Went to the popular Aloette Restaurant at the intersection of Spadina and Queen Street West in Toronto. Opened in 2018, ALOette is the little sister of ALO (located on the upper floor of the same building) which is listed in The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Aloette (and ALO) is located in a historic Victorian building built in 1888 - it was the Devaney Brothers Dry Goods Store in a previous life.
ALO has already achieved global acclaim when the nail salon downstairs vacated its space. Patrick Kriss, chef owner of ALO saw the opportunity to open a budget version of ALO, hence ALOette was born.
Inside Aloette, it's a diner /bar in a small narrow space that seats just 38. Like any classic greasy spoon diner, Aloette sports booth seats along street facing windows and bar counter with the small kitchen behind. Leather padded arched ceiling and fine furnishings gave the diner a luxurious air. Still, relaxed banter and laughter confirmed that this is indeed a diner, though a well appointed or "atas" one as Singaporeans would say.
The bar stools without back rests were less comfortable than padded booth seats but we were rewarded with front row views of the kitchen and bar.
During lunch, action in the kitchen was frenetic but everything rolled with well oiled clockwork. Every dish was personally quality checked by sous chef Gregory Bourolias before it was approved for delivery to customers. So, quality and consistency are assured.
We had a sea trout from the prix fixe menu (3 course CDN30++), steak from the prix fixe menu (2 course CDN25++) and fried chicken from the a la carte menu (CDN26++).
All of us were quickly served this complimentary brioche toast and whipped yeast butter. It was simple and oh so nice. Crunchy crisp toasty savoury sweet tasting bread slathered with creamy smooth savoury salty buttery spread. It's like foretaste of the pleasures that follow.
The fixe prixe courses come with an appetiser. We ordered the Petite Wedge. It's a thick wedge of fresh cabbage slathered with chive cream and crowned with wild rice puffs, assorted seeds, avocado slices, radish slices and Parmesan cheese shavings.
Oh... this was so delightful.
The Petite Wedge is a memorable dish. Juicy crunch, nutty crunch complemented by crispy crunch. Harmony of tangy, sweet, savoury flavours and nutty taste. I am in awe with the creativity that brings humble ingredients together to make such a surprisingly tasty dish.
Stripe of sea trout dressed with turnip, peas, king oyster mushroom.
The lightly seared sea trout was tenderly soft flaky juicy inside. It tastes sweet with a subtle fleeting earthly undertone.
Aloette has a relatively youthful following which might explain the popularity of their Fried Chicken dish.
The battered chicken was deep fried till golden brown. The crust was crumbly crisp outside while the inside was tenderly juicy. The chicken was savoury with subtle sweetness. It is eaten with Aloette's zesty signature yuzu sauce which was tangy spicy savoury.
Aloette's fried chicken is enjoyed like a Korean ssam, doused with a dribble of yuzu sauce and wrapped in fresh crunchy lettuce.
Steak and fries with ramp chimichurri sauce, spring onion and parsley. (Ramp belongs to the same family of vegetables as spring onion and chive.)
The default doneness was medium, beautifully done medium. The slab of striploin was tenderly juicy and oozes beefiness which was well complemented by the savoury aromatic ramp chimichurri sauce.
We completed our meal with a zesty sweet strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream.
Service was at the level of fine restaurants. Every dish served was briefly introduced, giving name of dish and key ingredients. The smartly dressed staff changed our plates and cutlery, cleaned our tables, after every course. Our glasses of water were constantly topped up and the staff politely checked if everything was OK at intervals.
Recommended for you 👈 Nice place, excellent service, great food. It's "just a diner" but is Toronto's finest one. Prices are about double compared to average diners but for what we are getting here, it's good value for money. I would love to be back as there are several dishes I saw which I want to try e.g. beef tartare, roast pork belly, the Aloette burger (chef Patrick Kriss' personal favourite), lamb sirloin, roasted squid etc. Don't leave Toronto without dropping by at Aloette.
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Restaurant name: Aloette
Address: 163 Spadina Ave 1st Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 2A5
GPS: 43°38'55.3"N 79°23'46.2"W 🌐 43.648694, -79.396153
Nearest TTC (Subway): Osgoode (5 minutes walk)
Tel: 416) 260-3444
Hours: 11:30am - 10:30pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 2 Jul 2019
Hi ! The Aloette does sound like an awesome place , particularly through your pictures. All the dishes look delicious and mouth watering. Its great how you have highlighted the features of this place to make a choice. The ambience does look appealing. I would want to try this place if I visit Toronto.
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