Byblos

I was so looking forward to this place, but like other Unilocalers have written, it’s really overhyped. In the end, the food’s not really that memorable and the vibe was typical high-​end King street– loud, crowded, trying too hard, heavy on the blowhards, kinda sanitized.
The roasted beets were quite special, for sure, but everything else we ordered– the baked fluke, shakshouka, the olives, and the kibbeh were just kinda meh. Like I can do better at home. Maybe we ordered wrong, sure, but the service felt rushed and micromanaged and they didn’t have the wine I wanted from the menu– vibe things that, if I’m going to risk the ugh of the entertainment district for the promise of a great meal, make the experience a little extra disappointing.

Really enjoyed this place and their take on Middle Eastern/​Israeli food.
Shared the following dishes with the young lady:
Lamb Ribs
Labneh
Baked Fluke
Jeweled Rice
Turkish Dumplings
My favorites were the lamb ribs and labneh, perfection in taste and presentation.
Our server was awesome. Not only did he go over the menu in full detail and provide recommendations, he also went out of his way to give us a list of some of his favorite bars in the area.

This place. This place! Incredible. Beautiful building, amazing service. It makes me smile. And the food is an experience. I sat at the bar by myself, and enjoyed a couple of recommendations, the tuna ceviche and the fig salad. The flavors were complex and light. A gorgeous display of how food should taste. Brilliant.
I was (easily) talked into dessert. Clayton, the bartender, recommended the Loukoumades. Exceptional. Burnt honey ice cream, halvah, and little puff pastries. Dare I say… better than chocolate.
If you’re in Toronto, check this place out. I would walk there in the snow, uphill both ways.

Overall — 3.0÷5.0
Was looking forward to this place given the high reviews but in the end I felt that it was quite overhyped.
Sure, their dishes were packed with flavour but overall the execution was a bit lackluster. The whole meal was just a mouthful of the same few spices from start to finish and did not leave a feeling of satisfaction and comfort.
There were a couple dishes that were decent such as the lamb ribs, house labneh and the yogurt mousse cake.
Service was great and the waitress offered their honest opinion about the dishes on the menu.

Came here for my birthday dinner because i loved it that much from the first time here. I came here with four other friends which is good as we were able to try and share a lot of the items on the menu.
We ordered 3 small plates, a salad, 3 large plates and 2 rice from the menu (for 5 of us).
SMALL PLATES — lamb ribs, duck kibbeh and the crispy eggplant. The lamb ribs were so good, crunchy outside but the meat were not dry at all !
SALAD– Guernsey girl cheese. Watermelon and cheese might sound like a weird combination but it was actually surprisingly good.
LARGE PLATES — Turkish manti dumplings, B. C mussels and Spanish octopus.
Rice — Persian style fried rice and sweet jeweled. Both rice were tasty especially the persian style fried rice. the taste was unique with a hint of indian style to it.
DESSERT — we pretty much ordered everything on the dessert menu. the most memorable dessert was the Yogurt Mousse (pistachio dessert). Also got a dessert with «happy birthday» on the plate as it was my birthday.
The service was only ok. The food came out really slow, our dinner lasted 2.5 hrs! The server did not really pay any attention to our table. My water was infrequently filled throughout the night.
Overall, this is a restaurant that i would recommend. Definitely will return!

Well well well, Byblos, I finally made it to you after all the raving reviews and the endless rejections I received when trying to make a reservation only to walk away semi disappointed.
Came here before the glorious Phantom of the Opera and I’ll start by saying our server was adorable; super friendly but why is it that when it comes to tapas they always tell you to order like 3 638 373 dishes when it’s 2 people? We ordered 3… and couldn’t even finish them. In 2016, I must work on my fatty skills vs my foodie skills apparently…
We started with the steak tartare which was definitely my fav out of everything — had a really nice spice to it. Next up was the roasted red beets which was my friend’s fav and then we had the dumplings that EVERYONE posts… you automatically assume because everyone posts pictures of these that they’re going to taste outrageous. I’m here to clarify; they did not. I can’t be certain what that taste was but it wasn’t worth the 25 minute wait it takes to prepare them.
Oh, on another positive note — cab sauv — yum!

Jeez.
It’s a bit on the pricier side, but worth every penny (that we should probably be saving at this moment…).
The restaurant is quite big with two floors of seating. The ambiance is kind of mysterious and dim lighted like you’re going into a fortune tellers tent. The seats are really comfy and even though the restaurant gets packed, you can still properly hear the other person across the table without playing broken telephone.
From our server, Joel’s, recommendations, me and my friend got the following:
CRISPY EGGPLANT 12: amazing starter. It’s deep fried eggplant pieces but not oily one bit. Has a bit of tomato paste and I believe sour cream and is just fantastic!
TUNA CEVICHE 19: THE CHIPS. It’s such a perfect mix of tuna, avocado, cream and chips that you can’t believe something can taste this good.
WHOLE BONELESS BRANZINO 42: Melts in your mouth pretty much and my favourite is its wrapped in softened vine leafs that bring out the taste of the fish itself. Definitely recommended
YOGURT MOUSSE 11: I’m not much of a desserts person but this IS THE dessert to end any men. It’s very light and sweet but doesn’t linger on your teeth afterwards (or so it feels). It’s got like sweet angel hair candy floss top up which looks just divine and tastes even better.
The service a was phenomenal. You were definitely looked after and your water we almost always stay full. Joel was such a pleasure to have and so well spoken! Our cocktails were taking a while to be made so he ended up giving us a vodka soda on the house which was so thoughtful! You keep doing you Joel!
Overall I would love to come here again and try everything else on the menu like it’s my life duty to.

Brought a date here about a month ago on a Friday night. I saw how critically acclaimed this place was on Unilocal and figured it was impossible to have a bad experience here. Even if my date sucked, at least the meal would be good, right? lol
The food was amazing here. Each dish was tasty and flavourful. We ordered 4 dishes to share, as recommended by our waiter, but in hindsight, it was too much and 3 would’ve been better. We got the Fig Salad, Lamb Ribs, Turkish Manti Dumplings, and Mejadra Rice. The Lamb Ribs should be a mandatory dish that all patrons of the restaurant must order — my favourite of all 4 dishes. The Fig Salad and Dumplings were great as well — very unique and yummy. The rice was good as well, but it was too much and both of us are pretty carb-​conscious people.
Byblos def. lived up to the hype. For the duration of the meal, I felt like I was living in an alternate universe as a pirate, pillaging an Eastern Mediterranean village for their magical tapas.

My gf took me here for my birthday dinner. Definitely didn’t disappoint. The menu is extremely creative and not your traditional Mediterranean food. The yogurt baked fluke was one of the richest, most flavourful fishes I’ve had.
I made the mistake of skipping over the dumplings that everyone was raving about and had the spanish octopus instead. Do yourself a favour and skip over that. It’s nothing more than grilled octupus on sliced fingerling potatoes and fairly bland.
The bread is also delicious. One gripe is the seating layout. We were 2 and I ended up right beside a huge pillar rubbing on my shoulder. Despite that, I’d return when my wallet permits.

Service is stellar. Food is delicious. Been here one previous time. Byblos is definitely a staple of Toronto cuisine. What we tried recently:
Lamb ribs: really good, kinda crunchy, had a very middle eastern flavour (sorry for my limited vocab!)
Roasted red beets: best beets I ever had. The yogurt was really thick and fresh.
Fig Salad: Flavourful and fresh. Second best salada I ever had after Jacobs’s cesar salad.
Spanish octopus: It’s under the Large menu but it’s really small. Just parts of the octopus. It was good and was presented well but I would try something else next time.
Pavlova for dessert: Super sweet. Very delicous. But again it’s super super sweet. The turkish cotton candy was amazing though. Looks like white hair but so tasty.

I went here for a birthday dinner. The venue and décor is really nice. I ordered the crispy squid and spiced olives. The other girls ordered mussels, Brussels, lamb, cauliflower and dumpling. I wasn’t a fan of the food at this restaurant. It seems like every good had Indian spices in it that didn’t blend well together. The spiced olives were my favourite. We didn’t expect every dish to have the spices to it. It was very strong.
We were given a warning because a couple friends were running late. They said they needed the table by 9pm — which we understood and honestly didn’t plan to stay there for three hours.
I would rate the taste of the food a ²⁄₅. Venue a 4.5÷5. The customer service a ²⁄₅. I would not come back to this restaurant.
All six of us did not enjoy the food. We were really disappointed considering we came here based on reviews.
Happy we got a birthday cake though! I didn’t like the cake.

very disappointed — came here based on the reviews on Unilocal for a friend’s birthday. we were a group of 6.
we had made reservations for 6pm in advanced and we were seated upon arrival. Our group arrived separately, and a few were a little late due to traffic which we told our server about.
around 6:10 the hostess came by and said «I noticed your whole party isn’t here, we still require the table back by 9 — this is firm» the attitude wasn’t necessary but the time restriction was fine because we weren’t planning on being there that long anyways. while waiting, we felt like we were being starred at by the staff, it was quite unwelcoming.
when the rest of the party arrived, Tara came
back and explained the menu to us in detail and answered any questions that we had.
It’s unfortunate that 6 people had the same opinion about the food — there wasn’t nothing tasteful or great about it.
Here’s a list of things we had:
— lamb ribs
— vegetarian rice
— 2 servings of the eggplant dumplings
— mussels (had to pay an extra $ 5 for bread!!)
— calamari
— spicy olives
— Brussel sprouts
all the food ended up being shared and everyone had the same opinion, it was okay but definitely not satisfying. we were actually discussing where to go next to eat to be satisfied.
our favourite item was the free dessert the birthday girl got.
We had to wait an extra 25 minutes for the rice to come out after the error made by the waitress and the wrong one was ordered!
definitely not a place I’d return too.

Wow wow wow. Original, excellent rapport qualité prix, service sympa, décoration magnifique. Demandez la salle du haut. Le vin est toujours cher mais on s’en passé. Les desserts sont fantastiques.

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday celebration and got major brownie points =).
This place is super classy and its perfect for a date.
Byblos has made me fall in love with Eastern Mediterranean food.
The menu got me super excited as I saw many dishes on it that I have never even heard of before. The ones that stood out the most were the Duck Kibbeh and the yogurt baked fluke.
The dish we could have done without was the Spanish octopus. This is a dish I always order at any restaurant and almost never disappoints but was unfortunately underwhelming this time around.
I would love to come back to try the dumplings which seem to be very popular.

Hands down, this is one of the best restaurants I tried in Toronto. I never really tried eastern Mediterranean food aside from Greek food but I never tried food from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, etc so this was really my first time trying this. Byblos primarily focuses on eastern Mediterranean cuisine but they add a Canadian/​North American twist to it, which I find pretty cool.
Finding this restaurant was definitely interesting. The entrance to the restaurant was an shelter with a small door made out of nylon, canvas, etc. It looked it I was about to enter a club. The restaurant is definitely beautiful. It is clear that they carefully planned out the design and décor of the restaurant. We went on a Monday night and the restaurant is jam packed. I didn’t think a restaurant could possibly be full on a Monday night. This is a good sign. Though there were no available tables for our party of three, the hostess told us to just sit at the bar and the bar does serve whatever they have on the full menu. Since we really wanted to try this restaurant, we were down to sit at the bar. The bar is on the second floor (the restaurant has second floors). The bartender/​waiter at the bar was really nice and provided great service (⁵⁄₅ for service).
Their menu is also really interesting. There’s small dishes, large dishes, rice, sides, and salads. Apparently, in this type of cuisine, it’s common to share dishes (similar to the cuisines in Asia). So we ordered:
SMALL PLATES:
Salmon Kibbeh Nayeh ($ 18) — Raw salmon, really good. The bread and the salmon paste just complements each other.
Duck Kibbeh ($ 14) — This dish was okay, we barely tasted the duck and tasted mostly the molasses. Don’t really recommend this one.
Lamb Ribs ($ 14) — SO GOOD. Highly recommend this one. I have no words to describe this dish either. You’ll just die of happiness.
LARGE PLATES:
Crispy Squid ($ 13) — This dish is so good, I cannot even have words to describe it. Really recommend this one. Hands down, the best crispy squid you would’ve eaten.
Turkish Manti Dumplings ($ 14) — The yogurt sauce completes this dish. Really creamy and well made. I enjoyed this dish a lot.
The dishes are really small, so do expect to spend a lot if you really want to get full. Next time, I would order some rice to get full.
We skipped on dessert because we didn’t feel like spending any more money but I would definitely try the desserts next time. The desserts are really unique and they definitely have the primary staple dessert: baklava.
Our experience here was fantastic and the next time I will come here, I will remember to make a reservation!

3.5÷5
*The overall service was wonderful and attentive, except toward the end my server sorta disappeared somewhere else.
*To sum things up, there were two dishes that were quite underwhelming but the others that we love were just incredible with unique flavors. Since it was only two of us for dinner and most dishes at Byblos were tapas, we weren’t able to cover most of the menu. Thus despite my low rating of Byblos, I’m willing to come back to give it another chance and try other offerings on their menu.
–Organic House Labneh (fennel, honey, olive oil, Barbari Bread) — $ 10
The barbari bread arrived piping hot and crispy, and it was quite salty to eat on its own. However the bread itself paired perfectly with the sweet honey and tangy yogurt in the labneh. The labneh was silky and smooth, a bit peppery and had a lovely cooling sensation.
–Lamb Ribs (Dukkah, Buttermilk Sauce, Carob Molasses, Red Chili Schug) — $ 14
The ribs were fall-​off-​the-​bone tender and had great flavor. A bit spicy but it was balanced by the sweet buttermilk sauce. The thick crunchy layer coating of dukkah added a nice texture and helped to mask the overtly mutton-​like flavor.
–Steak Tartare (Roasted Red Chili, Mint, Labneh, Barbari Bread) — $ 18
The texture was just melt-​in-​your-​mouth goodness and beyond buttery. With that said, the red chilies overpowered the delicate flavor of the beef and there wasn’t enough labneh to balance out the spicy notes.
–Tuna Ceviche (Green Schug, Crème Fraiche Buttermilk, Squid Ink Chip) — $ 17
The squid ink chips were slightly salted and had the perfect bite sizes. Both Karen and I didn’t like the texture of tuna as it was quite «hard» to chew. I also thought there wasn’t enough lime to bring out the freshness of dish, and the avocado didn’t really work well with the tuna either.
–Turkish Manti Dumplings (Smokey Eggplant, Yogurt Sauce, Molasses) — $ 14
The Turkish Manti Dumpling had an addictive thyme based yogurt sauce and the molasses gave them a touch of sweetness. The dumplings were perfect cooked with a thin shell and filled with eggplant. I didn’t mind that you can’t really taste the eggplant. I always hated the taste and texture of it, thus I was surprised to see how well they were able to «mask» the eggplant taste with not too much smokiness.
–Hand rolled couscous (Brown Butter, Saffron, Herbs) — $ 6
On the initial bite, the couscous tasted a bit bland but it was really fluffy! The herbs and saffron flavors didn’t come through, however I thought the couscous was perfectly paired with the yogurt sauce from the manti dumplings.
–Pavlova (Rose Pastry Cream, Pomegranate Molasses, Fig, Pashmak) — $ 12
Not too sweet. I thought the outer shell of the Pavlova was a bit hard to crack, otherwise the inner layers were soft and creamy. It reminded me of what I would imagine a baked marshmallow to taste like. I liked how the rose fragrance was not too overpowering and the slight tangy-​ness from the fig helped to balance out the sweetness of the pavlova. Unlike normal cotton candy, the pashmak had a wool-​like texture, almost like Asian pork floss and it just melted in your mouth.

Wow wow wow! A great modern take on middle eastern cuisine. Me and my girlfriends came here for Christmas dinner last night and to my surprise that had a great selection of vegetarian dishes. We ordered a wide variety of dishes and indulged. Nothing was left on the table!
I can’t wait to go back and take my parents, they would enjoy the twist on our traditional cuisine.
Oh and aside from the food, service was A+ and added to our great experience.

Bottom line: Byblos is a solid restaurant with good food and a classy décor.
THE GOOD:
The food was interesting. There was nothing bad and everything varied from good to very good.
The Labneh was a good way to start the meal. It was a nice mix of tart and sweet. The Crispy Eggplant was our second dish. It was decent but do keep in mind that its deep fried. We then had the Lamb Ribs. The four pieces were tender and delicious. There’s not much more to add.
Before the mains, we had the fig salad which can be shared pretty easily between two people.
For our mains, we started with the Turkish Manti Dumplings. It was the standout dish for me. The dumplings are filled with a smokey eggplant and are covered in a really nice yogurt sauce.
As our final main, we had the Spanish Octopus. It’s not my favourite interpretation of Spanish Octopus (that would go to Patria) but it was all right. There’s around 5 morsels of fingerling potatoes with pieces of octopus on top, and a lone tentacle in the middle.
We had this accompanied with Seared Cauliflower. I should have paid more attention to the fact that this has duck fat because in addition to tahini sauce because it was quite heavy.
I can’t recall the name of the dessert but I had the baklava ice cream sandwich which comes with two sandwiches — perfect for sharing.
As for drinks, we had some cocktails which were all pretty good. They’re around $ 15 each.
THE BAD:
The service was OK. My water was infrequently refilled, and the food came out slowly. I asked for the menu at one point and it took about 10 minutes.
THE UGLY:
We ordered some tea to accompany our dessert and it was served in glass cups. Needless to say, I was tempted to drink it with a spoon. However, the Moroccan Mint Tea that I had was pretty good, though it was a bit cold by the time I could finally hold it in my hands.

We loved our experience at Byblos — it had great atmosphere, the service was excellent and the food was delicious. Everything was done well right down to the fine details.
We had:
— organic house kibbeh
— lamb ribs
— spanish octopus
— turkish manti dumpings
— tartufata
— turkish coffee
— turkish coffee chocolate sorbet
Everything we had was very flavourful but the standout dish for us was the tartufata. They warned us that it is cooked per order and takes about 30 minutes, but the wait was worth it! The mushroom flavour was decadent and fried chickpeas gave an interesting texture to each bite.
I don’t want to be nitpicky but I feel I should point out that a couple of the plates the food was served on were chipped. I understand these beautiful plates must be expensive but for a restaurant of this caliber, they should be careful with that!
All in all, I would love to come back to try the rest of the menu.

I don’t know where to begin with Byblos because from start to finish, our experience was amazing. The atmosphere we great, we ended up at a wonderful corner table, perfect for a romantic dinner.
And the food, oh the food.
To begin with, it was a breath of fresh air to have a different style of food in a fine dining setting. They don’t retread any of the current fine dining cliches here. Instead, the focus on Persian/​Turkish influences provides a whole new palate with which to work.
We ordered five different items from the varried menu, along with a dessert. That proved to be perfect for us, and they were coursed out at a leisurely pace.
Among the highlights was the fig salad, which my wife says was one of the best salads she’s had. Ever. And about which she is still talking.
The lamb ribs were also top notch. They were fall-​off-​the-​bone tender and had great flavor. The nut coating added a welcome, and novel texture.
The rice we had, with fried shallots and yogurt, opened my eyes it’s versatility and to the heights it can be taken in the hands of a skilled and creative chef.
This is a restaurant that I’d recommend to friends, no questions asked. And it’s one I’d happily return to next time I’m in Toronto – even if it means forsaking a visit to one of the many many other restaurants that the city has to offer.

A unique spin to traditional Eastern Mediterranean food with a Canadian twist.
The restaurant is urban chic. The main dining area is downstairs, but there’s a second level as well. The kitchen is open concept so you can see the chefs prepare some of the food if you sit near that area. We came here as a group of 6 with much anticipation. We’ve heard tons of good things about this place. Reservations are recommended because they are usually packed, even on a Monday evening. I have to say, this is definitely a place where you can catch up friends or have a business meeting without screaming across the table because the music isn’t on full blast. The lighting is pretty dim. I did wish it could be a bit brighter so I could see the food with more detail. But, It’s definitely first or second date worthy.
The server was very informative. He advised us not to over order, which I found to be really amazing, especially since you would think they would encourage you to over order because it’s money in their pockets. He was very honest! I like! Despite limiting the choices, we still had some leftovers. Our water and wine glasses were never empty and the servers were always around when we needed something. Attentive and informative — totally made the dining experience.
The food came pretty quickly and was spaced out with small dishes first then large + sides. This is family style dining by the way.
We ordered:
1. Duck Kibbeh: I found this to be kind of dry and a bit flavourless. I didn’t taste the duck flavour. Unfortunately, my least favourite dish. C–
2. Roasted Red Beets — Very tasty dish. I have to say, Byblos does an amazing job with their veggie dishes. They were all to die for and so delicious and let me tell you, I am an avid meat eater! The beets were cooked to perfection and the sauce it in was a good combo. A
3. Lamb Ribs: If you like lamb that doesn’t have a strong gamey taste then this dish it for you. It’s crispy and mild flavoring. I like things more with a punch so this dish didn’t do it for me. Nice presentation though. B
4. Fig Salad: This was amazing! The figs were very fresh and sweet. The orange blossom vinaigrette and cheese give it a sweet yet savory taste. The pistachios gave a good crunch and texture to the salad. A definite winner! A+
5. Dry Aged Ribeye — Very tender, but I was expecting this to have a more Eastern Mediterranean flavour, but it tasted like a normal steak. I also don’t recall tasting or having the smoked eggplant. B.
6. Slow Braised Ontario Lamb Shoulder: This was definitely one of the top dishes for me! The lamb was so juicy, flavourful, and tender. I loved the wraps that it came with for you to wrap the lamb and different condiments in. A first for me with lamb. The pickles, garlic paste, and lamb was a great combo! I could taste a lot of the eastern mediterranean flavouring. This was definitely a really unique dish to Byblos! A+
7. Mejadra rice– This wasn’t very memorable in my head, but I know it wasn’t bad. B.
8. Roasted Brussel Sprouts: I love love this dish! It was so so so good. The brussel sprouts were cooked just right and the flavouring was amazing. This is definitely a stand out dish in my books. A+
9. Roasted Cauliflower: This was very good too! It isn’t a unique dish, but it was cooked very well. A
10 Nightingale Sour: This cocktail was pretty good! It was a mix of sweet and sour. I really enjoyed it! B+
Overall, I would give the food a 3.0 because out of all the dishes we tried, only a few stood out, but I have to say, if you want a fancy Mediterranean dinner, this is a good bet! But I would up it to 3.5 to 4 stars for the service!
Verdict: A must try, but come here with a group so you can try more variety of dishes. Order veggies dishes and the lamb. So good! I would come back and try veggie dishes!