The Hornero Restaurant

It's been a long day. A long day of studying with some lounging around in between. So it's only natural to crave a fantastic dinner to top it all off. My friend's birthday dinner is rolling around at a perfect time! Italian food is on the agenda for tonight, and who am I to say no to Italian?? I've been all over Toronto, searching for that perfect Italian joint that will give me everything I want. The food, the friendliness, the ambience. Hoping I haven't set my standards too high, I venture off into the light rain/snow (or however you want to define Toronto's indecisive weather), to see what The Hornero Restaurant is all about.

We turn left onto Maitland and immediately the "Hornero" illuminating lights make themselves known down the street. We enter the restaurant and are immediately overwhelmed with how quiet it is. Even with a small whisper and a subtle look, the whole restaurant is our audience. Trying our best to overcome this, we sit down at the longest table in the vicinity. We spend a good three minutes catching up with friends before the waiter decides to make an appearance. He hurriedly scampers around the table, making sure the newcomers know what their options are for food. As quick as he's there, he's gone in a flash, only to return 30 seconds later with a pitcher of water. I'm astounded by the pace this guy is moving at. Is he running the whole restaurant? My suspicions are more and more confirmed as the evening progresses, but more on that later.

When I go out to an Italian restaurant, I like to enjoy a nice glass of red wine (preferably chianti) with my meal. It's tradition. So I'm mildly surprised when there's no wine list in sight. I ask the waiter for one, and staying true to his character, he dashes off to another table, returning to place the list in my hands. For anyone who isn't looking to splurge on an entire bottle, you're not going to have much luck here. If you're going for a glass, be prepared to narrow your choices down to a simple "Red wine" or "White wine". I'm going with the red. It's a Merlot so not too bad, but I am a Chianti person through and through when it comes to Italian, so this is kind of a buzzkill. I try to get the waiter's attention amongst the hustle and bustle of his attention span. He puts up his pointer finger to let me know I'll be waiting longer than I thought. We look through the menu so we can catch him at the next opportune moment. Now I'm no expert in Argentinian food, but I think there's some sneaky false advertising going on here. The website advertises this place as the "best Argentinian and Italian restaurant in the downtown core" (a little arrogant no??). But this place is screaming Italian to me. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when the waiter returns to our table. He takes our meal orders, and I manage to slip my drink order in there too. 

The bread and the caesar salad arrive first. I'm not feeling any authenticity here whatsoever. The bread is presented in a generic bread basket, with little packets of butter placed in between each slice. I can get this pretty much at any chain restaurant, so why would I want this in what's supposed to be "the best Italian restaurant". Place some oil and vinegar out there, then maybe we can talk. The caesar salad isn't much better. I feel like I'm eating dressing with a side of lettuce instead of the other way around. The croutons are abundant, perhaps to make up for the lack of quality that is the salad. At this point, I'm not setting my sights so high for the pizza.

But the pizza does arrive, and it's certainly an improvement. Although nothing of Café Diplomatico or Grazie quality, (BEST Italian food in Toronto by FAR!), it's putting in a good effort to look appealing. I take a bite and it's what I expected, not the greatest, but definitely satisfactory for this evening. My friend orders a Coke to go along with her pizza, which never ends up seeing the light of day. 

Once everyone has finished up their meals, the waiter is immediately on our case as to how we'll be paying. We ask for separate bills. Wrong answer. He goes off on a rant as to how he's extremely busy (which I believe translates into "I'm running the restaurant!"), so we quickly calm him down by saying we'll pay by his rules. So one by one we form an orderly queue, stretching across half the restaurant (and if we weren't drawing attention to ourselves before, we certainly are now). I tell him what I had, and he immediately brings up the fact that I split my caesar salad with my friend. I say that I'll pay for it now, it's not a big deal since she's my roommate, I'll get her share of the money later. He nods quickly and yet again tells me how much easier it'll be for him if I pay for it all now, (I think he's trying to reassure himself more than anyone else at this point). 

I pay my bill, and go to the washroom, located deep down in the basement. It's your typical restaurant washroom, nothing much to report on there. We all make our way outside and walk up Yonge Street to our next destination. I'm hoping that The Hornero Restaurant is just a small bump in what otherwise is shaping up to be a promising Friday night.

Let's SCALE it:

Group of Friends: 2 - Mostly couples or friends, intending to start their weekend off with an intimate dinner. We had some eyes on us, being the biggest group in the place, and the restaurant-goer will be very conscious not to reveal anything too personal as the quiet bodes well for nosy neighbours.

Fanciness: 6/10 - Smart casual.

Ambience: 4.5/10 - Very generic restaurant feel.

Location: 9/10 - They're located in a frequented area on Yonge, just below Wellesley. 

Food/Drink Selection: 8.5/10 - They have a pretty good selection as to what you would expect from an Italian restaurant.

Food/Drink Quality: 6/10 - The pizza was pretty good, but the appetizers were a whole different story. They definitely need to re-evaluate their wine options.

Leftovers Quality: 7.5/10 - The food holds up the next day, but the pizza was very very salty!

Service: 5.5/10 - Our waiter didn't come around too often, and when he did he was in quite a tizzy.

Price: 8.5/10 - Good value for what you get.

First Impressions: 6/10 - Even though it was generic, I was certainly feeling the low-key, intimate vibe.

Last Impressions: 4.5/10 - After sitting through a meal with the loudest table in the room, it's only natural to feel self-conscious.

Population: Older crowd, think 40s-60s.

Summary: The Hornero Restaurant is a BLIP on my radar!

528 Yonge Street


Toronto, ON M4Y 1X9


(416) 324-8884


www.hornero.ca

Dolce Social Ballroom

King and Bathurst. An up and coming area for nightlife in Toronto. Or rather, classy nightlife. Staying true to its location, Dolce Social Ballroom doesn't disappoint. As I try to explain to the taxi that "647 King Street West" is just east of Bathurst, momentary concern about how we're actually going to find this place sets in. But it's quickly replaced by the hard-to-miss red lights that are illuminating a good portion of King Street. We pay the taxi and proceed to stand in line. Compared to all of the other clubs we just drove by on Richmond, it looks like we won't be waiting too long here. We aren't even in front of the nicely polished door before a professionally dressed woman comes running towards us. "Guestlist or bottle service?" "Neither" I reply timidly, convinced that I have just bought myself a 45+ minute wait in a line full of guestlist and bottle service customers. We step into the queue, but I'm happy to be wrong for once. The bouncers immediately ask for our IDs and in we go.

This classy nightlife comes with a pricetag. It's a $20 entrance fee, which isn't really too bad all things considered. But if you are a student like me, you'll probably be extra cautious in these kind of situations (or if not you, there's bound to be that one friend who'll make a big deal). All of those thoughts go out the window once you step inside this place. My first impression was honestly: "Toronto, we FINALLY have hope for our nightlife!" The wooden staircases lead down to a huge dancefloor, with plush lounges and polished bars to really give the place that extra spark. If you're going into a club that has "Dolce" in the title, you're definitely in for a treat. 

Once the initial shock factor has set in, I take a moment to admire the crowd. There is not one person in this place that hasn't gone all out in their attire. In addition to this "dress to impress" factor, the 4 to 5 groups that are already there have marked their territories for the night. Sort of like that awkward first hour at a high school dance where everyone is standing in their cliques, too chicken to make a move to get the party going. The music is pretty chill at this point, something in between techno with a side of house. 

At this point, I'm pretty overwhelmed with it all. The flashy decor will make any clubber initially self-conscious. I need a bit of a pick-me-up to enjoy what I've got myself into, so I order my first drink of the night. The bartender stands off to the side, engaged in a staring contest with the party scene before her. Great for her, bad for me. 30 seconds later a fellow bartender to the side notices me waiting, and gets her attention. She approaches the bar, gives me a once over and asks me what I'd like. I order my drink of choice and ask her for some salt (in which she simply replies "Nope, we don't have any honey"). A little disappointed (and shocked that this place has any flaws!!) I proceed to drink my drink to less standards than I'm used to. 

After an hour or so of chilling with my boys at the bar (and probably 3 drinks in now), the club has completely transformed before our very eyes. There's a different DJ taking the reins and pumping up the atmosphere with some Top 40 to get the audience more involved. The club is PACKED from left to right, and although the initial groups haven't ventured too far from their initial territory, they're more open to mingling at this point. In terms of population, it is almost entirely female. 

As the night progresses, the less unashamed people are with their behaviour. So a pricetag can't keep out all the riff-raff I'm learning, but it certainly does diminish underage behaviour. There isn't one fight breaking out over "which girl saw him first", or competitions on who can drink the most in a minute. I'm very impressed by how clean this place is. But before I can definitely make this statement, I need to go to the one place that will be the ultimate dealbreaker. The dimly lit narrow hallway of bathroom stalls, kept up from head to toe, are pretty spectacular. What puts the cherry on the cake is the television screens in each stall, the brilliantly shaped sinks and the fogged up doors, putting a bit of edge on the washroom experience. 

I make my way back out to the dancefloor once I'm done, where the party has reached its peak. Let's be honest, I came to dance. So dancing is what I'm going to do. We stick to ourselves, but it's all love on this floor. Everyone is having a good time to put it simply. I'm feeling the music. The only way that the night could be better would be if I was in a larger group. I find that works best in ALL club situations, but it would be really awesome here. To soak in the high life with all of your people. 

After about a good hour and a half of dancing (and like I said, the only thing that could make it better would be a bigger group), we decide to call it quits. Now I know I shouldn't do this, and I don't all the time, but let's face it, any avid clubber who has just sweated their ass off will be looking for some greasy food after their night out. You're in luck at Dolce! As you exit out onto the street, there are some pretty appealing golden arches calling your name.

Let's SCALE it:

Group of Friends: 5+ - Groups are encouraged.

Fanciness: 8.5/10 - YES you should definitely be dressing up.

Music Content: 8.5/10 - Something for everyone!

Location: 7/10 - It is very classy, but in terms of practicality, for those reading this who don't like this place after all, you really don't have anywhere close to clubhop to. BUT there are fast food options after for those who think it's worth their while.

First Impressions: 9/10 - WOW!

Last Impressions: 9/10 - WOW!

Cliques: Yes, don't be expecting to meet too many new people here.

Population: 85% Female, 15% Male

Summary: Dolce Social Ballroom is DEFINITELY on my radar!

647 King Street West


Toronto, ON M5V 1M5


(416) 361-9111


www.dolcesocial.com