Antler Kitchen and Bar Michael Hunter Antler Kitchen & Bar

Antler Kitchen & Bar Awards

Antler’s focus on game meat makes it a prime stop in Toronto’s Little Portugal.
Openings: Dinner Tues.-Sun., Brunch Sat.-Sun.

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Antler Kitchen & Bar, Toronto, canada


Antler Kitchen & Bar Restaurant Review:


Antler Kitchen & Bar highlights game meat and seasonal ingredients in Toronto’s Little Portugal. The dining room is uncomplicated with wooden pews and chairs, and pictures of nature. The service level is high; the pace of the meal doesn’t feel rushed but guests don’t have to wait long for dishes to arrive. A necessary choice for those who favor cured and smoked meats is the charcuterie platter; it might be comprised of generous servings of smoked duck, cured beef and pickled veggies. The chef’s specialty is spice ash-crusted deer rack with warming spices like cinnamon; it’s served atop shredded shoulder meat and creamy parsnip purée. Despite the variety of game on the menu, all of it is farmed since it is illegal for Ontario restaurants to sell wild meat. Exceptional are the dishes of pasta, which is rolled thinly but still al dente on the plate. Meaty fish mimics the richness of traditional bacon in the sturgeon carbonara special. Sample the pine-dusted ricotta cheesecake with blueberry compote for dessert or the pine needle ice, a sweet white granita imitating the earthiness of winter greenery and frosty snow.