The Baked Goat Cheese starter ($11) arrives and looks enticing. Accompanied by crostini, sitting on a bed of lentils and sprinkled with arugula, the golden brown crust on the cheese hides the warm, gooey centre. The appetizer is amazing and I am delighted with the rosemary I encounter halfway through.

Semolina Gnocchi
My friend’s Semolina Gnocchi ($16) with braised Ontario lamb, rosemary and parmesan tastes even better than it looks. The lamb is so tender it falls apart at the touch of a fork. The gnocchi are just as delightful; tiny pillows with a light and fluffy texture like no other gnocchi I’ve had before.

TIFF Bell Lightbox Canteen Restuarant
My Beef Burger ($16), garnished with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, Ontario cheddar and served with parmesan frites, is cooked medium, at our server’s suggestion. The burger looks mouthwatering, but is disappointing – the bun is too much for the meat, which is surprisingly salty, and overpowers the fresh ground beef.

King West - Canteen Restaurant Desert

A Chocolate Brownie ($7) caps off an almost perfect meal. Dusted with icing sugar, a touch crispy on the outside, but warm and chewy on the inside, the slightly bitter chocolate brownie is heavenly and perfectly paired with intensely-flavoured vanilla ice cream. It’s so good, the blueberries and maraschino cherry garnish are unnecessary.

Pleasantly affordable for the quality of food, Canteen is now one of my favourite King West spots. The Grab and Go counter is open 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. daily and the restaurant offers brunch 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.