/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Food & Drink

Review: Contemporary Canadian cuisine and potent cocktails at The Guild on Dundas West

By Toronto Life
Copy link
Review: The Guild
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

The Guild 1442 Dundas St. W., 647-343-7288

We’ve updated our star ratings system since this article was first published. Read more about the change here, and find the up-to-date rating in our restaurant listings.

This new Dundas West spot has plenty of potential, but needs more polish to compete with the other Canadian-centric restaurants on the scene.

The best thing about The Guild is the selection of inventive, potent drinks from bartender Alex Jones; for his Orange Cigar, he blends scotch, apple brandy, sweet vermouth, aperol, and orange flower water into a smoky, tart cocktail, garnished with a singed, still-smouldering orange peel. The decor is intentionally hodge-podge—pressed tin ceilings, terrariums, bathrooms wallpapered with old cookbook pages—but the jumbled approach doesn’t always work so well on the plate, as in a bland combination of smoked duck, bok choy and foie gras. Superb handmade gnocchi are pillow-soft, though the wild boar–porcini sauce could use some extra oomph. On the plus side, warm house-made beignets come with a scoop of glorious dark chocolate sorbet. Service is attentive but scattered.

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

"We love a good drama queen or king": This guy is bringing a Summer House –inspired reality series to Muskoka
Culture

“We love a good drama queen or king”: This guy is bringing a Summer House–inspired reality series to Muskoka

Inside the Latest Issue

The June issue of Toronto Life features our annual ranking of the best new restaurants. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.