Say Alo to the newest deluxe dining experience
One of Toronto’s most remarkable dining experiences unfolds at the gritty corner of Queen and Spadina.
Three floors above street level you’ll find the new Alo, a deluxe restaurant with an $89-a-person menu and Michelin-worthy service. The vibe Alo’s discrete entrance lies on Spadina Ave. behind a Hero Burger. A smiling hostess stands in the narrow vestibule, waiting to push the elevator call button for guests.
At the top is a handsome dining room, carved out of a former modelling agency and a dress shop. Commute Design gave it a mid-century modern feel with leggy chairs, elegant brass fixtures and smoked mirrors. Staff wear preppy uniforms of cropped pants, suspenders and brown oxfords from Club Monaco.
Alo feels relaxed, a fine-dining restaurant where the close-set tables are naked. Diners show up in shorts or yoga clothes. Hip hop plays under the thrum of conversation that builds over each three-hour meal. The service Service is as finely tuned as a Danish sound system. Everyone, from food runners up to co-owner/manager Amanda Bradley (formerly of George Restaurant), lines up to bring dishes to the tables.
But it’s the unexpected gestures that stand out, such as escorting diners to the washrooms instead of pointing the way. Or offering a choice of linen napkins in different colours so diners don’t get white fuzz on their black-clad laps.
Every detail is covered, from the precision tea timers to the branded stamps sealing every guest’s souvenir menu. Such thoughtfulness is on par with a Michelin one-star restaurant in France. The chef The driving force behind Alo — derived from the Latin for “nourish” and pronounced like the plant aloe — is chef/co-owner Patrick Kriss, 35. That’s him at the kitchen, watching tables like a hawk.
Alo opened July 16, though his plan for an ambitious tasting-menu-only restaurant “has always been percolating,” Kriss says.
Despite star turns at Acadia, Splendido and Manhattan’s fine-dining Daniel, Kriss is uncomfortable with self-promotion. He lets his pommes soufflés and charred tomato water speak on his behalf.
“I always believe you should be a chef first and if that is done well, the rest will follow,” he says. The food Dinner at Alo unfolds in nine courses at the table, more if you book the $109 extended menu at the kitchen counter. The classic-but-playful cuisine moves seamlessly from Japanese sashimi to French foie gras to the Moroccan preserved lemons on shredded lamb shoulder.
Boredom is rare. Dungeness crabmeat mixed with rice is a chili-spiked marvel. Salmon gets a lift from layers of corn: foam made from the husks, pudding from the kernels, powder from the prized Mexican huitlacoche fungus, here called “corn truffle.”
Braised veal trotter, coxcomb and mushrooms are made even richer with shaved foie gras. It’s delightful, especially when matched with a $14 glass of Domaine Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura, one of sommelier Anjana Viswanatha’s excellent pairing suggestions. The unexpected Bread comes as its own course, a warm and flaky bun with homemade butter under a glass dome.
Portions are manageable, dishware is handmade and ingredients handled imaginatively.
Then there is the double dessert, a trio if you count the sweet-savoury transition of plum sorbet with bulgur. One course includes your choice of chocolate, an impossible decision for some. Let me make it easier. The milk option tastes like a Caramilk wafer topped with white wisps, as if pastry chef Cori Murphy crystallized latte foam. White chocolate marries brilliantly with honeydew melon. Dark chocolate arrives as ganache.
Back on the street corner, the burger joint vents an oily mist into the night air. It’s a comedown to leave the oasis of Alo. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki