The Beverley - Toronto

This was a big miss. You can’t just call yourself a fine dining, tasting menu restaurant without actually doing the work. We walked in to an overwhelming scent of several incense sticks burning inches away from the tables, my eyes were burning all night because we sat next to a planter that they had out an incense in, the smoke was literally wafting into our table all night. The service was very basic, our host didn’t know the wine list and couldn’t answer basic questions about the menu without checking with the kitchen. We ordered the 6 course tasting menu, which took forever because of very awkwardly long waits between underwhelming courses. One of the dishes was basically half a raw tomato that was sliced and fanned out with a teaspoon of tofu purée under it and the tomato wasn’t even ripe (it’s tomato season right now) and it was fridge cold. I didn’t even order drinks, my partner had a glass of wine and with the two tasting menus and just a single glass of wine, we spent more than 300$, left totally hungry and with a headache from the incense. While we were paying, our server suddenly became very present and started asking what our favorite dishes were and the whole experience was a huge miss. Absolutely do not recommend that you spend your money here. At most, maybe the a la carte menu for a snack. I am a chef and an avid restaurant diner and take no pleasure in writing negative reviews but that’s a lot of people’s hard earned money to charge for an experience like this. There’s more to food than plating and fermentation. So frustrating.

This was a big miss. You can’t just call yourself a fine dining, tasting menu restaurant without actually doing the work. We walked in to an overwhelming scent of several incense sticks burning inches away from the tables, my eyes were burning all night because we sat next to a planter that they had out an incense in, the smoke was literally wafting into our table all night. The service was very basic, our host didn’t know the wine list and couldn’t answer basic questions about the menu without checking with the kitchen. We ordered the 6 course tasting menu, which took forever because of very awkwardly long waits between underwhelming courses. One of the dishes was basically half a raw tomato that was sliced and fanned out with a teaspoon of tofu purée under it and the tomato wasn’t even ripe (it’s tomato season right now) and it was fridge cold. I didn’t even order drinks, my partner had a glass of wine and with the two tasting menus and just a single glass of wine, we spent more than 300$, left totally hungry and with a headache from the incense. While we were paying, our server suddenly became very present and started asking what our favorite dishes were and the whole experience was a huge miss. Absolutely do not recommend that you spend your money here. At most, maybe the a la carte menu for a snack. I am a chef and an avid restaurant diner and take no pleasure in writing negative reviews but that’s a lot of people’s hard earned money to charge for an experience like this. There’s more to food than plating and fermentation. So frustrating.

Dining at Ration is a whole experience!I went last week with a friend and indulged in the 10 course tasting menu with paired wines and I LOVED it.The interior is somewhat casual, maybe even rustic but the food is definitely fine dining and what you’d see served over a white tablecloth at other establishments.Ration focuses on locally sourced ingredients with efforts in sustainability making use of all parts of ingredients and seriously limiting food waste. It’s not something that I look for in a restaurant but I can appreciate the concept and find it interesting.The service is amazing! We were taken care of by Timika and Zane who were both very knowledgeable about the dishes and the ingredients and were able to answer the many questions we had. Timika overheard me saying to my companion that I found it hot in the restaurant and she came over and put on a little portable fan by me which was really accommodating.We were asked about dietary requirements and restrictions before the meal began. It was evident they wanted everything to be perfect for us.The food was amazing! The pairings of ingredients and the creative presentation and plating of the dishes made for one of my best dining experiences downtown Toronto (and I do dine out a lot). 10 courses sounds like a lot but it was the perfect amount of food. The pacing of the meal was great. Never waiting long between courses and never feeling rushed.Zane was informative about the restaurant’s practices and explained to us that they do a lot of in house fermentation and experimentation with ingredients.Our last couple courses were served to us by Chef Vishel. He clearly takes a lot of pride in his food and was excited to tell us about everything. We were invited after the meal to go downstairs and see his lab for a look behind the scenes where the magic happens. That was such a treat for us and a special way to end our amazing time spent at Ration.I highly recommend the restaurant and can’t wait to go back. I told them the food was better than Canoe and I meant it!

Visited for Sunday brunch at around 1:45pm, expecting service as per their website hours (Brunch from 10am-3pm). Unfortunately, we found the place locked and were told that the kitchen was closed for the day. Would appreciate consistent communication about the restaurant’s hours for a better experience next time. Thanks!

The brunch was great! I was surprised by the rich palette of our meal.The service was on point, very kind and considerate. She went above and beyond to make sure we felt at home during our meal.We even got to meet the chef and gets some tips and pointers.Highly recommend.