Yours Truly

Came here for dinner. The setting of the restaurant is warm and cozy.
The plating of the food was very weird… I felt as if my food was randomly placed on a plate. so I’m not really into the creativity of it. :(
I ordered the saba — could be better.

I’ve always been impressed by the creativity in the dishes at Yours Truly. Prices are a bit steep but the culinary experience is memorable.

$ 30 for two dishes:
— 8 random leafs and dressing and finger tip sized cheese
— a highlighter sized squash with a single mushroom
what a waste of time

Made a reservation for a birthday meal after hearing good reviews. The idea of picking ingredients for surprise courses sounded fun. Sadly out of eight courses maybe one was memorable. Definite points for creativity, presentation and service. However, for this price the food should be tasty.
Cheese derived ice cream tasted like cold creamy foot. Forced to seek out out supplemental dessert to cleanse palate elsewhere.
(I had finished the review here giving it two stars on my phone. You need to log in online to complete a review. After checking in with my dining companion the next morning it turns out both of us felt ill following the meal. Not impressed. This is down to one star.)

I have a dairy allergy, however the food was prepared taking that into consideration. Every morsel was delicious. I thought the portions looked small, but left feeling quite satisfied. No need to go big or go home here. It’s not a fastfood joint. Especially enjoyed my ginger cocktail. It was heavenly.

Extremely small portions and poor wine list makes Yours Truly just an average restaurant. Although somewhat creative, the dishes were not overly engaging and lacked presence. Also, I am increasingly disappointed with how small tapas portions have become. The economics to the restaurant must be so favorable at this point, but at what expense to the dining experience? The wine list was OK, but you could have done as well ordering wine by the glass. The best dish was the brisket, but be prepared for just a three inch piece (yes, just one piece!).
Sorry, not the greatest experience.
Good luck!

The portions are small, the price is steep but the quality and originality of the food and the presentation is spectacular. Its matched with a warm, intimate atmosphere.
I thoroughly enjoyed every item on the tasting menu on the two occasions I’ve been. The lesser priced ($ 35) 4 course option was sufficient. I wouldn’t feel the need to pay the premium for 5 courses. They do allow you to pick an item or two off the tasting menu to accompany drinks if you are not having the full meal.

Let me start by saying that it was not bad, it was just ok. For the amount I paid, I expected a lot more from the food. The flavours were just ok, and the portions were extremely small. They are going for a small taste of everything, but if it is going to be that small, it has to be more than just 5 dishes. I was still hungry after our meal and went to another restaurant for «drinks» and the 5 of us ended up having drinks plus 5 medium sized appetizers and 3 desserts.
I went with the carnivore side. It started with a small soup that was probably the most flavourful dish all night. It was layered and delicious. It also came with a warm piece of homemade bread. I can’t remember the second dish, but it had I think a duck pâté, raw tuna, and something in a spinach wrap. It was just ok. Then there was a shrimp dish which was raw, and I do enjoy sushi so the rawness did not bother me. It just wasn’t that flavourful. The next dish was cod which was tasty but very small. The next dish was a tiny little piece of brisket which was delicious but so small that it was just a taste. There was popcorn on it, but it didn’t really add to the dish. The next dish was pork neck, which was not bad, just a little dry, and once again a small portion. Then for dessert, I’m not sure what it was, but it was just ok. It had some sort of crunchy meringue thing, that was probably the highlight of the dish. I tried a little of the soy ice cream and I really really really really did not like it. The consistency reminded me of phlegm, but hey, I’m not a soy fan.
Overall, portions too small, price too high, flavours not memorable. I really wanted to like this place because of all the good things that I have heard, but I will not return and I will also be burning my «best restaurant» issue of Toronto Life as I feel that their reviews are not accurate and possibly biased.

I’ll start by saying the service was great. Knowledgable staff who genuinely cared and worked hard.
Our dinner was very… unique. It was a 4 course meal, and you are to select one of two options for each course.
The problem was that the portions were so small that we couldn’t help but laugh when they came out. Even after all 4 we were still starving. They tossed a few amuse bouches in in between courses but the meal was still lacking.
The menu was also a little silly, it gave no description of how each course was prepared. It literally just said «rabbit» «eel» «potatoes» etc.
It was a fun experience and the menu items were different than anything i had ever had before. I just don’t think it was worth the price.

Yours Truly is reputed for two different tasting menus: the once-​nightly 20 – 25 course Carte Blanche option at a $ 99 price point, and a smaller four-​course offering for $ 55. We made our reservation just a day in advance, and thus couldn’t secure a booking for the Carte Blanche.
When we arrived we perused the four-​course tasting menu, which consists of a choice between two options — one vegetarian and one omnivorous — for each course, each named solely for their key ingredient. Those options were: Celery/​Scallops, Beets/​Sturgeon, Fall/​Chicken, and Pear/​Apple.
Intrigued, and wondering what one would do with celery that would tempt a diner to trade scallops to find out, we were offered an additional option: a $ 75 tasting menu with «a few more courses,» served Carte Blanche style in which the kitchen team would serve us whatever they felt like creating that evening. At $ 55 for four courses, we figured the $ 75 option would be six, maybe seven courses.
And oh god were we wrong. Oh… oh god.
What proceeded to emanate from the kitchen was an unrelenting litany of sixteen courses, ranging from small bites and intermezzos to mid-​sized mains. We were served six of the four-​course tasting menu items, including the mysterious Celery, but also a number of items that escaped mention on the menu. Everything we ate was creative, most of it was wonderful, and in the rare couple of instances where something was simplistic and unexciting it was followed with something brilliant anyways. The value was spectacular, and the level of range and breadth on display was remarkable. To the best of our recollection here’s what we had, in approximate order:
–Dashi Stock Potato Shooter
–Malpeque Oyster with Horseradish Veil
–Octopus
–Salmon Crudo
–Garlic Knots
–Celery and Black Olive Mousse
–Beef Grugere
–Compressed Spinach with Puffed Grains
–Stuffed Tokyo Turnip
–Korean Rice Cakes
–Scallop with Shellfish Congee
–Roasted Beets with Potato Vinaigrette
–Roasted Sturgeon with Almond Foam and Lemon
–Gooseberry Ginger Freezie Intermezzo
–Roast Chicken with White Bean
–Moon Apple Sorbet
The Celery and Black Olive Mousse was the first tremendous standout. A small cube of gelatinous celery-​flavored mousse, topped with a layer of black olive mousse, it was served in a little pond of celery water and what appeared to be black olive oil. Surrounding the pond was freeze-​dried black olive «dirt» of a fashion that would be familiar to veterans of Bar Chef, and small pieces of compressed, highly flavorful celery leaves garnishing the dish. Shattered and sprinkled over everything were shards of celery brittle, a thin pane of candy glass with a vibrant celery bite. This dish was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Brilliant.
The Roast Chicken with White Bean came in two components, one a perfectly poached loin and the other a cut of shoulder, which appeared to have been de-​boned, de-​skinned, formed into a cylinder, and then re-​wrapped in skin before being broiled. The latter was like eating a piece of chicken that doesn’t actually exist, it was so convincing in its assembly. «Leg or breast?» someone would ask you. And you’d reply, «I’ll have the cylinder, please.» That. Both pieces were delicious and contrasted in flavor, pairing well with the white bean.
The garlic knots were tasty. The beef grugere was a single-​bite standout. The compressed spinach was explosive in its intensity, and the scallop with shellfish congee melted in the mouth. The intermezzo Gooseberry Ginger freezies were remarkably simple, but functionally pleasant, and presented in a giant bowl filled with dry ice, and a frozen puck of water studded with fistfuls of hibiscus and wildflowers. It was, as the staff described it, «The most remarkable presentation of anything tonight for the simplest item on the menu.» This is culinary whimsy done right.
The only real miss was the tiny Stuffed Tokyo Turnip, which drew a general response, of «Yup. Yup that’s a turnip. In my mouth. Swallowing it now.» Unremarkable, but at least enjoyable in its presentation. Everything else was enlightening and elevating.
I’m not in any rush to return to Yours Truly, nor was there anything I ate that I felt I simply must eat again. I think that would fly in the face of the intent, really. This place is about discovery, invention, and incredible execution, and while I usually shy away from the cliché of referring to anything as «an experience» as far as food goes, that’s what this is. To go back and eat the same thing again would be a waste of opportunity. You kick back for a couple hours and just plunge into this world where you have no idea what’s going to happen, but trust that everything will work out to be not just delicious, but remarkable, playful, and thought provoking. And in return the team delivers on their sterling reputation.
Dining here is a true culinary adventure, and Yours Truly stands apart as one of Toronto’s most unique and brilliant restaurants.

Good food but tiny portions.
To add to the evening, I chipped a tooth on an over glazed cherry that was hard as rock. Don’t bother with the place.

The food here is spot on. It’s a really fun menu, with some incredibly creative dishes such as pinenut sorbet between arugula madelines. This chef is solid. The place itself is fun too: loud, young servers, nice look and décor, and excellent bartender.
The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because the whole meal was insanely long. Normally, I’m ok with a really long meal, but the dishes came out in weird spurts and then there was a really long time between the next dish. The timing needs to be adjusted a bit.

Most of the dishes were good, one was outstanding. Wonderful technique however the flavours aren’t there. Dessert was an epic fail, and the quality of service did not match the price point. It failed to be gracious or inviting. While it is a casual atmosphere, it does qualify as fine dining and the service did not rise to the the calling.
I’ve had the good fortune of dining at Per Se a number of times, and while I can see the influences of that famous kitchen in the offerings of Yours Truly it did not match the quality. The dishes were unique and beautifully presented, but it did not provide the flavour bombs we expected.
The dessert and how it was handled was the most disappointing. We had ordered an apple crumble, which contained buckwheat. We are big fans of buckwheat noodles, but buckwheat with apple crumble made for a disgusting flavour clash. The table beside us was just as horrified as we were. While we understand that in trying to be adventures sometimes kitchens miss, it was handled poorly. We mentioned our strong dislike to the waitress, and she said «Well, you must not like buckwheat.» Her attitude was most distasteful. She did NOT remove the dish, nor did the kitchen offer a replacement. At other fine dining experiences where we have run into this problem, they would have at least provided a sorbet and the kitchen would have sought further feedback. This lacked professionalism and elegance.
There are many fine dining experiences in Toronto that surpass what we had that night, and we will not be returning. That being said, we do hope they succeed, and they will if they work out the kinks in their service and make more careful selections for the menu.

Boyfriend took me here on a date and I was so impressed with his decision! Right along the Ossington Strip, lots of good restaurants around and places for drinks afterwards.
We got the prix fixe option — 4 courses with around another 4 complementary dishes. They go to the market everyday and pick the ingredients fresh to make their menu’s. The server was extremely helpful — I don’t eat meat but I love fish, but I’m allergic to shellfish (pescetarian allergic to shellfish) :(Make sure you tell your server of any dietary restrictions, they can offer alternative dishes that are just as tasty!
The dishes were small but so fun and creative! Super tasty too. They came out every 5 – 10 minutes so that gave you time to fill up a little before getting the next dish. We walked out full but also had drinks which helped fill us up I guess.
I wish I remembered everything we got but that alchy didn’t help me with trying to memorize the dishes — the cocktails are strongggg!
Definitely recommend for a splurge date :)

Ordered all eight options for the 4-​course tasting menu. With a buzzing Toronto Life review, unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations (perhaps the standard was better before Jeff Claudio left).
Pros:
— Plenty of complementary dishes (4 – 5)
— Some dishes took big risks and were admirably creative
— Ingredients were indeed fresh
— Relatively inexpensive when compared to other tasting menus (e.g. Canoe, Splendido, Auberge)
Cons:
— None of the dishes were particularly memorable or outstanding
— Dishes were inconsistent (the table next to us ordered the same menu but their dishes were plated completely differently (even the plates were different) and they even had some extra elements on their dishes that we did not have (e.g. they had a foam on one of their dishes while ours didn’t have it)
— Free dishes were not the same for every table (different tables received different free courses, and they seemed to favour tables that ordered alcoholic beverages), which created a sense of resentment when we saw that other tables received far more and better free dishes than us
— Inconsistent wait times in between dishes — sometimes they would bring the next dish before we had even finished our dish and sometimes we had to wait 15 – 30 minutes for the next dish to come
— The cutlery was not changed after every dish (only changed once or twice throughout the entire meal)
— Cutlery was largely inconsistent (my girlfriend and I’s cutlery were often shaped differently, and sometimes spoons were silver while others were unintentionally steel)
— No complementary bread
— Restrooms were disappointingly unclean (by fine dining standards) — this is usually a good indicator of the cleanliness of a restaurant’s kitchen

Finally made it here after making reservation two weeks in advance! Love the ambiance of the place, dark & intimate yet relaxed and unpretentious. Went for the $ 55 four course tasting menu where we got to choose either meat or vegetarian for each course. The theme of the night was Italian but it the dishes were surprisingly unique combining unexpected ingredients and texture. Overall a great place for a late night cozy dinner with small group of friends. I took off one star only because I found the food to be a little on the salty side.
Love: ambiance, simple yet innovative menu, yummy free snacks in between each courses (oysters, olives, bread, dips)!
Hate: hard to get reservation, average cocktails nothing too exciting.

I went to Yours Truly for dinner one night while visiting Toronto, and overall I would say that while the restaurant has a unique way of has a new way of preparing its menu, but the portion sizes are too small to justify the price.
We heard a lot of buzz regarding this restaurant, and with it being new, we wanted to check it out during our visit. The menu is a set of eight ingredients, which are divided into two ingredients for four courses. Since there were two of us, we decided to just split them up and get all eight different dishes. Some of the dishes were inventive, like the carrot two ways, which was a new twist on carrots. (I think was the first time I have like a carrot-​only dish.) But some of the dishes, whileI could see what they are trying to do, they plated it very oddly. The meat dish was basically some type of beef tartare over sushi rice with huge lotus leaves on top, …on a plate that was five times bigger than it needed to be, resulting in the dish seeming too small.
Luckily, we didn’t come to Yours Truly hungry, because we probably would have left hungry even after their four-​course meal. The size of the courses more portended to a 10-​course meal and not a four-​course meal, in my opinion.
The service was nothing special. Our waitress was kind of in and out, and somewhat condescending when we were talking about the dishes. I did like that the kitchen staff brought out their own creations, but I understand that in a busy restaurant, that’s not always possible with every dish. It also took quite a while for us to get our cocktails, and while I asusme that the bar must be slammed during dinner, that’s just a failure of management if you don’t know how many bartenders should have for a full restaurant. (I hate when servers and bartenders use that a bar is «busy» as an excuse for slow service, because it’s not our fault for coming when you have open reservations.)
Overall, I don’t think I would recommend Yours Truly, mostly because there are so many quaint and charming restaurants up and down Ossington Avenue, the competition is rough. Plus, the Toronto food scene is really good, so I definitely think that this restaurant is relying more on buzz and the style of its menu than providing an actually filling prix-​fixe option.

BOTTOM LINE: Their dishes are ambitious and delicious with an infusion of molecular gastronomy, but their pacing and portioning needs work.
Let’s this out of the way: I’m a huge fan of YT — their food, cocktails (try the AMPERSAND or the ELDERBERRY FIZZ), service and vibe are all top notch. They stand out as original and fun, and really ups the standard of the Toronto resto landscape.
This review is for the 4-​course Prix Fixe and 19-​course Carte Blanche (requires reservation and you’re limited to a table of 4 or less). Both tasting menus end up feeding you way more when you include the amuse bouches. :)
Because YT’s menu frequently changes, I won’t focus on specific dishes. Suffice to say, their ingredients are fresh and thematic, and the presentation is fantastic. Some of their dishes delve into a bit of molecular gastronomy with their use of foams and liquid nitrogen. The pictures section does a great job showcasing what these guys can do. One knock, however, is that the menu is, at times, too much of an «experiment in motion»; that is, some of their dishes appear more as «drafts» rather than fully realized creations.
PRIX FIXE $ 45
Personally, I was very satisfied and full with their offerings but I’ve heard mixed reviews from friends who have attended — some had similarly great experiences, while others had to go grab something else afterwards.
CARTE BLANCHE $ 95
At nearly 4 times the amount of food at just twice the price, the Carte Blanche is something truly special to treat yourself to. The pacing and portioning, however, could really use some work. Me and my DC’s ended up sitting for 5 hours for their Carte Blanche, which is way too long, not to mention fatiguing. We arrived on time but the food didn’t come out until an hour later. There were lulls between certain dishes. And finally, I actually think there was TOO MUCH food — I was uncomfortably full afterwards. This is in contrast to the tasting menus at Sushi Kaji, Ruby Watchco and even the 25-​course Momofuku Ko lunch which I’ve comfortably completed in less than 2.5 hours. Given that their Carte Blanche is a relatively recent offering, I’m hopeful they’ll sort it out.
All in all, despite these issues, I really love what YT is doing. I would come here for a bite, a drink, or to gorge myself. Stay hungry my friends.

I recently moved to Toronto and have been visiting some of the more highly rated restaurants. Thus far, nothing has been overly impressive on the nicer restaurant side. I saw Yours Truly noted in a local magazine and decided to give it a try. The fact that the chef had worked at Noma, Per Se, etc. made me fear overpriced bad service as much as anticipate great food.
My party was seated at the bar, where the bartender served up a mix of familiar cocktails and his own creations. Here are the high points…
1. The four course menu features 12 words. Three words per row. you choose your course based on one word. The rest is a surprise. One row might contain «chicken», «carrot», and «corn», etc. It cost 45 $ the night I went. Everything was somewhat surprising and delicious.
2. The service was friendly and attentive. Each course was carefully described as it was presented.
3. The bar featured 10 – 12 cocktails, each around 12 $. Half were classics, while the other half were original to the bar. For 15 $, you could let the bartender surprise you with a creation designed to match your course. There was also beer on tap and a reasonable wine list.
Yours Truly is so much more inventive and tasty than many other places in town awarded the same number of stars by reviewers. It is not Alinea, but for 45 $ for four courses, it easily stacks up against anyone else in town.

I was finally able to get a reservation at Yours Truly after hearing so much about it. Unfortunately, they got rid of their snack menu, so I was dissappointed that I didn’t have the chance to try their infamous duck fat bread. The space is not overtly complicated looking – I would say pretty minimalist with the bar being focal point of the room. The drinks were really good so they’re a must-​try.
We got the $ 45 tasting menu, and the courses are designed after a specific ingredient. I chose beef, egg, chicken and berries. Do not expect big portions. I typically hate people that complain about portions at fine dining restaurants, but do expect really small portions. You’re not going to leave Yours Truly being satisfied, but you will acknowledge that it was a good tasting meal. The food was great, I just wish there had been more.
The beef was a tartar. What I liked was that it had chunkier pieces of beef which gave the texture an extra kick, as opposed to other tartars. The egg dish was the star of the whole course. It was served in a concave dish and truly undescribeable in taste. Truly genius. The chicken was not memorable, but the dessert, which were liquid nitrogen berries was delicious – i just wish there were more berries.
Overall, it is a great spot to come and grab a great drink. Unfortunately, my bill exceeded my level of satisfaction.

Une bonne place pour avoir une Date avec une fille distinguée. Pas trop cher, carte sans prétention avec bons produits frais. Bars, place assises, bonne sélection d’alcool. J’ai mangé le sashimi au saumon en attendant mon lunch avec une lager en lisant mon livre. Bön moment!
A good place for a date with a nice girl that like good food. Not to expensive, Carte with no pretention and good fresh produces. Whille waiting for the lunch I had the Sashimi Salmon served with pickled dykon and white plum sauce and parmesan. Very good with my lager and a book. Good Times!