I remember the first time I ate at Philthy McNasty’s well. It was the recommendation of one of my girlfriends; we were about to go watch Dirty Dancing, the play, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre but wanted to grab some grub first. I was completely unaware of what to expect. All I was hoping was that the eatery wouldn’t be covered with dust and cobwebs and that the food would be satisfactory.

The interior was actually much cleaner and more chic than the name of the restaurant would suggest. Basement-level, the large dining room has a “retro” underground bar feel. I ordered the Chicken and Shrimp Fettucine and I was not disappointed. My food was hot, fresh, and tasty. But, Philthy McNasty’s doesn’t only serve pasta – food options include chicken wings, salads, soups, burgers, pizza, stir fry and more! 

Our waitress was very attentive – just the right amount of attentive. Philthy’s is unlike some restaurants where the staff is constantly pestering its clients and others in which the staff doesn’t check up on its customers enough. Servers at this delightful restaurant will take care of you and your date, but won’t be annoying, allowing you two the ultimate privacy.

A fun perk about Philthy McNasty’s is that children aged 10 & younger who order dessert from the Kids’ Menu have a chance to win a free chocolate pie! All they have to do is tell a joke to the restaurant over a microphone and the pie is theirs. Bravery is the key. If your little brother, sister, or child is accompanying you and your significant other, this is an exciting treat in which they can partake.

Another upside to this dinery is its location in the heart of the theatre district. If you and your partner are completely puzzled after a night of fine dining, take a romantic stroll around the area, scoping out interesting places, or watch a play at the Princess of Wales or Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Philthy McNasty’s is located at:
276 King St. W.
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1J2
For other locations in the GTA, visit http://www.philthymcnastys.com

Philthy McNasty’s deserves a 5/5 in my book. Not only it is reasonably priced, but the food tastes great. Service is excellent. This casual eatery is a great place for a dress-down date. Best of all, if you’d like to spend an evening in Toronto with your sweetheart, Philthy McNasty’s is in the midst of entertaining places like theatres, night clubs such as Mink and Rockwood, and concert halls like Roy Thompson. Don’t take my word for it, check it out yourself! Take a walk, take a jog, or hop on over to Philthy McNasty’s!

From the Beer Bistro website:  “In a recent brunch revue: Brunch Spotlight’ on Toronto.com beerbistro was touted as “a good place to take a date or best friend for an upscale brunch experience” , the food comments included: ‘The Eggs Benny served on russet potato scallion latkas rule” “try the Chambly smoked salmon and asparagus or the lobster, sweet pea and smoked cheddar varieties” and “Can’t go wrong either with their great tasting Beer Bistro Burger with Belgian ale on a buttermilk bun…’. The kitchen works diligently to bring you a brunch menu that features new and inventive takes on seasonal – traditional brunch time fare. A Fresh market menu means our bakers are in early every morning making fresh breads, pastries, and muffins so that you can enjoy a bakery basket right out of the oven!

In a polished, comfortable, upscale space in Toronto’s financial and neighboring theatre districts, beerbistro does beer true justice. Aside from a carefully selected list of over 130 ales and lagers, in our kitchen beer infuses, pitches, cures, marinates, poaches and stews in virtually every mouth watering dish.  From pulled pork slowly smoked with coffee porter to salmon cured in an orangey Belgian wheat beer, from house-churned beer ice creams to our freshly baked sourdough bread pitched with the prized Belgian beer Cantillon’s yeast; beerbistro’s menu is a veritable kaleidoscopic beer wonderland.”

Where:  beerbistro
Address: 18 King Street East (at Yonge Street). Toronto, Ontario. M5C 1C4
Phone: 416.861.9872
When: Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 A.M. to 3/4 P,M,
Parking:  Street and public parking nearby
Price: About $35 per couple
Website: http://www.beerbistro.com
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Why:  Beer inspired cuisine, Winterlicious participant, Open Sundays until 11 P.M.!, Romantic decor and atmosphere, earned great reviews, check out their website for recipes

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Summer 2007 / Top 10 Amorous Foods of Toronto are:

10. Deep’n & Delicious Double Chocolate Cake. Should I notify McCain and let them know that Torontonian’s are having a cheap and tawdry love affair with their cake? I mean its good cake and all, but to make the top 10, that’s just wrong!
09. Honey. Far be it for me to judge because this one shamefully even I forgot about on my own personal list, so thanks to the kinkies out there who brought this back into the mix!
08. Coconut/Papaya/Kiwi/Passion Fruits. Apart from the obvious latter, I’m attributing the amorous effects on the rest of these contenders to their unique & exotic aroma’s and tastes. Apparently instant erotica.
07. Tapas. An eclectic mix of appetizers both hot & cold which are eaten together as a meal. Originally stemming from Spanish Cuisine this is now a very popular mainstream form of eating with many cultural influences and flavors and also one of my personal top list favorites.
06. Pâté. I’m assuming any and all kinds, you had no clear favorite.
05. Caviar. This classic is standing the test of time and has my full support.
04. Oysters on the half shell. Yeah, like we didn’t see this one coming!
03. Red Wine. Indeed, a little or a lot of vino rouge combined with pretty much anything, i.e. a fireplace, candles, an intimate dinner, a Villa in Florence…what? I’m just saying.
02. Chocolate Fondue. Truth be told there were a few variations involving chocolate and while most love it in ALL forms, specifically for amorous seductions it’s most popular in it’s liquid form… gee I can’t hardly imagine why? Kinkies you had something to do with this didn’t you?
01. Strawberries and Whip Cream. Some things just never change and I suppose, as they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I could however suggest the addition of some #9 or #2 for any, ménage a trios desires. What? I’m just saying…

Now, it appears not as many share my personal penchant for sushi quite the same way I do, so the cheese stands alone and my aristocratic ways strike again. And since pretty much all of these contenders except for one can be found at most if not all grocery stores, I decided to focus my efforts into our #7 spot holder Tapas. (Which by the way is derived from the Spanish word “Tapa”, meaning “lid” or ‘cover”) Intrigued? As was I and so here is why: Apparently original tapas were actually bread slices that were used to cover the glasses of sherry drinkers to prevent pesky fruit flies in Andalusian taverns. As evolution would have it, soon these lonely slices were being dressed up becoming the perfect accompaniment to a drink before lunch or dinner, other wise known today as your next date. Speaking of which without further adieu, here is one of the best spots in Toronto.

Tabule Restaurant-2009 Yonge Street / Davisville / 416.483.3747 www.tabule.ca
Tabule is warm, quaint, intimate and always jamming. Its Middle Eastern influence and allure has spread fast and is showcased in every tantalizing and delicious tapas dish.

One of the most romantic things to do in Toronto is to dine near the top of the CN Tower at the 360 Restaurant, more than one thousand feet above the city. Dozens of marriage proposals have been tendered there each year. If you snag a table for Christmas Eve and pop the question, you’ll want to buy the photograph that will be taken of you and your honey before you ascend. Otherwise, don’t be fooled (as I was) into believing this is one of the extensive security checks that precede your journey up to the restaurant.

Tower security personnel may lead you to suspect that, by comparison, airport checkpoints are positively lax (not to mention speedy).At thirty years old, Toronto’s amazing Tower still holds its record as the tallest freestanding structure on the globe. After you enter the glass elevator, you will soar 553.33 metres (1,815 feet, 5 inches) upward at a speed ranging between 1200 feet per minute and the elevator’s slowest speed, 600 feet per minute. The slower speed is achieved in stages when special sensors detect high winds. The clear glass allows you and your love to gaze down on the city lights as they spin away. On a clear day, you can see for one hundred and sixty kilometres (one hundred miles). But, of course, on a clear day you will not see any lights. Best to go there at night. At the top, you are greeted by the maitre d’ who shows you to your table. Don’t bother to try to orient yourself by noting landmarks because your table rotates around the interior of the restaurant. There are no bad seats. If you don’t get a window, you will perch on a “balcony” with a spectacular view over the heads of the diners at the window. Chances are that you’ll be somewhat more comfortable than they are, as the window seats tend to be cool, especially when your table comes around to the wine “cellar,” which keeps 9,000 carefully chosen bottles of vino at precisely the right temperature—not necessarily the most comfortable for elegantly dressed women diners. With luck, the 360 will not have run out of your wine selection, although they had not one bottle in stock of the first two we ordered.

Your table will make a complete revolution every 72 minutes, an unhurried pace that will afford plenty of time to figure out where the Gardiner sits and to search for the Spadina Circle. The menu is imaginative, at times too imaginative perhaps, but definitely interesting. The faint-of-palate may opt for a conventional Caesar salad to start, its sole innovation being the inclusion of pancetta. For the more adventurous, there is plenty to choose from. I warn you, however, that the escargot does not come in its shells. Long slimy soil-eating mollusks stretched across my plate took me, at least, a bit of getting used to. Two prixe fixe menus allow for slimming the choices of appetizer, main course, and dessert. The main courses cover an array of old standards, from prime rib to Cornish hen. The roasted loin of Berkshire pork and duck confit was tasty, although the confit a trifle overdone. The dessert menu seemed to overreach so we opted for a dessert wine. Unfortunately, whoever assembled that magnificent cellar had pretty much phoned in his or her effort in the sweet wine category. Not even a single late harvest Gewurztraminer or Riesling. ??One difficulty with the food arises perhaps from the fact that the 360 has two kitchens and thus ferries food between them. Apparently, this increases the likelihood that your dinner will arrive tepid, not sizzling hot. This defect undermined my pleasure in the food.??Yet, as one diner remarked, you don’t go to the 360 for the food; you go there for the spectacular experience. In this regard, the 360 does not disappoint.

The service may be a bit slapdash and the food not be the most wonderful you will ever taste—but you will have a romantic evening to remember, if you can afford it. Prices for the experience range between $60 and $120 per person, depending in part on your beverage choice. The 360 does serve beer, if you want it, although they do not for some reason list it on the menu. The 360 is probably the most romantic dining experience in town. As you descend, very likely your sweetheart will thank you with a passionate kiss. Therefore, I recommend it.

Imagine yourself 51 stories above the busy city streets staring into a sea of spectacular lights and the one and only CN Tower.  No this isn’t you’re typical tourist hot spot in the Tower’s 360 Restaurant or in a high rise condo downtown, it’s another fantastic spot to take someone for a romantic time out with a view. 

Panorama is at 55 Bloor Street West in Yorkville.  There is nothing better than a unique stop off either at the beginning or near the end of your night with your beau.  The lounge has trendy music and a great atmosphere. 

Not only could you enjoy one of their tasty martinis or specialty cocktails but you can also make your way up in their elevator to taste one of their delectable desserts made for two.  The chocolate fondue for a duo is my favourite including fresh fruit and rich delicious chocolate to smother your fruit in. 

After satisfying your sweet-tooth walk on outside to enjoy a chat on Toronto’s highest licensed patio. Why don’t you just move your drinks to one of the comfortable outside lounge spots and enjoy the rest of the night under the stars and gazing into the city lights?

This hot spot is by far one of the nicest places to take someone on a date, if you don’t believe me maybe have some faith in the awards it has won.  Some of them include best view, most romantic place for a date and best cocktails in publications such as WHERE Magazine. For reservations call them at (416) 967-0000 or visit their website at http://www.eatertainment.com/restaurants/panorama/. 

Please note that unfortunately all guests visiting Panorama must be at least 18 years of age

What:  Panorama
Where:     Manulife Centre – 51st Floor.  55 Bloor Street West – Toronto
Parking:  Underground and nearby. 
When: Patio is open for the summer, reserved seating is only available before 9PM.  Reservations are open from 5pm – 9pm Everyday
Price:  about $55+ for two
Why:  city line view that’s almost as high as the CN Tower, very romantic, patio for summertime, Valentine’s specials, shopping is close by
Website:  http://www.eatertainment.com/restaurants/panorama/