A friend and I had lunch here yesterday and enjoyed our meals. Although most people seemed to be dressed up and we were not, as we had been for a walk in the rain, no one made us feel under dressed. The restaurant is downtown and right next to The Grand Theatre so a good spot for a meal before or after a play. I’ll have to keep that in mind the next time I go to the theatre. The walls are exposed brick and there are two sides to the restaurant so it is bigger than it first appears.
My friend enjoyed the garlic bisque (slow roasted garlic, caramelized onions, thyme, cream, truffle oil garnish for $9) which tasted like French onion soup that was pureed with cream, and a green salad (mixed greens, vegetable ribbons, crumbled feta and honey Dijon vinaigrette for $12) with an added chicken breast ($8). There were a few ribbons of vegetables but they were hidden. It was still tasty. While my friend had her soup, they brought some focaccia and oil/vinegar for dipping which was very good. I had the pear and prosciutto salad (organic greens, poached pear, fresh prosciutto, buffalo style goat mozzarella, toasted pecans and crisp prosciutto for $16) and it was very good. There was plenty of prosciutto – so much I ended up not eating it all. Alas we were too full for dessert.
On a return visit I have my eye on the mussels…
Although you can make reservations, we did not need one to get in. We parked about a block away by Victoria Park. There are two hours of free parking on Saturdays.
www.garlicsoflondon.com
