Aloette Restaurant

Probably one of my worst dining experiences in the whole city. We walked in and were seated at the awful tables outside despite an indoor table being available. Server acknowledged us right away so we thought service was going to be good.

Fast forward to an incredible THIRTEEN minutes later and the floor manager saw how bothered we were with the lack of service and came over to take our orders and bring some water. When he realized what was happening, the server quickly came to our table to try and take it over, to which the floor manager said “I got it” and gave the server a brutal staredown.

We got the famous truffle burger and to no one’s surprise it had close to none truffle flavour. If anything, the jus served with it saved the burger because everything else was just meh. Definitely not worth $40+. They sent a free pretzel bread to our table to make up for the bad service and the bread wasn’t good as well.

As someone that adores Alo, I was so disappointed with the entire experience in Aloette, to the point I”ll never step foot in it again.

I don’t recommend outdoor tables to anyone. It’s noisy, right on Spadina, service is very slow and there’s a lack of restaurant atmosphere that destroys the whole experience.

We have been here multiple times but this was our first time sitting on the patio. It was a nice change of environment - more quiet and brighter. Of course there were people walking by but they were not bothersome.

There were also some newer items on the menu, one of these being the sea bream. We were very impressed! The corn sauce was great and the sea bream was cooked well. We have tried most of their menu before and this is now our new favourite dish. The classics including the wedge salad (must order) and burger were consistently delicious.

Aloette was my first upscale solo dinner. I had the best time there. Everything, from the movie-like open kitchen with a vigorous female chef running the place with discipline, through a very friendly staff, to unforgettable seasonal and fresh food options - was simply fantastic! The only flaw I found uncomfortable was some guests’ wardrobe choices. I don’t think it’s appropriate to visit a restaurant downtown wearing Crocs and shorts. The manager should pay more attention to that matter, but maybe it’s the restaurant’s policy to keep it casual :)

Very elegantly appointed restaurant. Reservations are encouraged.

Service was attentive, but slow. Expect to spend at minimum 1 hour.

I ordered a medium well burger and received well done. You may want to order down a notch from your usual.

After hearing so many rave reviews about it, I wanted to try the burger. I visited on a random weekend night. The wedge salad was delicious, and I loved the textures and flavours. The fried chicken was okay; it was well-seasoned but not very juicy. The lamb skewer was mediocre and not particularly memorable. Now the burger was good, but I was disappointed. I wouldn’t rank it among the best burgers I’ve ever had in the city, definitely not in the top 5 in Toronto. The lemon meringue pie was also unremarkable. On the positive side, the service was fantastic, and the atmosphere was interesting, featuring an upscale retro diner vibe.

Generally liked some of the dishes here. We started with the octopus carpaccio which had chili oil that tasted exactly like lao gan ma. That chili oil is relatively affordable, so didn’t feel like the flavor belonged at this restaurant.

Then a few other meat dishes like the crudo and beef tartare. Tartare may be my favorite for the evening. Well seasoned with the right amount of acidity. Crudo was okay? Also found it weird that it was 3 pieces for over 20$, small portion and made it weird for sharing.

Then we had the lobster, which was a bit overcooked. Lobster came with clams and mussels which were very flavorful. Baguette was too dry. The lamb skewer was another favorite, it was the most tender lamb I’ve had, though some parts were too salty.

We finished with the popular lemon meringue pie. I love lemon flavored things so this was a sweet ending to the dinner! The meringue was too sweet for me, overpowering the lemon, but if you have a sweet tooth you will really enjoy this one.