Hi y’all. Just got back from an excellent dinner at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen for Winterlicious. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the service. Here are some pics…

Mildred’s Temple Kitchen is situated in the very-hip Liberty Village area. There is underground parking in the same building as the restaurant which is always a big plus (especially in the winter!!!)

The decor is retro but minimalist chic – my pics don’t do the restaurant justice because I forgot to set my flash for the pictures. Overall, loved the ambiance and the casual chic feel of the place. It has a really nice bar/waiting area and the very friendly (and cute) bartender came over to to take our order while we waited.

Since we were there for Winterlicious, the menu choices were limited but the food was better than expected and the presentation was very well-done.

Instead of boring old artisan bread that is all the rage right now, Mildred’s served up warm cheese and chive biscuits with butter. Not quite sure if it is the “haute cuisine” fare that people may expect, but I really enjoyed it – simple comfort food to nibble at while you’re waiting for your appetizer.

My sister ordered the Ricotta Gnudi as her appetizer which was quite perfect (above right) and I ordered the Golden Beet Salad (not shown). I enjoyed her appetizer much more than I did mine,  since I found the dressing a touch too sour although the chevre was a nice touch with the beets.

For main, I had an amazing Pan Seared Trout with Greens and Mushrooms. (below left) The variety of mushrooms was perfect for the dish and it was a great combination since I feel that they are not often used in fish dishes. My sister had the Chicken Biryani (below right) – which was the restaurant’s interpretation of the classic Indian dish. The chicken was quite moist and the sauce had enough kick to make it interesting.

For dessert my sister had the Profiteroles with Lindt Chocolate Ice-Cream (once again, waaay better than my selection). I adored the silky Lindt ice-cream and the pastry shell of the profiteroles were light and perfect (too bad I didn’t order them too…lol) . I had the Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Creme Anglaise which I found was a bit too heavy and sweet.

All in all, it was a great dining experience. The staff had a really cute uniform/dress-code which I enjoyed – white button-downs, black tie or black suspenders, jeans and black Adidas originals with white stripes. It sounds wierd on paper but trust me, they were wearing classic basics that made everyone look good. 🙂 Plus, the servers who were mostly male are quite cute and most importantly, they were quick, efficient and friendly.

Usually, I find that Winterlicious is a hit or a miss. Even the supposed best resturants have less than stellar food or service since the restaurants do not seem to take Winterlicious patrons seriously as their regular ones. However, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen was impressive and I will definitely go back to enjoy their regular menu.

www.templekitchen.com

Happy Winterlicious, Toronto peeps!

E