TO Restaurants: Loire

I went to dinner Saturday night at Loire (one of the best new restaurants in Toronto in 2009).  Loire is one of the restaurants on Harbord Street that drew us choose our neighborhood to live in.  Before we ever ate there, it seemed like a restaurant I would really enjoy with great food, wine, service, and atmosphere but an unpretentious attitude (what my husband would call a “good vibe”).  After two visits now I can say it competes with our favorite restaurants from New York on all of these fronts.  Both times we’ve been there the employees have been knowledgeable and attentive, and everything we ate was presented beautifully.  In the summer the terrace is fantastic.

Saturday we arrived just minutes before 10 pm not knowing the kitchen closed at 10.  I thought the restaurant handled the situation beautifully.  The manager/co-owner (not positive his name or role but he has been fantastic both times we’ve been to Loire) approached us gracefully and asked if we could do what we could to order the food quickly as the kitchen was scheduled to close, then clarifying that we could take all the time in the world to eat and drink. 

To start we enjoyed a parsnip soup – perfectly seasonable for a cool fall day.  The parsnip was pureed and topped with shaved apple which gave it a nice texture and a fresh addition to the fall soup.

Additionally we had a fantastic salad with greens, poached pears, blue cheese, and clusters of sunflower and other seeds.  The ingredients tasted fresh, and I enjoyed every bite.

Loire has a full bar, but I had a glass of Pinot Noir from Languedoc that I really enjoyed.  Then, we shared a pan seared speckled trout served over a saffron orzo.  The skin was perfectly crisp, and the rest of the fish tender.  It was topped with some sort of aioli, which I didn’t think it needed but I just didn’t eat it.

For desert we shared the special which was a vanilla bread pudding served with raspberry sorbet and a cappuccino.  Though I pictured the bread pudding with a non-fruit ice cream (vanilla or similar), both the bread pudding and sorbet were some of the best I’ve ever had, and the raspberry cut the richness of the bread pudding nicely.

Prices are pretty comparable to similar restaurants here and in New York.  The dining room is small, which adds to the cozy feel but could make it difficult to get in when the patio, which doubles the size of the restaurant, is not open.  The food is fantastically fresh and flavorful and adjusted to use local and seasonal ingredients – which as you’ll see is a huge draw for me.  I’d highly recommend the restaurant to anyone.