Introducing: Patois, a new destination on Dundas West for Asian-Caribbean street food
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Neighbourhood: Trinity Bellwoods
Contact Info: 794 Dundas St. W., 647-350-8999, patoistoronto.com
Owner/chef: Craig Wong, who trained in Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred restaurant Fat Duck and spent a decade cooking for Toronto’s elite at Luma and Senses before deciding he was bored with fussy food
The Food: Wong draws upon his Jamaican-Chinese heritage for inspiration, but his menu doesn’t stick exclusively to Caribbean and Cantonese flavours. There’s also roasted Portuguese chicken with jerk spices, pierogi potstickers doused with kimchi sour cream and “dirty fried rice,” which adds a Cajun kick to the Chinese takeout staple. On the lighter side, a classic Waldorf salad gets a Pacific makeover with wakame (i.e. seaweed) and sesame.
The Drinks: General manager Alyssa Luckhurt adds tropical panache to standard cocktails. Trade Winds, a Dark and Stormy variant, gets a jolt from simple syrup infused with Chinese five spice.
The Place: Between the turquoise bar and waggish decor, the 65-seat space (previously a flower shop) resembles the set of a Wes Anderson flick. Inflatable pool toys adorn the ceiling, sections of concrete floor are painted with black-and-white chevrons and countless curios are affixed the walls. Subtle touches of black, green and yellow allude to the Jamaican flag.
281587 <strong>Patois</strong> is located at 794 Dundas West, between Markham and Palmerston (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-01.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-01/ patois-toronto-restaurant-01 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281588 Owner <strong>Craig Wong</strong> thought the prices people were quoting him for signs were outrageous, so he bought $40 worth of wood and $40 worth of nails and got to hammering (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-02.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-02/ patois-toronto-restaurant-02 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281589 <em>Likkle more</em> is patois for “I’ll catch you later” (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-03.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-03/ patois-toronto-restaurant-03 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281590 Wong’s wife, a red-carpet makeup artist called <strong>Ivy Lam</strong>, helped with the decorating (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-04.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-04/ patois-toronto-restaurant-04 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281604 (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-18-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-18.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-18.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-18/ patois-toronto-restaurant-18 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281600 (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-14-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-14.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-14.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-14/ patois-toronto-restaurant-14 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281605 This particular piece of wall decor pays homage to the <a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.651875,-79.408136,3a,90y,27h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sVMgo-z4gjIHY7MmrTO7RWw!2e0!6m1!1e1" target="_blank">flower shop</a> that used to occupy the space (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-19-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-19.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-19.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-19/ patois-toronto-restaurant-19 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281595 Beef-and-pork pierogi potstickers are served with caramelized onions, bacon and kimchi sour cream ($11) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-09.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-09/ patois-toronto-restaurant-09 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281593 Churrasqueira jerk chicken is cooked rotisserie-style ($15, half; $23, whole) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-07.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-07/ patois-toronto-restaurant-07 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281596 Dirty Fried Rice is mixed with red sausage, sweet soy sauce, peas, eggs and the “Cajun holy trinity” of onions, bell peppers and celery ($11) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-10.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-10/ patois-toronto-restaurant-10 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281598 Wong’s fried chicken is served with Thai-basil watermelon, jalapeno-pickled Asian pear and a sweet Sriracha sauce ($16, half; $24, whole) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-12-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-12.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-12/ patois-toronto-restaurant-12 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281599 The Cherry Blossom is a tropical blend of gin, mango-guava tea, pineapple shrub and cherry bitters ($10) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-13-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-13.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-13.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-13/ patois-toronto-restaurant-13 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281601 Local photographer <a href="http://www.kenremark.com/450736/about-ken/" target="_blank"><strong>Ken Remark</strong></a> shot this photo of Craig Wong (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-15-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-15.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-15.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-15/ patois-toronto-restaurant-15 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
281591 Inflatable pool toys are part of the decor (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Patois https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/patois-toronto-restaurant-05.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/food/patois-toronto-restaurants/slide/patois-toronto-restaurant-05/ patois-toronto-restaurant-05 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
Wow. This sounds absolutely scrumptious. On my list of places to try!
http://www.memoirsofanesha.wordpress.com
I sampled some of Craig’s fare at a takeover he did at Tallboys a few months ago. Such a nice guy and those potstickers are MADNESS. Can’t wait to have them again in his own spot.
I tried twice to check out this new spot and support my West Indian culture. And tried to bring a large party of people with me, about 15 people. This place made it such a hassle to cater to this reservation, so much so that I’m not even interested anymore. Surprising for a new spot, but it should be kept in mind that customers come first, we’re your livelihood, and word spreads.