Dinner at "Earth" - 1055 Yonge Street - January 8 - Reservations recommended
I'm no Ruth Reichl or Joanne Kates - I have no formal training in food preparation and expertise. I do believe I 'get' what service is about, so I'll focus on that aspect of our first visit to "Earth", which recently opened a few minutes' walk away from where we live. I'll also talk about the tastes and presentations of last night compared to many other restaurant experiences.
Neighbourhood restaurants for city dwellers add great value to community life if they're good and sustainable. I perceive the latest incarnation of the space at 1055 Yonge is not only sustainable - but an exciting and value-adding addition to the neigbourhood and the Yorkville/Rosedale area of Toronto - worthy of leaving your own 'hood for!
Having owned and operated a cafe, I sure get the importance of location - this only takes an establishment so far. 'Convenience' might draw folks back to buy a newspaper, pick up milk and bread - but one bad restaurant experience is seldom followed with, 'let's give it another try'. When we read the creative Ed Ho, owner of the Globe Bistro on the Danforth (not our 'hood so I've only heard how good it is) we allowed ourselves to be optimistic about the space. We'd tried out Plakuta after liking the space when it was '1055', partly because we appreciated the quiet atmosphere due to the lack of customers filling the place everytime we went there - quite simply, nothing about Plakuta invited us back. It seemed there was a lack of service vision and leadership around it, and we started placing bets on how long they'd last. Our friends in the area share restaurant experiences with us and vice versa - and it became obvious to me that word of mouth hasn't lost it's power to the internet. One word from a friend about how great or terrible or mediochre a new restaurant is seemed to spell out its future and success. (One just needs to pass by constantly packed 'Cafe Nervosa' and look at the empty 'True' restaurant - a pretty enough place almost right next door to Nervosa which we were turned off by with long waits, disorganised service and cold coffee which they didn't think needed remedying.)
Judging from how busy and lively "Earth" was last night, word of mouth is positive - and our comments to friends and neighbours will be glowing as well.
Greeting - warm and friendly, and coats taken and hung up by the greeter who's job seems to be pretty much dedicated to welcome and see folks get relieved of their coats. The space was impressively done - chic yet warm, with tones of silver in varying light fixtures and bankettes mixed with wood accents from what looked like old railway ties combined to make a stunning beginning to the evening. The bar is long and sleek with very comfortable chair-stools - we could easily imagine eating there if the tables were all booked. We'd made a reservation to be on the safe side, not really thinking we'd need one - and were sat at a table by the inside window (which looks out on the seasonal patio space). As the place filled up after 7 p.m. we were glad we did.
Our waiter was excited about everything - our being there (key) us having a great experience (key) and about being part of "Earth". There was nothing repetitive or eye-rolling as he highlighted the specials - he sounded genuinely proud of what he was able to offer, and knew the details thoroughly. When we asked about menu items, he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic - selling the uniqueness of the flavours and complimenting us on our selection, creating more excitment and 'looking forward' as we ordered. We'd looked at the dinner menu beforehand (several menu options are available online) but our server made everything sound more delicious.
We got our water right away - no ice - it's unusual that we actually get it with no ice when requested - and the wine was delivered and opened soon after.
http://www.globeearth.ca/Menus/dinner/tabid/9411/Default.aspx
The food was very good - the pepper squash soup laced with cloves and other spices was the soup of the day and exquisitely different tasting. We enjoyed the local mushroom tagliatelle and Elk shepherd's pie very much, and the desserts were lovely and different as well. We look forward to sampling the 'plate of the day' on another visit.
The service was professional yet warm and sensitive to our experience. Our server was attentive and his timing excellent; however as the place filled up after our coffee, we needed to flag someone else down to get the bill. Flagging down someone for any reason sends to send a signal to the guest that they've been forgotten about; if there's a least worse time for this to happen it's to get the bill.
A more-than-good experience for a place that's opened so recently - my take is that Ed Ho has 'nailed it' - transforming the space at 1055 Yonge into a restaurant with great potential for success - a favourite 'hood restaurant. We look forward to coming back again very soon.
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