Restaurants
The Bloordale Pantry
The Bloordale Pantry, on the corner of Bloor and Landsdowne, was a diner for 60 years (most recently Dale's, a Bloordale Village staple in terms of questionable hangouts) before new owners cleaned up the time worn space, sourced antiques from local stores like Ping Pong, and transformed it into a modern diner inspired by the original concept.
"We found so many trinkets and treasures in drawers and in the basement when we cleaned the place up," the owner tells us, chatting casually with the customers just like you might expect in a local diner.
The inside is cute and kitschy, with vintage furniture and lighting. A beautiful reproduction of a classic Faema espresso machine sits on the bar.
The bar offers a simple selection of drinks and fresh juices, as well as a couple classic cocktails. We select the Peach Bellini ($6) from the 'Three Martini Lunch' list, a refreshing mix of peach nectar and prosecco.
After examining the small, diner-inspired menu, we decide to start the meal with the Lazy Susan ($7/person), an assortment of meats and cheeses. When the platter arrives, we're walked through the selections, which include Quebec goat cheese, Saxon cheese from Wisconsin, soppressata, chorizo and salami. We're encouraged to try the goat cheese with the accompanying mission figs, and as promised, the combination is delicious.
I've never had Saxon cheese before, and it's fantastic, pairing well with the mildly spicy meats. The platter also includes pieces of tasty house-made cornbread, fruit, olives and pickled jalapenos.
Next arrives the Beet Salad ($6.99), consisting of mixed greens, orange segments, beets, feta and walnuts. The beets are a little crunchy, but balance out the salty feta. The salad has a nice variety of textures, though the dressing could use more flavour.
The Boada ($11.49) is a sandwich consisting of twelve hour slow-cooked pulled pork, pressed panini-style with avocado and mozzarella. The avocado and melted cheese add just the right amount of creaminess to the sandwich as there appears to be little or no sauce on the pork.
This sandwich is simple and satisfying, and sided with some excellent fries. They're just like chip truck fries with the skin-on and thick cut. I continue to pick at them long after being full.
We also try the Seared Polenta ($9.99). This classic cornmeal dish comes topped with San Marzano tomato sauce and sautéed greens, red pepper and onion, with a few slices of roasted sweet potato on the side. Separately, the components are good; the tomato sauce and the veggie sautee are sweet, and the texture of the polenta - crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside - is comfort food on a plate, if somewhat bland.
The spiced sweet potatoes that come with the polenta are crispy but not enough so to save this dish. Somehow the combination of all these flavours just isn't quite right.
A friendly resto with a welcoming vibe and a casual, diner-style menu, The Bloordale Pantry is open for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner.
Photos by Taralyn Marshall
Discussion
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The Dale was a classic looking diner, of which the city is growing short of.
I'm of the thought that people who make one stupid move are likely to make other stupid moves. Taking down the original sign and changing the layout of the place is something only someone without taste would do. I like the people making my food to have some taste.
But I'll still try it out. I'll just be walking in with much higher expectations.
I'm also guessing they didn't want it to look like a diner so that they could get away with charging more for food.
@Jimmy James: Dale is no longer there for a reason. The "classic" aka "dingy" looking dinners are dying for a reason. It is because they are not wanted. Don't insult the moves of the owners just because it is different from what you wanted. Of course they would want a different sign, and different look. They are not trying to resurrect Dale, they are creating their own place. Utilizing terms like stupid just makes yourself look studpid. I for one think that people who insult the works of others does little work themselves. See you at Dale...i mean Bloordale Pantry
The 'classic' Dale was awful. I for one am celebrating a bright, cheerful new restaurant on the corner.
what is so very difficult about peeling a potato, par-boiling it, then frying with onions and savoury ?
Toronto is all style, Zero substance.
ZERO stars for this pretentious little dump
Their drinks are also really top notch. Had the blueberry limeade this time around and a watermelon/strawberry juice last time. Both very refreshing and a nice change from the regular oj.
We ate at Dale when it was still there and it was just another greasy spoon. It certainly wasn't all that reasonably priced for what it was either. Nothing to write home about or go back to. I will be going back to The Bloordale Pantry many times over. Happy to have it in our 'hood which is lacking in tasty am eats.
fyi- I've been eating polenta all my life.It probably doesn't taste right because polenta is a side dish,kinda like mash potato...it accompanies a meaty stew that you would then cover with the sauce from the stew. Also really great with an oil/rosemary/caper sauce.Just sayin'.
I think JIM is a little Crusty, and a little to harsh, but he's not far off. However anyone who knows what pretentious Toronto looks like would NOT call this place pretentious.
BEST HOMEFRIES??? Whoever made that comment has clearly never had good home fries before. Same with the person that agreed...
The home fries where the one thing the breakfast that blew. Heavily undercook, bland, boring. HOME FRIES MAKE OR BREAK A CLASSIC BREAKFAST...They are not happening here..
Deep Fried Oreos really are good...
Burger - Classic burger hits the spot
Beat salad - I dunno, its beat salad... whatever
Floor Mopping - Someone needs to tell this lady that its not cool to mop the floors while customers are eating. It stinks....and we are paying you....
And I might agree this is not a classic diner. Its lost someplace between classic, and ...well something...
We haven't returned since, despite living really close to the Bloordale Pantry. I just checked back on here to see if anything had changed since we went- perhaps better food?? It seems that the breakfast food is what to order here- and lunch, not so much. I'm gonna go back soon for breakfast and hopefully it'll be a better experience!
The service is friendly, but it's clearly disorganized and unprofessional. Sometimes you get coffee, sometimes you don't. Same with clearing tables to seat new guests, with speed in bringing the bill, etc.
The food is also inconsistent. Like some posters above, they *do* have a good brunch menu, but the quality varies so much from day to day that I find myself not wanting to risk it anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Blansdowne is changing and I wish them success, but as someone with lots of restaurant experience I feel like they are making some basic mistakes.
Fix staffing, streamline FoH roles, fix whatever is up in the kitchen...
So sad that the Holy Oak stopped serving brunch... well, there's always the 3Speed.