Inspired flavors from South America, this is another home run by the Oliver and Bonaccini group. I came with a handful of girlfriends to celebrate Galentine's day and we were treated so well! From a super cute isolated area downstairs to a customized chef choice menu.... It was hard to decide which dish was our favourite. We started with a soup that surprised everyone! The sopa de montonga tripe and chickpea soup was flavorful, rich and delicious. We had to remind ourselves to pace ourselves because of the long menu ahead of us, LOL! I'll post a bunch of pictures that really don't do the dishes Justice because you can't taste them! I personally liked the appetizers the best because the eggplant and empanadas were out of this world. Thank you so much to Chef Doug for the super thoughtful menu and even for coming by to say hello a couple times! And also to the staff for being so attentive and friendly! read more

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You want a place with stunning decor and intricate menu, this is your place to go! Lena is a beautiful Argentinian restaurant with some really stunning dishes. From the beautiful bar, to stellar ambiance it definitely gives lavish vibes. When it comes to the service, well thats a whole other thing. The food takes quite a long time to arrive, the pricing is quite high, and the servers are not the kindest. Food overall was okay, not something that would be worth my return back. It was a very busy night, so it could be just the service was very backed up. Just for the prices that were paid, you would expect better! Tried the Rib Eye chop which okay. Again not a bad place to go, just wish I had a better experience here as I was really excited to try it out! 5/10 Recommend! read more

Leña Restaurante - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I went with two friends and we ordered a few things to share: empanadas, a salad, paella, and churros. We really enjoyed the empanadas! The paella, salad and churros didn't match our expectations for the price point. Perhaps it was the night we went, but the service was quite slow and it took us a while to find a waiter who would be able to help us get the bill at the end of the night. The restaurant interior feels high end and is beautifully decorated. read more

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Came for happy hour and the staff were so accommodating to our group of seven without a reservation. We only needed the table for an hour for quick drink and bites before we were headed to our dinner reservation elsewhere. We were seated quickly and was reminded they needed the table back within the hour for their dinner reservation - no problem! Service was attentive and we ordered our round of drinks and food from both the Dinner menu and Bar Bites menu which is available from 2:30pm - 5:00pm. Food was okay overall in my opinion (3.5/5), drinks were also okay. Think there could be some improvement to the food menu overall with flavour profiles, but it was a good choice for happy hour. Here's what we got: Lena Sourdough Foacaccia 3/5 - Fresh baked bread with a spread. Warm and crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. Can skip the dish, but a good filler, especially for happy hour. Yuca Fries 4/5 - Can't go wrong with something fried and crispy. Great for sharing with the table. Would order this again. Beef Tartare 3/5 - Lots of pickled crunch to the beef tartare. Crispy baguette slices that was a good pairing. I could probably pass on this next time as the flavours just weren't to my liking. Elderflower Pisco Sour 5/5 - Love myself a pisco sour. This was beautifully made and tastes even better. Came with el gobernador pisco, st-germain, grapefruit, lime and egg white. A great cocktail to order! A good happy hour spot. I think I'll need to come back to try their other food items to make a better judgement if I like the restaurant or not. Drinks were great though! read more

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Came here for lunch with coworkers on a Tuesday. It was pretty busy, but it's a spacious restaurant once you get deeper inside and the atmosphere is very nice. I had the 8oz beef flatiron steak with chimichurri and fries. It was cooked pretty well but the sauce tasted burnt and I looove chimichurri, so I was a bit disappointed and didn't enjoy my dish as much. The steak could have used a little salt for more flavour, but on a positive note the fries were delicious! Crispy and thin with good seasoning. I would come back to give the menu a second chance - maybe try some appetizers and a different main, but probably not anytime soon. read more

Leña Restaurante - 8oz beef flatiron steak - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Lena occupies one corner of the Hudson Bay department store building on the corner of Yonge and Richmond. Gayle and I were here to enjoy lunch with our friend Ben N., who we met in Peru last year on the same Andes Explorer train journey. He just happened to be in Toronto for business, which made our visit here a special treat! The only downside of this reunion was that his Wife Krista (an Ontario native) had work (and dog) obligations at home (Tampa Florida). But we carried on the conversation like she was very much involved. It was a great meet-up and conversation, including our help in arranging an AirBnb and Driver for them in Cape Town South Africa. I really enjoyed Lena for it's Argentinian-influenced cuisine, the nice table by the window we enjoyed, nice lunch selections (I had empanadas), the attentive service we received. Best of all, the restaurant enhanced our homecoming experience as it discreetly catered to our needs. read more

Leña Restaurante - Gayle, Eric, and Ben - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Spent my birthday night this year dining at this place! The place was on my wish list since the longest time and I finally got the chance to check it off. The food, the ambiance, the drinks and the hospitality, everything was top notch. For food we tried their: Lala's spicy fried Bravas potatoes - this had a slightly spicy taste and I found it very similar to a very popular Bengali dish (alur dom) Local burrata cheese - loved it! Grilled whole Branzino - again, loved this! Veal milanesa - 9 oz grilled bone-in veal chop that comes with hen's egg , yuca fries and I also got their mashed potatoes which are my absolute favourite For dessert we got their Luis Felipe cake and that tasted yummy! They also have a speakeasy called Bar Lala which I'm eager to try on my next visit! read more

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I've been to Lena a few times, this is my first review! Ambiance: This restaurant is part of the Hudson's Bay and people tend to overlook this place and don't realize it's a restaurant. Definitely a hidden gem. The decor is so cute and retro. The washrooms are so cute with wall papers. Very modern look restaurant. Perfect for date night or drink night. Service: Service is always amazing each time I was there. Server made some great recommendations. Food: We order cocktails form their drink menu. It was so pretty and taste good too! Amazing food each and every time! My favs and must have are the shishito peppers, it's like roulette you'll never know when you get a spicy one. It's topped with cheese and salt and pepper but a hint of lime. The empanadas are to die for. Especially with the sauce. We ordered the veal chop Milanese so good. It came with a duck egg on top. With a side of collard green, tomato sauce and yuca fries. They have the best yucca fries. Yucca reminds me of taro or cassava. It's a root vegetable. We finished off with churros. Light and crispy with chocolate and dulce de leche dipping sauces. All in all an amazing meal and experience! read more

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Great service! Small portioned food with a bit of a price tag attached to it. Appetizers and mains have similar pricing. The restaurant itself is quite beautiful, 2 levels, bar lounge in lower level and modern/luxury style in upper floor. It was a wonderful experience here, however I don't feel I would return as the portions were a tad small for the regular sized person. read more

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We wanted to give Leña a try after we were turned down for not having reservations. In the off chance you want to come here even after reading this review, do this at your own risk and make sure to have a reservation. Even if the restaurant is empty or for happy hour, you need a reservation. The drinks are reasonable for happy hour but they look like the juice is poured out of a Costco juice box and adding a tiny amount of alcohol. The pisco sour is just ok. They're prompt to get you your check which goes to show they'd much rather get you out then let you enjoy. Just goes to show that what looks fancy on the outside is not necessarily great on the inside. read more

Leña Restaurante - two cocktails on a table - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The food at Leña is plated beautifully, and tastes amazing as well. We also ordered a couple of drinks each here, and all were well done. The service was friendly and attentive, and the server was happy to chat with us about drink recommendations and provide some thoughts on food options we were considering. The overall vibe of this place is very relaxed and the interior is aesthetically pleasing. You can definitely take some nice pictures here! read more

Leña Restaurante - A dessert special cake with raspberry - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Good experience but expected a bit better! Had a dinner last night at o&b's lena restaurant. Was so happy to finally make it after wanting to go to this spot for years! Service: 5/5 Our server was terrific! Knew what we wanted before we asked and had the answers to all our questions! Food: 3/5 While the steak was a solid 5/5 the other items we ordered were below average or average. We also never got our started complimentary bread which was dissapointing! Ambiance: 2/5 We were seated in the extended area of the restaurant not the beautiful bar area which was really dissapointing, but understand they were busy and nothing could be done. Items to note: Love that they do their happy hour drinks even on saturdays till 6pm - big bonus!!! The voodoo juice was delicious! Churros. 2/5 Weren't the best but decent the Chocolate sauce (free) was delicious but we also got the dulche de Leche sauce (+$3) which was not good. Just watered down caramel. Chorizo appetizer: dissapointing but maybe because it's just not our palette. Beef tartare: was good but not amazing. Steak was 5/5! DELICIOUS especially for the price point ($37) and portion. 100% worth it! Overall, the service and steak made a lovely evening but some items were lacking. read more

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Fantastic spot for a fancy brunch date! The vibes, the food, the staff -- all absolutely great. read more

Leña Restaurante - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We had great service in a very nice ambiance. The restaurant is much bigger than you think with multi floors. The tables are spread nicely to give diners some privacy. The food was all very good. The drinks were great too. I had the Hand if God tequila cocktail and it was so delicious. My friend had a smoky margarita which was so good too. I wanted a luscious sour but my friend was from Peru and the pisco here is from Chilie so that was a no go. We had the empanadas so good. The avocado salad. I did find this was lacking some flavour and shared the steak frites. The garlic aolie was so so good. read more

Taken out to lunch by my new boss on my 2nd day with the team. The highest marks go to the venue for It's ambience. As our lunch meal we were offered some a la carte, or if we wish they had a fixed price 3 course choice. We all basically had 1 meal. I had trout with some green beans and cherry tomatoes. The fish was cooked well. But the meal itself was mediocre. Notable was the service which was friendly, prompt and flawless. read more

Great food, ambience and service. We ordered the ribeye chop to share, empanadas and their special of the day escargot with gnocchi. Ribeye eye chop comes with veggies and sides, could definitely feed 3 people. Steak was cooked perfectly and their chimichurri sauce goes well with everything. Empanadas were great to share. The escargot and gnocchi had great flavours, however the gnocchi was too soft/mushy for our liking. Others have ordered the trout, lamb, chicken and buttered steak and said everything was great. We came here for a birthday. Great for occasions, but our wallet hurts a little. read more

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Great service, great ambiance and amazing food! From appetizers, entrees, desserts to cocktails - 5/5! The focaccia with tomato spread was a perfect pairing. Beef tartare is a must! We also had mussels and the burger which aren't pictured here but both cooked perfectly! Highly recommend! read more

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Friendly service and great downtown vibe. Food was solid. I had the empanadas (recommend), yucca fries (recommend), and short rib hash sandwich (not so much). Worth checking out if you're in the area. read more

Leña Restaurante - Short rib hash - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Came here after a relatively large bite at a happy hour after work. We had a reservation that we had to push and reduce in total count but the restaurant easily accommodated. The space was pretty nice, it gave a very lounge feel and the high ceilings gave it a nice ambience. Unfortunately the price for the food was higher than expected, especially for the quantity you got. The flavor involved was ... fine. No complaints and nothing bad to report but also nothing too special. Maybe some of the other dishes are better but the ones we got were just fine. Don't think I'd come back unless others really wanted to come here or try other dishes. read more

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Came here for my 5 year anniversary with my partner. After hearing so many amazing reviews of this restaurant, we never have been more disappointed. We went on Nov 1st at 9:15pm. We were sat "upstairs" where we were given a pretty tiny table and waited a whole 15 minutes for the hostess to come back and provide us water. While she was pouring our glasses she suggested we could move down the main dining area if we wished, which made us question why we were sat upstairs. After another 5 minutes (20 minute mark) we were then greeted by a male waiter. At this point we were a little frustrated as the entire 20 minutes of us waiting, there was multiple staff members walking by us repeatedly without acknowledging us at all. My partner asked politely if we could speak to a manager as this was suppose to be a really lovely night and experience for us. We were very hungry & parched as we had a busy day and were excited to finally have something to eat. The waiter said he would get the manager promptly. After another 10 minutes of waiting and witnessing our server go behind the bar and chat with coworkers smiling, laughing & continued to serve other tables, we made the decision to leave. As we headed to the door the hostess asked why we were leaving, we said it's been over half an hour and we hadn't even taken a drink order yet or had the manager come by. The waiter came running to the door as we were leaving and began to give us attitude, raising his voice, while the hostess was talking to us, saying he was going to ask the manager to come. We said it was okay and we would like to leave. My partner asked for a business card and the security provided it from the hostess. As we walked out, we heard the waiter yell out something in our direction angrily, but we couldn't quite hear what he said. The unprofessionalism of this place was absolutely disgusting and ruined our anniversary night out. We can't even comment on the drinks or food as it didn't get that far. Stay clear. read more

Leña Restaurante - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Our food is grocery under cooked! We paid for appetizers-and drinks left we " oh we are sorry" We are sorry to spend our time there ! Nop won't go back ! read more

We went as a group for our company Christmas dinner and had a private dining experience with cocktails, Canapés, preset menu and some nice red and white wine. With a well known chef and their signature South American cuisine, I had high hopes and the place did not disappoint. The service and food were top notch and the whole experience from booking the event, the seating, the ambiance and the dining were all just great and all of us left the place well satisfied after partaking of great food and even greater camaraderie and fun. Other than the Canapés the group had broken avocado salad, sweet potato soup, piri-piri Cornish hen, potato and saffron risotto and Rigatoni. Finishing it off with Burnt Cheesecake with charred clementine. Personally I had the Cornish hen and the salad and of course the cheesecake. All absolutely lip smackingingly delicious and presented really well. read more

Leña Restaurante - The Canapés - smoked pepper, yuka fry, Tostas, Patatas Bravas, Empanadas etc. - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I went with a group of 6 on a weekend for someone's birthday. We ordered a lot of starters to share: yuca fries, mushroom skewers, empanadas and sourdough focacia. I was surprised by how much flavour the mushroom skewers had. I also liked the crust of the empanadas quite a bit. We also ordered a bottle of wine, which gave us a deal of getting oysters for $1 each (good deal!) For my main food, I ordered the shrimp ceviche as I had a bit of a late lunch earlier in the day. I must say that, although it had a unique flavour and texture to it, I was quite disappointed by the amount that they gave. I'm pretty sure if it was scooped together, it would have been smaller than one empanada. If you're hungry, I would say to get an actual entree instead as those looked like they actually had a decent quantity of food. For dessert, I got the alfajores which were ok. We did get the burnt cheesecake for the birthday person, and they wrote "happy birthday on it" when we requested. It also tasted good and taught me that burnt cheesecake is actually a dish and not actually "burnt". The server was quite attentive and we were able to have our coats put away to give space. We had also brought flowers for the birthday person, and the server was kind enough to get a vase for them and wrapped them up when we were ready to go! read more

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Definitely want to give it more than three stars. However, the food is near latino (Argentinian) so don't come to experience something authentic but rather an elevated take (and North Americanized) version of some great dishes. Nonetheless, it is great! Moreover, have attended and managed a few events downstairs and highly recommend the venue. It is is self-contained (you do share washrooms) but easy to manage and the staff are great to deal with. Almost five stars. Would suggest one or two authentic* dishes. read more

Leña Restaurante - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Delicious food that is prepared fresh and a great menu and tasty cocktails. We came here for dinner before a theatre show and although not everything was perfect in terms of timing, the restaurant staff and management team made up for it big time! Although we had some timing issues the food here is delicious! I had pasta and it was fresh and so tasty! We also started with the Blistered Shishito Peppers (loved them!) $1 Oysters, and Lena Bread (out of this world). Our main courses were fantastic and at the end of the night as we had to rush through dinner and close to missing our show (by the way we didn't) they covered our meals. I've been back several times and it's always a great experience and fresh and tasty food. read more

First time here, been on my bucketlist for a while! Came here yesterday with a friend, and we were offered to sit in the main dining area or downstairs at the Bar Lala, and loved the vibe at Bar Lala (dimmed lights, trendy setting), so we sat downstairs. The server (can't quite remember his name, but it was definitely a spanish name haha), was amazing. He was very kind and had many suggestions on what we should eat or drink. The food tasted lovely, we had the empanadas (the chimichurri sauce was to die for), and I had a chicken dish (which was really well cooked and the mash was flavourful). Overall lovely experience, great vibe in the bar with many lovely drink options. Will definitely be back! read more

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My friend and I made reservations for Summerlicious lunch. It wasn't too busy and the decor was lovely walking in. We were seated and had a glance at the menu, although we already knew what we were going to order. Our server came to our table and we advised him we knew what we were going to order already. He said he would return with out water. He brought us our water but then left and didn't take our order. Then I got a call from the restaurant; it had seemed that the person who seated us, although she checked our reservation, didn't check us in. Luckily, the person who had called me took notice of me on my phone and asked if I was the person on the reservation. He advised he wanted to make sure we were coming even though we were already there. I advised him that we had been waiting some time to place our order, even though our server knew we were ready to order. Luckily, Johnny took care of us and took our order right away and kept checking in on us without being too overbearing. Overall, the meals were delicious! I wasn't sure what to expect because I had read some awful reviews of this place. The food was flavourful, great portions and my friend and I were both left more than satisfied with the entirety of the meal. The Potato Soup was flavourful and had some nice crunchy bits for texture which I appreciated. The Beef Pinxto Skewers were delicious and the best potato salad I have ever eaten! The Coconut Cake was flavourful and light and moist and I loved that I could see the vanilla bean in the cream. The pineapple compote added a nice touch as well! In terms of critiques, I would advise using a different plate for the Vegetable Escabeche. The plate was small and the design had holes. The dish had an aioli which would spill off the plate through the holes if you weren't careful. The Peach Cobbler, as delicious as it was, could've benefited from the cobbler and peaches being a bit warm. Everything was cold and usually when you think of a cobbler, you think of warm fruit and granola. The inconsistency of the staff's demeanor was not pleasant. Johnny was great and friendly, yet the person who seated us didn't seem like she wanted to be there. I can appreciate people having a bad day, and in the hospitality industry, you need to leave your sh*t at thet door. Our original server, went from not paying too much attention to us to then being overbearing. Seconds from receiving our dessert, before even tasting it, he came to our table and asked how the dessert was. Quite annoying. Also, when I told him to give my compliments to the chef, he came back and made a comment of "the chef came out but said she didn't know you." I never said I knew her, I just said to give my compliments. Very awkward! This place has the potential to be great, however the service needs some tuning. Manners and social interactions and how to talk to people can go a long way. Although the food was delicious, this is not a place I would recommend nor return to. read more

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Good but not great. My mom's a big fan of the restaurant, so she finally took me and my fiancée to Leña for brunch. Modern cuisine with a South American flare is the theme of the restaurant. The restaurant is connected to Saks Fifth Ave shopping mall. It's a small physical space, but it's nicely decorated with an upscale Art Deco theme making it feel quite cozy. One-third of their brunch menu is their cocktail list. Many customers were sipping on their Aperol Spritzers and they looked good. Coming of an international flight, I stuck with coffee. There are a lot of heavier items on the brunch menu, including Steak Frites, brisket burger and beef empanadas. There are some lighter items, including soup, a "12 vegetable salad" and avocado toast. I opted for the Steak Frites, my fiancée ordered the avocado toast and my mom shared the salad and "Lala's tortilla" - a Spanish omelette layered with potatoes and sweet onions. My Steak Frites were good. The highlights were the fries, which were very crispy without being oily. The steak was cooked to order, but I found it a bit under-seasoned. The avocado toast was a bit strange. It consisted of whole pieces of sliced avocado as opposed crushed and seasoned avocado. I thought it was just okay. The vegetable salad was also pretty average and I didn't care for the the "milk mayonnaise" dressing. The one thing that I absolutely hated was the Spanish omelette. It was cold, gelatinous and lacking any flavor. Akin to eating cold scrambled eggs, it was one of worst restaurant dishes i've ever had. The atmosphere was very nice, however brunch service was slow and inattentive. It was busy, but it would have been nice to have a refill of coffee. Our waters were refilled once, which is better that none I guess. We also struggled to flag down our waitress for the bill. Overall, Leña is just an okay place. I think my mom hyped the place up too much for me, or maybe it's a better dinner than brunch spot. read more

We were here with an Opentable reservation for lunch on a long weekend Monday and have a great experience. The restaurant is just gorgeous. So much interesting details. The downstairs bar area has this old school night club vibe and I would love to have a drink there anytime! But how was the food?? We ordered a few items to shared and they were all nicely plated and have a twist of subtle South American flare. Salt Cod Fritters w/caper & dill crema ($13) 12 Vegetable Salad w/milk mayonnaise, charred & raw vegetables, tomatillo & coriander dressing ($15) 7 oz Grass-Fed Butler's Steak w/fried quail eggs, asparagus, sherry aïoli, chimichurri & fries ($29) Special Mention: I am not a salad person but the 12 Vegetable Salad is one of the most tasty and interesting salad I had. A medley of cooked, pickled, charred and raw vegetables in perfect harmony! I will be back! read more

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I hadn't even heard of this spot before it was chosen as the spot to celebrate my sister's birthday so I'm so glad I got to try it. They were able to accommodate our big group which was a plus. Such a beautiful and elegant ambiance. I got the spaghetti which was absolutely delicious! I also got to taste the empanadas which wow were so tasty. I got a side of fries which were so delicious. Definitely some of the best tasting fries I've ever had - thin cut and and sprinkled with a yummy seasoning. Our waiter was great and the food didn't take too long to arrive at the table. Would definitely return. read more

My partner and I came here for a date, mostly because they got a gift card for Leña so we thought why not! The ambiance here is stunning. They even have elevators to make it physically accessible to go to the 3 different levels. The washrooms were all individual which is nice. Our waiter was extremely pleasant and informative. Now here is where things fall flat: the food. Let me say the food is subpar. You would think the food would taste better considering the price and the decor of this place! I got the steak coulette. The steak was a bit chewy and not the most tender steak I've eaten. My partner got the veal and it was overcooked and dry. The yuca fries that came with their veal dish was delicious though, but that's not the main part of the dish. For dessert i got the berry cheesecake and my partner got tres leche cake. The tres leche didn't taste like tres leche. It felt like it was a mousse version of it. I feel like there are other places that do a better job of steak (my parent's house) and the tres leche (D'Amo). read more

Leña Restaurante - Steak. Across is the veal - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Cute restaurant with very eclectic decor. We came here for the Summerlicious 2019 menu. We got the mushroom empanada, albacore tuna tartare, Lena chopped salad, Atlantic salmon, flourless chocolate cake, and medialuna. The empanadas were actually a little dry overall, but still delicious. The tuna tartare was quite lovely. I'm a huge fan of raw seafood and taro chips--and this dish had both! The salad was a little lackluster, as we expected the salad part to be at least not iceberg lettuce. The salmon was perfectly cooked though, and the salad pairing was great too. The flourless chocolate cake was expectedly very rich and dense--a bit too sweet for my taste but I can appreciate the cake. The medialuna, on the other hand, was actually quite refreshing and light. All the food was pretty good with decent portion sizes. What made me the most confused was that the dessert was the size of the appetizer and entree combined. Overall a lovely dining experience. The food is good, but I'm not sure if it's quite worth the price tag. I likely wouldn't return outside of Summerlicious promos. read more

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Amazing service and celebration for our anniversary! They forgot nothing! Erica thank you for your white glove service and your team. We will be back!! read more

Horrible Brunch! If you are looking for slow service and burnt food: that's the place to be! We came here for brunch and what a disappointment that was. We ordered the Full Gaucho Breakfast plate, which was composed of burnt eggs, burnt bacon, burnt potatoes, burnt tomatoes and extra dry (hard rock) unbuttered bread. Half of the plate was inedible. When we asked for some butter to at least have some of the dry bread, guess what: butter was charged extra. Overall, a horrible experience. Do. Not. Recommend. read more

I like the decor and atmosphere of this restaurant. The main floor (also bar area) feels very warm, inviting and classy. Great spot for brunch or coffee while watching the passerby on Yonge street. This restaurant is fairly large as there are additional seatings in the upper and lower floor. As for the food, every dish was beautifully presented. Loved their platings! I had the salmon entree from the Summerlicious menu, and the salmon was cooked perfectly. The MediaLuna dessert is pretty much just a croissant topped with ice cream and a compote. Food - 3 stars Atmosphere - 4 stars Rounding this one up to four stars read more

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Went there for summerlicious, the decor the atmosphere were all very impressive. I felt cold when I sat down and they adjusted the Ac for me right after which is very nice of them. Let's talk about food: Appetizer: I got the avocado cucumber soup. It has shrimp and bacon bits(?) in the soup, it is sour but pretty good as an appetizer for hot hot summer. If u don't like sour stuff or ice cold soup, don't order this. My friends ordered the tuna appetizer and they all enjoyed it Entree: shaved lamb sandwich . THE FRIES was very good, flavorful and crispy. the taste of lamb is very obvious, and it is actually pretty cold which made it a little gross. I wish it is piping hot and I wish they added more flavors to the lamb. My friends got the salmon, and they said the skin was crispy and very delicious. Don't get the pasta, it is not good at all. Dessert: mediluana. It has crispy croissant, sour cream icecream and pineapple compote. The sour cream icecream is soooo good, it is salty and sweet, which balances well with the pineapple compote. But it is pretty heavy, I barely could finish mine. Don't get the milk tart, it is literally just pool of condensed milk, way too sweet. Service: they waited WAY TOO LONG between each course, all I remember was us waiting for the waiter to get our plates way after we finished the plates. I wouldn't go back again. read more

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Lovely restaurant with a lovely atmosphere. We randomly walked in here for dinner after a long day of work, and thankfully they had a table for the 5 of us. The food is quite nice and kind of reminds me of a French style. I got the braised organic chicken and Pinot Grigio. The chicken was good and the mashed potatoes were very good and buttery. The mushrooms were fine, but there were pieces of very hard boiled egg whites that were a bit strange. They were cooked to death and really firm and hard. Never had eggs like that before. Maybe it's a cuisine I'm not familiar with? I ate them anyway. They was a box of red poppy pins at the front that you could get with any donation for Remembrance Day, so that was nice, too. read more

Leña Restaurante - Braised organic chicken and Pinot Grigio - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Came here for Winterlicious. The dishes were amazing. Shrimp & Artichoke Pate - Very tasty. They added paprika mixed oil into the creamy dipping sauce, with the crispy, thin and big taro chips, yummy. Chicken Brochette - Chicken was juicy and tender, would have been better if they were marinated, but luckily got covered by the broth. The mushrooms and fries soaked with broth tasted really nice. Dulce de Leche Torte - The shortbread, coffee syrup and lemon hollandaise were such great combo, although was a bit too sweet to me. Chocolate Cake - You gotta have it if you love the bitterness as it contained heavy portion of chocolate! Warm and soft, covered by the chocolate syrup with roasted almonds on top. SO GOOD! One star to the cake. Orange & Almond Cake - Normal pound cake with syrup, too sweet for me. Service was great. The waitress was really nice. They served me the wrong dish so I had to wait for them to remake. I actually didn't wait too long, but they still provided an extra dessert to make it up. The whole lunch was only $28 and it was really worth it. I had a very bad Winterlicious experience at Yuzu No Hana last year, but this meal gained me back. I will probably come back another time for their regular menu. read more

Listen, not every restaurant can be a home run. There are things about Leña which are lovely. Our waiter was pleasant and informative. The ambiance of this place is top notch. The bar area, as an example, is a spectacular spot to meet friends for drinks or apps. It's location is ideal, right in the heart of the city. And the lower level has another gorgeous bar area (which was closed) and a WC area that's strangely amazing. But then we get to the food. I wanted to love this place so much, but the food just didn't deliver. The muscles were "off" and tough (my daughter didn't dare eat them all). The potato soup was bland and "soulless." The focaccia bread app was lifeless toasted bread. My burger was decent if not messy. My wife's salmon was probably the best meal at the table, though the salad side was disappointing. Nothing zinged. There just wasn't anything for us to cheer. And for a beautiful place in the heart of the city, we were expecting a level above. So in summary, beautiful place. Great staff. Lovely ambiance. I'd look to this place as a GREAT date place where you mostly talk and have drinks. But if you're looking for that stellar downtown, superior meal experience, look elsewhere. read more

Leña Restaurante - Downstairs bar area. - Latin American Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

After wanting to visit Lena for awhile, I finally made it for Licious. It is a gorgeous venue with clean lines and classy décor. Although there's no strict dress code, I'd recommend wearing something a little nicer than the jeans and tshirt that I wore. Awkward. For a starter, we both ordered the Chilled Albacore Tuna Ceviche. The thin slices of tuna were tender and fresh. The crispy fava beans and crema added extra layers of texture making this dish very interesting. I couldn't resist the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Brochette as my main course. The beef was so tender and juicy, it practically chewed itself. Perfectly seasoned, I wished I had a second brochette! The large mound of mashed potatoes were equally addicting and I managed to clean my plate. The side of roasted red peppers added another dimensions to the textures on the plate. For dessert, I went with the Ontario Strawberries and my friend had Troy's Warm Donuts. The strawberries were perfect portion after a savoury meal. The strawberries were sweet with no tartness, as Ontario Strawberries are known to be. The vanilla cream was mellow and helped balance the sweetness. The donuts were not as big of a hit. They were a little hard and heavy for a dessert after a meal like that. Service was prompt. Our server provided great service, but didn't engage with us. I tried to have a conversation and threw a few jokes out there, but all I got was a polite smile in response. Just be careful when asking for water that you don't end up with a $7 bottle of still water. Specifically ask for tap water, if that's what you want, which is what I actually wanted. The beer selection was ok, no craft, but a few decent imports. My friend said the wine list was great though. A lot of people were ordering cocktails too. The food was so good, I want to go back to try their regular menu! read more