Story | Renee Suen Photography | Daniel Neuhaus, Renee Suen
Whether it’s for a properly dry-aged cut that’s prepared by the kitchen or at the table, the new beef-focused restaurants redefine the tried and true.
Toronto loves to eat, and one of its best attributes is having a variety of restaurants that showcase almost every country of the world. Although there have been many flavourful openings in recent times, it’s those that place a spotlight on red meat that have taken the city by storm.
Yes, there are the splashy and refined spaces that focus on premium cuts, the embellished sides and impressive seafood offerings in a glossy, decked out space. However, there are also a handful that explore that ethos, but with a modern Toronto twist.
Linny’s
176 Ossington Ave.
linnysrestaurant.com
From its understated entrance that opens into a long dining room that’s a page out of Mad Men, this sprawling mid-century style, fully accessible, 80-seat restaurant drips with nostalgic charm in a moody, group-friendly hideaway.
Linny’s
For a livelier space, Linny’s curved art deco–inspired marble bar is great for solo diners or two-tops.
Walk past the enticing entrance bar into the main room that features plush corduroy-lined circular booths and a view of the open kitchen from a grid window partition. There, you might spot chef-owner David Schwartz, winner of the 2023 Michelin Guide Toronto Young Chef award, or Linny’s head chef, Ethan Rogers, at work.
A view into Linny’s kitchen from the dining room.
Named after Schwartz’s mother Linda, Linny’s menu was created with her cooking in mind. Billed as a deli-inspired steakhouse, the restaurant’s menu is a nod to Schwartz’s childhood and his Eastern European heritage.
Located just behind the hostess stand, framed and mounted pages from Schwartz’s mother’s recipe books are on display.
There is a must-have challah service that features a supple homemade braided boule that’s served with lush fresh cheese, jam and tart house pickles. Start with a Caesar salad that’s finished with shards of crispy chicken skin, finger-friendly chicken liver toast and blintzes and/or latkes topped with Ora king salmon. Feeling fancy? Add an order of Kaluga caviar.
The fluke and fennel starter dresses the crudo with fennel oil, garlic and sprigs of watercress.
The delicate Zucchini and Anchovies side caps alternating squash slices with thin filets of Cantabrian anchovy that’s finished with lovage-infused oil.
Linny’s Ontario-raised beef is brushed with tallow butter before it’s seared in an overfired broiler. The choice cuts range from a hanger steak from Speckle Park farm to a dry-aged, pasture-raised porterhouse from Pure Island Beef.
Linny’s New York Strip is prepared in an overfired broiler, brush finished with rendered pastrami pan drippings and topped with tallow butter.
Linny’s signature: The hand-cut pastrami features a brined and heavily seasoned brisket that’s smoked for 15 hours then thickly sliced to order.
You would be remiss if you were to skip the house specialties, like the flavourful roasted lamb neck from Beverly Creek Farms that’s bathed in brown sauce, or a generous serving of tripe schnitzel with chicken gravy. However, the star is Linny’s handsliced, thick-cut pastrami, that’s a delightful balance of mildly smoky, fatty and savoury flavours.
Linny’s Dilly Dally is a bright and savoury dill pickle sour cocktail that can be made with or without tequila. The refreshing drink consists of fresh-pressed cucumber juice, dill cordial, sour green apple and crowned with aquafaba sprinkled with charred onionskin powder.
For drinks, there’s an international list, along with a selection of beers and ciders. Whimsical cocktails—both with alcohol and without—include the earthy Borscht Milk Punch using aquavit, organic beet juice, raspberry and rose syrup, plus strained kefir. Others might include a cordial that’s infused with dill pickle, horseradish for a kicked-up Gibson and other original combinations with fig and truffle, or manzanilla with pineapple and tarragon.
Takja BBQ House
962 College St.
takja.ca
While Takja is billed as a Korean BBQ experience, it is no DIY matter. Here, the restaurant’s friendly servers cook each piece of meat to perfection at tableside while guests sit back for a relaxed night.
Takja BBQ House
Known for operating dry-aged seafood specialist Oroshi Fish Co. in the laneway next door, chefs Jeff Kang and Edward Bang, and co-owner Jason Ching have created a refined space in Little Italy. Takja showcases the diverse flavours of Korea in the form of fresh seafood and farm-raised premium meats that are dryaged in house. This theme carries over to all things fermented, including low-intervention wines, cocktails and Korean spirits featuring an exclusive makgeolli. Expect everything from succulent Iberico pluma, to sweet Nova Scotia scallops to bonein ribeye galbi, plus stone pot rice and cold noodle dishes on the a la carte menu.
BBQ options range from beef (galbi and A5 Wagyu striploin shown here), as well as seafood such as Kanpachi, plus seasonal vegetables and mushrooms.
Takja’s banchan includes a delightful scallion salad, white napa cabbage kimchi, soy-pickled mustard leaf, spicy radish, jalapeno muchim, squid jeotgal (salted fermented squid), ssamjang (house-made Korean miso), fresh wasabi and lettuce (for lettuce wraps).
The dry-aged rib eye is gently cooked on the grill with king oyster mushrooms and other seasonal vegetables.
The Mushroom Stone Pot Rice features matsutake, chanterelle, maitake, shimeji and cremini.
The Spicy Bibim Cold Noodle caps bouncy, spicy bibim sauce-slicked noodles with tender skate wing and refreshing radish.
For the ultimate experience, the Hansang is a tasting experience that starts with a parade of banchan and homemade condiments, then transitions to a seafood tower and delightful seafood pancakes christened with Hokkaido uni. The main event includes a selection of cuts that might feature Miyazaki A5 wagyubefore a refreshing finish with a choice of seasonal bingsoo.
The opening volley of the Hansang features a seafood tower with oysters, cocktail shrimp, scallops with mustard and seaweed vinaigrette, razor clams, bluefin tuna, seasonal crudités and chojang.
Fluffy Bingsoo (shaved ice) is topped with seasonally inspired flavours, like a delightful cornflake-infused milk with corn custard and sorghum.
