Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt, Walnut Butter Tart

Dessert Rating: Walnut Butter Tart Dark Chocolate Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream, 3.5 / 5 stars:

I enjoyed it, but it was small and no nearly as good as the peacan chocolate tart or other desserts I would enjoy at Wildfire.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt, Beef Brisket

Entrée/ Main Rating: Horseradish Glazed Beef BrisketCrunchy Mustard & Dill Pickle Gravy, Root Vegetable Mash, 3.5 / 5 stars:

This dish had a lovely taste, so it would be rated higher except that the meat was not real beef brisket which I am used to but resembled a dense red meat similar to processed smoked meat or corned beef. To its credit, my friend Cecilia enjoyed it.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Wrapped Halibut

Entrée/ Main Rating: Rice Paper Wrapped Halibut, Curried Broth, Braised Green Lentils, Thin Cut Vegetables, 3.5 / 5 stars:

The halibut was fresh, the taste was as if I made it at home (read: I am not a chef), the rice paper did not add anything to the taste or texture, I had no clue the broth had any curry in it whatsoever until I was referring to the menu while writing this up, and the lentils tasted like lentils period (not braised lentils). Yes, the vegetables were thinly cut, check. It was not terrible by any means, just nothing too special.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Spinach, Ciel des Charlesvoix, Bacon Salad

Appetizer/Starter Rating:  Spinach, Ciel des Charlesvoix & chilli maple roasted walnuts, Warm Bacon, Cranberry Vinaigrette (vegetarian), 3.5 / 5 stars:  

How a warm bacon salad can possibly be considered vegetarian is beyond me.  None the less, Cecilia made a much better starter choice than I! 

After googleing “Ciel des Charlesvoix”, those not in the know will discover that it is a semi-soft raw cow’s milk blue-veined cheese.  Since neither Cecilia nor I like blue cheese, the quality and richness in taste and the excellent pairing with the sweetly (no chili detected!) glazed walnuts was impressive.  The spinach and dressing was ordinary.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Shrimp, Squash & Manchego Empanada

Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, 4 Avenue Road, Toronto, ON, 416-324-1567

An attempt for a Saturday after yoga brunch at a bakery with a European feel resulted in discovering that Toronto’s “Pain du Quotidien”, my favourite brunch place discovered in Brussels and when living in London, is now under bankruptcy protection! Do Torontonians not appreciate over priced French baked goods and Italian buffalo mozzarella as much as the Parisians do? Now, what are two hungry girls to do?

The Toronto Metro Library to the rescue! A quick cross of Yonge street and a free online search later (yes, I am a luddite without a data plan), Cecilia and I were headed through Yorkville towards the Park Hyatt!

Overall Food Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars: A nice afternoon lunch atmosphere with good, but not great, food. Previous experiences at Annona have been more satisfying than today’s.

Atmosphere Rating: 4.5 / 5: I find the restaurant clean, classy, and the seating particularly comfortable. The best views are along the windows or the banquette seats facing them, which allows one to admire the urban business of the edge of Yorkville, Avenue road, or the entrance to the Park Hyatt.

Service Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars: Cecilia and I were starving. And we had to ask for the bread 3 times and it arrived after our appetizers.

Value Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars: A Winterlicous 3 course lunch at $20. Cecilia’s salad was much better than my deep fried dumplings. The fish was fresh but the taste was just okay, while Cecilia’s beef brisket tasted better. The desserts were a fine but needed to be a bit more substantial.

Appetizer/Starter Rating: Shrimp, Squash & Manchego Empanada Avocado Lime Dipping Sauce, 2.5 / 5 stars: Since I had no clue what an “Empanada” was, I mistakenly asked, “How many shrimp are there?” to which I was left uncorrected (I was told “There are 3 shrimp”). When I ultimately found out that Annona’s version of “Empanda” meant “Deep Fried Thick Flour Wrapped Dumpling with a filling”, it was a bit of a letdown, so they are not even the focal point of the pic above.  The table setting is pretty though, isn't it?  The guacamole dip was good though!