What’s on the menu at Taline, a new Armenian restaurant in Rosedale
It’s from the former head chef of Mamakas Taverna
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Name: Taline
Contact: 1276 Yonge St., talineto.ca, @talineto
Neighbourhood: Rosedale
Owners: Sebouh, Serouj and Saro Yacoubian
Chefs: Sebouh Yacoubian (Mamakas Taverna)
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Named for their late mother, Taline is run by chef Sebouh Yacoubian and his brothers, Serouj and Saro. For his menu, chef Seb took a few pages from his mom’s cookbook and rewrote them in light of his classical French culinary training. Seb’s mantra is to cook from the heart—just like his mother, who died when he was 16. At the same time, he’s pushing the boundaries of how people perceive Armenian and Lebanese food—it’s not just shawarma and kebab.
Related: Toronto’s 10 best, most bountiful hummus bowls, ranked
Seb’s culinary education began at home, watching cooking shows. “I was that weird 11-year-old kid watching Emeril Lagasse on Saturday mornings while everyone else was watching cartoons,” he recalls. “I just fell in love with how you can speak through food.”
At 14, Seb became a prep cook in Massimo Capra’s kitchen. He was in the big leagues—and he was hooked. He went on to formally train at the Culinary Institute of America and Toronto’s Liaison College. “I never thought in a million years I’d have a restaurant with my two younger brothers. We sit down and have business meetings together. It’s cool. It’s different. I used to be like their co-parent after my mom passed, but now they’re my partners.”
The food
The menu is adapted from Taline’s own recipes and tells the story of her upbringing. Seb has also incorporated the flavour of childhood memories: the taste of sweet cantaloupe on vacation in Armenia, the toasted sunflower seeds rolled up in newspapers and sold on street corners, and the arak that people often drink when fishing in Lebanon. The Yacoubians also have a hand in growing and selecting local ingredients—all the microgreens they use are grown hydroponically with the help of Krop in Vaughan, and they have their own beehive at Vosgi Honey in King City.
The drinks
Taline has recently started bottling their own orange wine with local winemaker Norman Hardie. “In Armenia, it’s all about skin-contact wines,” says Seb, so an orange wine felt appropriate. They’re also in the process of producing their own arak, a flavoured spirit made of grapes and aniseed that’s prominent in the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean region. Keeping with the theme, cocktails play up flavours of tahini, orange blossom and fresh herbs.
The space
The two-storey restaurant is soaked in warm lighting, and the olive-green, brown and copper tones represent Taline’s favourite colours. On the main floor, it’s all exposed brick and leather banquettes. Upstairs, decorated ceilings and stained-glass windows frame a gorgeous skylight. Custom art by Toronto-based husband-and-wife duo Karagusi line the walls, and a seven-foot-tall olive tree is the room’s centrepiece.
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Name: Taline
Contact: 1276 Yonge St., talineto.ca, @talineto
Neighbourhood: Rosedale
Owners: Sebouh, Serouj and Saro Yacoubian
Chefs: Sebouh Yacoubian (Mamakas Taverna)
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Named for their late mother, Taline is run by chef Sebouh Yacoubian and his brothers, Serouj and Saro. For his menu, chef Seb took a few pages from his mom’s cookbook and rewrote them in light of his classical French culinary training. Seb's mantra is to cook from the heart—just like his mother, who died when he was 16. At the same time, he's pushing the boundaries of how people perceive Armenian and Lebanese food—it’s not just shawarma and kebab.
Related: Toronto's 10 best, most bountiful hummus bowls, ranked
[caption id="attachment_624242" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Chef Sebouh Yacoubian in his kitchen[/caption]
Seb's culinary education began at home, watching cooking shows. “I was that weird 11-year-old kid watching Emeril Lagasse on Saturday mornings while everyone else was watching cartoons,” he recalls. “I just fell in love with how you can speak through food.”
At 14, Seb became a prep cook in Massimo Capra’s kitchen. He was in the big leagues—and he was hooked. He went on to formally train at the Culinary Institute of America and Toronto's Liaison College. “I never thought in a million years I'd have a restaurant with my two younger brothers. We sit down and have business meetings together. It's cool. It's different. I used to be like their co-parent after my mom passed, but now they’re my partners.”
[caption id="attachment_624254" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] From left to right: chef Sebouh Yacoubian with his brothers, Saro and Serouj[/caption]
The food
The menu is adapted from Taline’s own recipes and tells the story of her upbringing. Seb has also incorporated the flavour of childhood memories: the taste of sweet cantaloupe on vacation in Armenia, the toasted sunflower seeds rolled up in newspapers and sold on street corners, and the arak that people often drink when fishing in Lebanon. The Yacoubians also have a hand in growing and selecting local ingredients—all the microgreens they use are grown hydroponically with the help of Krop in Vaughan, and they have their own beehive at Vosgi Honey in King City.
[caption id="attachment_624240" align="aligncenter" width="2500"] Instead of serving lavash, Seb is bringing back the lost art of matnakash, an ancient Armenian bread made with a sourdough-like starter. Traditionally, a diluted yogurt is brushed on before baking to give it colour. At Taline, they use a tea steeped with various spices to add another level of flavour[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624256" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Hummus arrives topped with marinated snow peas, a black garlic tapenade and shavings of cured egg yolk for depth. $16[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624260" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Labneh, a refreshing strained-yogurt dip, comes topped with cucumber, dill and pieces of honeycomb toffee. It's served with matnakash for dipping. $16[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624269" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The fattoush salad is made with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots and matnakash croutons, all tossed in a sumac-based vinaigrette and topped with a pile of purslane and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses. $26[/caption]
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[caption id="attachment_624277" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Here we have the tsoug, a whole grilled Ontario trout garnished with arak-marinated honeydew, za’atar, charred grapes, persimmon, sunflower seeds and cantaloupe leaves. $46[/caption]
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[caption id="attachment_624261" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The lamb-vochkhar is Ontario-raised lamb butchered in-house and adorned with ras al-hanout and thyme. It's served with a side of jajekh (Armenia’s answer to tzatziki) and bulgur salad. $50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624257" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Kaghamp is a reimagined cabbage roll. The cabbage is seared and then braised in a hearty vegetable stock. It’s then doused in a caramelized fennel tahini and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pomegranate and some sumac for acidity. $24[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624258" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Here's a view of the other side[/caption]
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The drinks
Taline has recently started bottling their own orange wine with local winemaker Norman Hardie. “In Armenia, it’s all about skin-contact wines,” says Seb, so an orange wine felt appropriate. They’re also in the process of producing their own arak, a flavoured spirit made of grapes and aniseed that’s prominent in the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean region. Keeping with the theme, cocktails play up flavours of tahini, orange blossom and fresh herbs.
[caption id="attachment_624248" align="aligncenter" width="2500"] The Dilijan is made with olive oil gin and orange blossom water topped with egg white. $20[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624237" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The Anjar, Taline’s version of a piña colada, is a blend of pineapple rum, jasmine, pandan and coconut. $22[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_624238" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The Araradian Valley is made with burnt honey tahini–washed Ararat (Armenian brandy), orange and Angostura washed with a smooth cocoa butter. $24[/caption]
The space
The two-storey restaurant is soaked in warm lighting, and the olive-green, brown and copper tones represent Taline’s favourite colours. On the main floor, it's all exposed brick and leather banquettes. Upstairs, decorated ceilings and stained-glass windows frame a gorgeous skylight. Custom art by Toronto-based husband-and-wife duo Karagusi line the walls, and a seven-foot-tall olive tree is the room's centrepiece.
[caption id="attachment_624267" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Highlights from the Yacoubian family photo album line the walls[/caption]
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