Far Niente

My coworkers and I reserved a table of 8 for a business dinner a few weeks ago. Upon arriving, the service was friendly and charming. The table was set neatly and we were offered coat checks. Our waiter was knowledgeable about the selections offered for the night, while offering very descriptive and personal preferences on the menu for those who asked for a recommendation.
The menu was well controlled with only a few selections for appetizers and main. We started with the foie gras appetizer, which was delicate and very creative, mixing both sweet and savoury flavours. For mains, we had steak, spaghetti, roasted chicken, and swordfish. The steak was cooked to the correct temperature, the chicken was moist, and the swordfish was tender. The food definitely had impact in flavours, and the presentation was also spot on. Only thing I’d criticize is that we ordered a side order of roasted vegetables and pomme purée, which was lacking texture (hard) and slightly greasy.
Overall, I’m impressed by the flavours on some of the simpler dishes, as well as the creativity on the appetizers. They were cooked and timed well for the main ingredient to show. On top of that, service was flawless and ambience is great.

This place was nice but not good enough to recommend it to anyone. I had soup and salad and both were good but again, I wouldn’t ever tell someone they have to try this restaurant. Service was very good.

I ordered the warm rare ahi tuna niçois and the citrus cheese cake for lunch, and both were wonderful dishes.
Warm rare ahi tuna niçois — the dish was elegantly plated, and every element on the dish was very well seasoned and complemented each other well. The green beans were cooked perfectly, and the pomme purée worked really well with the ahi tuna. Having had niçois salads in Nice before, this dish definitely elevated the elements of a classic niçois salad to a new level. If you like olives, then I would highly recommend this dish.
The citrus cheese cake had a huge portion! It was very rich and I could taste the citrus element, which helped balance the cheese cake.
Overall, I really enjoyed the dishes and would recommend far niente if you’re in the downtown core!

Came here for summerlicious lunch. Service was super slow, it took almost 2 hours. The entrée itself took almost an hour to come after we finished the appetizers. I don’t think I’ll come back again solely based on these wait times.
This is what I ordered:
East Coast Seafood Escabeche
compressed watermelon, capers, rhubarb, tomato, chili, lemon aioli
The chili really killed the salad for me. My friend and I both had the salad and ate some of the chili accidentally. It was way too spicy and clashed with the rest of the flavours in the salad.
Corn Meal Crusted Halibut
chorizo-​farro succotash, petit herb salad, horseradish vinaigrette
The halibut was really fresh. I enjoyed this dish. The corn meal crust was perfectly done, crisp but not overly hard to chew.
Vanilla Chocolate Sundae
banana chip, salted caramel, whipped cream, seasonal berries
I did not like the banana chips and had to pick them off. The ice cream was average.

2.5÷5.
I went here for the Summerlicious lunch. Upon entering the restaurant, I was impressed at how spacious it was!
Normally for Summerlicious, I tend to pick the most expensive main course so it will worth the money lol. With that said, this time I chose the ravioli as my main since the steak will probably give me itis after lunch :(.
Overall thought: lunch was okay, but not spectacular. None of the items on their lunch menu jumped out to me as special. Since we had 12 people, there was also a service charge so our bill came to almost $ 40… which were probably the most expensive lunch I ever had.
–East Coast Seafood Escabeche:
The seafood was cooked perfectly, and by marinating them in vinegar and olive oil, it gave the seafood a deliciously sharp tang. The watermelon and capers toned down the tanginess of the seafood with theirs sweetness and saltiness flavors, respectively. However, I felt the chili was not needed as the dish turned out to be too spicy. Don’t get me wrong, I love spicy food but the heat from the chili lingered in my mouth, and prevented me from tasting other flavors.
–Lemon Basil Ravioli:
The ravioli had a perfect ratio of fillings to dough, and I believe the filling was ricotta cheese, yum! Unfortunately there were only 2 dots of the lemon basil sauce on the plate, hence I couldn’t taste the sauce at all :(. The tomato ragout was just like any other regular tomato pasta sauce that I could have made. Also, I’m not sure why there were a few pieces of candied walnuts as they didn’t go well with the savory ravioli at all…
–Corn meal crusted Halibut:
Friend loved it but the halibut was overcooked. Moreover, for me anything crusted with cornmeal is pretty much tasteless, so I was expecting the sauce to deliver a big punch of flavor, but I was quite disappointed…
–Strawberry Bavarois:
I didn’t get to try, but my friend seemed to enjoy it. I was quite curious of how the black pepper would go with the bavarois though
–Triple Layered Chocolate Mousse:
I ordered the mousse and it was not overly sweetened, however it wasn’t bad nor awful. The mousse itself had a dense texture and strong chocolate flavor. The first layer was jello or something, I just can’t quite put my finger on it but it was good! The top layer was tangy and really helped to cut down the rich chocolate mousse.

Well, it seems to be a trend with this place… we came here with a client for dinner one night and we were the only table seated in the restaurant — always a bad sign! The service was polished and professional, the atmosphere was nice and the food was good. Someone in my party ordered the watermelon salad and they loved it. All of us ordered the grilled swordfish for our entrée and it was quite tasty and just the right portion. Overall the meal was of high quality, but I am concerned for the longevity of this place with so few patrons.

Great new menu. Thanks Far Niente. It was time. I had a lobster salad and a beautiful piece of swordfish. Top shelf.

I think we were the first and only people in the place! lol
Went on a Friday at 5pm, watched a lot of cold people running to Union Station. Still booked on OpenTable to get the points.
Was just us in the place, and our server was attentive as a result.
Loved their warm bread, but were a bit chintzy on the butter.
I was the only one drinking, Patti was driving so she just had tea. So i ordered a half bottle of pinot grigio which was super tasty.
I had two apps because I’m a fatty…
the caesar salad was great, i loved the boar bacon.
also had the scallops with banana pepper slaw, both of which were awesome. Scallops were perfectly cooked.
I had the 10oz steak which was cooked to order and had enough to bring home for steak and eggs the next morning! Had a big ol’ glass of Pinot Noir as well with the steak which paired nicely.
Warm apple crumble for dessert!
Great way to start my birthday weekend!

The good, the bad & no ugly
Came here for our work Christmas luncheon, there were 7 of us.
The bad: Upon arrival a few of us wanted the crab cakes but they had run out :(
3 ordered 6 oz steaks which on the small side & not cooked to order
Service was good but food came out slowly even though they didn’t seem that busy
The so-​so: 4 ordered the Mahogany Glazed Halibut — not bad
I had the Waldorf salad — not bad & a few had the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail — the shrimp really were jumbo!
The Good: service, décor, ambiance, comfortable seats
Dessert was excellent — a colleague & I shared both the s’mores & the crème brûlée, both were excellent & decadent
The specialty teas all looked very good!
They did discount us for the steaks that weren’t too order & we appreciated that!
Will give them another chance in the future or @ least return for drinks & dessert!

Came here with a party of 20 and we booked in advance to make sure they could accommodate all of us. Imagine our surprise when it was pretty much empty when we arrived for dinner. It wasn’t a big deal but I just thought it was weird that there weren’t that many people.
Service was quite slow given that there were very few other people at the restaurant. I felt like only one waitress was working all of the tables. She was friendly but it took a lot of time for each course to come out.
The wine list was okay, but I noticed some sort of precipitate at the bottom of my glass so I sent it back and the waitress was very nice about it and offered to replace it.
Since we had such a large group we had pre-​selected a fixed menu and most people ended up choosing the steak. It was really average, we were in good company and went through several bottles of wine which saved the night but otherwise the restaurant was just okay for us.

My friends and I decided to try out Far Niente for Summerlicious 2014. It was a lack lustre experience.
Food: Because there were three of us, we decided to order one of everything.
Apps.
Chilled Melon and Mint Soup — The worst out of the three. Yes, it’s melon soup, but there was no seasoning or any flavour. It was like sweetened water. My poor friend had one bite and sent it back.
Asian Pear and Cabbage Salad — It was alright. Lots of cabbage, couldn’t find any Asian pears.
Brandade & Crisp Ham — Literally a garden salad with bacon on top.
Main.
Quinoa Crusted Salmon — This was the highlight of my meal. It was so good. The salmon was not overcooked and the Qunioa gave it a nice texture.
Achiote Fried Chicken — Two thumbs down. The chicken was dry and the meal needed much more seasoning.
Thai Curry — Tasted like take out. I could have gone to a much cheaper restaurant and receive better quality.
Dessert.
Chocolate Gianduja Mousse — We all decided to order this. It was alright. Not overly sweetened by any means. No other dessert jumped out at us.
Service: I don’t know if it’s because it’s Summerlicious but the service here was downright terrible. The waitress got out order wrong all three times. For the apps we would receive two of the same items, same with the main and for the dessert even though we ordered the same dessert somehow she managed to get that wrong as well. No apology as well.
I would not return on an regular day.

Another patio season has arrived!
I came up here with a friend (after being redirected from Four) to have a few drinks and snacks. They’re serving Shock Top Belgian White and Stella Artois on tap.
In addition to our drinks, we ordered some menu items to snack on. We got the:
— Jumbo Shrimp Cocktails, and the
— Lamb Merguez Pogo Sticks
both of which were fantastic.
The patio is pretty unsuspecting — and is a little secluded from the downtown scene, but makes for a nice place after work — as it is close to the office.

Mediocre food. I should’ve prepared myself for an underwhelming experience when the waiter didn’t ask how I wanted my steak done.
(For the record, they brought it medium. It was chewy.)

Coming here for Winterlicious was a great experience.
If you’re using the underground path you can convienently enter from Fours Restaurant in Commerce Court.
Great dining atmosphere with cozy chairs, various tiers where you can have a better perspective of the entire restaurant. Servers were very polite, and attentive. Presentation of all three dishes were up to standards.
Starters, the fish cakes were probably the most delicious cakes I’ve ever had. ⁵⁄₅ made from Halibut/​garouper served with an ioli and winter salad greens.
Entrée was the steak frites served with crispy yet delicious potatoes perfectly prepared. Steak was medium rare and served with fresh house made coleslaw.
⁴⁄₅
for dessert I decided to have their Pear Tartlette! ⁴⁄₅ this dessert was ballzy! i mean blue cheese mousse ontop of this dish took the flavors to another level… the almond crumble added crunch to the dish to compliment the strong cheese. The blueberry sauce unified everything together. great presentation.
good job Far Niente! although NIENTE means NOTHING in Spanish/​Italian lol…

My friend and I decided to visit Far Niente for a Winterlicious lunch as it was located on the PATH (and considering the weather, was a definite plus!) and their menu looked delicious.
We were greeted promptly and were seated in a quieter section of the restaurant, which I was thrilled about. We ordered sparkling water (Eska) and the waiter dropped off a basket of freshly baked bread and deliciously salted butter.
We ordered the fish cake and beet & squash salad for our appetizers, the snapper and steak frites for our mains, and the brownie and pear tartlette for our desserts.
My friend seemed very happy with her fish cake, and I was quite happy with my salad (the blue cheese dressing wasn’t too overpowering.) I loved my steak frites — the steak was cooked perfectly to medium rare. The accompaniments were also enjoyable. My friend enjoyed her snapper, which came with Israeli couscous, and was full by the end.
The dessert was the only slightly miss of the meal. My friend found her brownie to be a little too dense and «fudge-​y» (her words!), but loved the coffee-​flavoured mousse. The crust on my tartlette felt a bit too dry and crumbled too easily. I also wasn’t overly fond of the blue cheese mousse on the top. The idea made sense, but execution wasn’t the greatest.
Our server was really nice and very attentive. We would be back for sure.

Had lunch here a little over a week ago with a group of colleagues. We made a reservation for the patio and I am happy we did.
We arrived on time and were seated right away. There were 8 of us in total and the service was really speedy considering the size of the group. Our server was extremely knowledgeable, very friendly and accommodating.
We ordered the crab cakes, the Caesar salad, crispy chicken, fish and chips and a host of other dishes. The crab cakes, fish and chips and the crispy chicken proved to be favourites among the group. I can’t honestly remember what every one ordered, but those who ordered these dishes raved about them the most (including me, as I had the crab cakes and the crispy chicken). The crab cake was extremely flavourful and perfectly cook. The chicken was a little dry, but the coating on the chicken was very tasty and quite aromatic. My colleague across from me had the fish and chips and she said it was good. The French fries that came with the fish and chips were really good too.
Their wine list is quite extensive and reasonably priced. They also had freshly made juices and tho I didn’t have any, those who did raved about them.
The patio is quite nice, with ample seating and a lot of tropical plants surrounding the perimeter of the patio. It’s a great lunch spot for the patio alone. From what I understand, the patio is used by Far Niente during lunch and Four uses It in the evenings.
After lunch, it had started to rain so we made our way inside for dessert, which was by far, the most disappointing part of the meal. The crème brûlée was average at best, the chocolate layer cake tasted like it was fresh out of the freezer, and the gelato tasted like chocolate soft serve ice cream. I guess this place has built it’s reputation on its entrees, not its desserts, which is unfortunate. The coffee we had with dessert was quite good though.
Our server brought us our bill –18% gratuity had been added automatically given that we were a group of 8, which I didn’t mind since it saved me the trouble of figuring it out myself.
This is a good spot for lunch/​dinner if you’re paying with a corporate card, as the ambiance lends itself well to business lunches/​dinners, but I wouldn’t want to come here on a date, the food is good, but the feel is definitely corporate.

Did the summerlicious lunch here. I usually lower my expectations for this period due to the volume. We had a small party of 6.
Our table mix and matched pretty much all the offerings on the summerlicious menu and no one was really wowed. I had the chilled watermelon soup which was a nice surprise as I’ve never tried it before — very refreshing with a mild salsa taste. My rainbow trout was cooked well, but the rosti underneath was on the salty side. Others ordered the flat iron steak, which appeared reheated. My mini-​pie dessert was good, but the fudge brownie was less than impressive.
It was a bit frustrating because I was here for a lunch about a year ago and the food was better, although the restaurant was much emptier. Considering the other offerings in the financial district, this only gets 3 stars for the price point.

Had a summerlicious lunch here with my mother and although it wasn’t a horrible experience it was a bit disappointing. We sat on the patio which was pretty nice, although the inside décor was a little to classic, upscale, and stuffy to me. It sort of reminded me of a business dinner scene from a 90’s movie. One positive thing I can say for all the dishes were that they were all plated beautifully, some very lovely presentation.
The appetizers were both okay, although not something I’d try again– The watermelon soup was overwhelmed with herbs and the cumin feta didn’t taste quite right with it, and the pesto served with the tomato and candied shallot salad had a funny taste to it.
The rainbow trout entrée was actually quite good. The fish was cooked very well and the pea purée was delicious! The mushrooms accompanying it made for a very yummy dish. The only bad part was the potato rosti which had way to much pepper!
The desserts were both pretty standard for a restaurant that doesn’t focus on desserts– decent but not delicious. There was some very weird textures involved in the mini peach and plum pie and the chocolate cake was a bit dry and kind of bland. I did have a very nice eucalyptus and grapefruit tea with it though.
Overall not somewhere I’d come again as the restaurant isn’t really my style. I prefer somewhere a little less conservative and classic. It’s nice for a place to stand out in my mind and although nothing was horrible, nothing was exceptional either.

I recently organized 3 Summerlicious lunches for my office. I received so much mixed reviews from colleagues. Some enjoyed it, others loved it and others regretted what they ordered. People.
I found it very difficult to reserve a group of 6 or more people. I was told they were not taking in large groups at noon, so I split the group into 3 groups of 4 (held on different days).
I ordered the chilled chowder (which I loved), the Indian chicken (which did not sit well with me; and considering I cook Indian at home, I think it was their recipe/​ingredients), and the flourless chocolate cake (which was delicious).
The server came too quickly with our bill not giving me an opportunity to request separate bills.
I don’t think I will be returning here. I think I will get adventurous for the next ‘Licious office lunch and aim for a restaurant a few blocks from the office.

ArtBabe never gets to wear heels. I’m always game for a night where a woman can wear heels, especially if it means a restaurant in the financial district on a Saturday night. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Far Niente. They changed their location, although they remain in the Financial District. The décor has changed too, from a lighter, urban California atmosphere to a darker, more romantic setting.
Not intending to make it a Winterlicious destination, they offered us the Winterlicious menu. There’s always good value in that menu. ArtBabe and I both started with the Goat Cheese Croquette. We both agree we don’t get enough goat cheese in our diets. It was quite perfect. For the mains I had the Angus steak and ArtBabe had the snapper (we had padded our selves at lunch on AYCE sushi and she was hesitant to have fish for dinner but the rest of the Winterlicious menu didn’t appeal to her).
I found the steak just okay. The real surprise was the pot pie it came with. When do you really get pot pies these days? I even stopped buying them 10 years ago. It was a nice trip down memory lane and kind of retro-​creative. ArtBabe thought her snapper was good.
For dessert I had the chocolate cake. Nothing to write home about although the whip cream was delightful. ArtBabe had the mango sorbet which was awesome. It was a creamy mango-​y bowl of goodness.
Service is awesome.
ArtBabe thought the woman’s washroom was amazing. Something about a glass sink. The men’s didn’t seem to have that design.
I do have to knock them down a star for trying to pat themselves on the back for «winning» a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. It’s quite well known these things are simply bought by restaurants (
). It’s like trying to pat yourself on the back for having a quarter panel ad in Toronto Life.