Restaurants
Utopia Cafe
My perfect summer-time afternoon goes something like this:
1. A table at Utopia's cozy back patio.
2. A pitcher of sangria.
3. Giant burritos that satisfy all my friends - carnivore and herbivore alike.
4. Christian Bale's anecdotes.
Ok. Well, maybe not the last one. But what sets Utopia apart from eat-the-food-with-your-hands sit down restaurants is the quality of the food. Every time I eat there, the thought always occurs - has eating elsewhere tricked my brain into accepting blandness? The veggies at Utopia, whether the tumble of baby greens in the side salad or sandwich filling, are always bright and crisp. The grilled items are seasoned and cooked to a texture that just can't be replicated at home. Aha, this is what flavour is! Not to mention little extras like: flavoured mayo, goat's cheese, and various types of soy for meat substitutions.
As far as soy types go, the veggie burger ($7.50) has become one of my favourites - forget Lick's. The thick, char fragrant patty served on a foccacia-esque bun is so big that I get full about halfway through, but so yummy, it always gets finished. Clearing the mound of accompanying fresh cut fries can too be a challenge. But along with a 75 cent splurge on wasabi mayo, it's a worthy attempt.
The meat-centric nosh is equally impressive. Unlike at other places that serve Tex Mex, I don't have to ask what kind of beef is in the burrito. The steak and cheddar burrito ($10.99) is actually made with steak; strips that are surprisingly tender and juicy for such leanness. It exudes a nice touch of smokiness. The bbq effect also permeates the chicken and shrimp burrito ($11.99).
Utopia has breakfast options as well, for brunch lovers. Their complete menu is on their web site.
Discussion
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Wow, this is a great place to eat, unfortunately i was alone but I had a great meal and it definitely lived up to the comments i read.
I'm from Montreal and we have great places to eat all over, so I can say that we are very spoiled when it comes to dinning out.
This place is definitely worthy of of a four star rating, good food, excellent music and the prices are very affordable.
Would recommend highly.
We have a place similar in style on the plateau, it's called Cafe Souvenir, if you're ever in Montreal try the burger or anything else on the menu for that matter. Low key but stylish similar to Utopia same type of clientele: young, hip etc... they make the best omelet in Montreal hands down!!
Nice walk from my hotel (intercontinental on Front) and got to see part of little Italy witch was awesome
will go back for sure and bring friends!!!
Pros:
- Large menu, lots of selection
- Great tasting food (mostly tex-mex style food)
- Large portions
- Cheap prices (the most expensive item I noticed was 13.99)
- Excellent fries (large portion, good size, crispy outside, soft inside, salt AND pepper!)
- Very accommodating to those with alternative deitary needs
- Great service
Cons:
- awkward seating (wobbly tables and plastic patio chairs with arm rests, hard to adjust your seat)
- Slow service (I didn't mind this, but I definitely would not recommend coming here for a quick bite)
- Very loud music (my throat hurt from trying to talk over it)
- Somewhat crowded
- Get checked on about once and have to try to wave down the server if you need something
Second - I write below only because I love Utopia
Third - here we go...
Could we do something about the wine list - it has not changed since I started frequenting 2 years ago. It is time people! Honestly, some wine adventure would do you good. There are loads of phenomenal inexpensive wines that should be on your list...
We have no one but ourselves to blame for the state of our Mexican choices. If we keep rewarding restaurants for making bland food we'll be rewarded with nothing but more blandness.
I was extremely disappointed - beyond disappointed, not just because the burger was overcooked (after reassuring me that "the only way they cook their burgers is medium) or that they didn't put cheese on it when i asked for cheese and then brought me a bowl of packaged grated cheese after I mentioned it; not just because they also got the order of the couple next to me incorrect or because the fries were so unspectacular it made me miss McDonald's; or that their beer was lukewarm, or even that the Americano coffee I ordered (after being reassured that "the only coffee they served was Americano - which by the way is made with espresso and hot water, not just a brewed coffee - in case Utopia staff read this; not just because of all of those things - although that would be enough...and not even because after about 5 or 10 minutes of being there their sound system suddenly spiked up in volume and began belting out something akin to what I'd find in a night club playing a loud and very bad attempt at schmooze-rap, no sadly...not because of any one of those things only...but mostly because of the the wonderful reviews it received and that people, my neighbours, actually call this a good burger.
Next time, try a really good burger (ie: Tati Bistro for $14 or yes, Craft Burger for about $10, or even the decent burger at Hadley's just down the street) before you give Utopia a gold medal for a very mediocre product.
Come on, Toronto! We can't be THAT desperate, can we?