What it's like to dine at this premium European-style restaurant in Toronto

Toronto is filled to the brim with flashy restaurants that have nothing to offer but pleasing aesthetics and good cocktails. While I love a good vibes-based night out, when all I see coming out of the kitchen are soggy parm fries and a dream — I'm asking for the cheque.

But a new restaurant — or should I say, dining community — has officially struck the balance of aesthetics and food quality, offering foodies a fine-dining experience that feels truly luxurious.

Convivium opened this year to numerous five-star reviews, and after experiencing the restaurant for myself on a romantic night out with my boyfriend, it’s not hard to see why.

A restaurant with roots

Located in the original Toronto Star building at King and Yonge — which, fun fact, is the model for the original Daily Planet building in the Superman comics — Convivium is a restaurant-meets-event space in the bustling financial district.

The main dining area.

Having access to a prestigious heritage building designed by a former mayor of Toronto, Joseph Sheard, the restaurant’s owner, Maxim Popov, has worked hard to integrate the history of this building — and the city — into Convivium.

Even the logo for the restaurant is a nod to the old City of Toronto logo, which featured a bear, beaver, and eagle.

Bringing Toronto's history into the future

While the exposed brick and some original features still make up the restaurant's facade, there are also modern touches that help complement the traditional look, such as aged metal walls, decorative vases, and gorgeous art.

The main floor — which offers the bulk of the restaurant's public-facing offerings — is a quaint hub with a bright colour palette that feels expensive without feeling gaudy. I wish I could've enjoyed my meal on the gorgeous patio, but I went during the 30-degree heat wave, so I'll just have to save that for my next trip.

One of six private dining rooms.

It’s not just the main floor. Convivium offers flexible spaces for arts and entertainment with private dining rooms on the second floor and a 150-person events space on the third.

The second floor's six private dining rooms all feature different themes, from the lush Garden Room to the canal-inspired Venice Room. They all have custom-built furniture that creates cohesion between each room while maintaining the originality of each concept.

The third floor is still under construction, so I wasn't able to get a peek at it, but Maxim assured me that he had big plans for the space to come.

Cocktails worth the sip

After a quick tour of the floors, it was time to order — and with such a robust menu, ordering was no small feat.

We started as every good meal starts: with a fine cocktail. My boyfriend got an Espresso di Perla, which is similar to an Espresso Martini but swaps the vodka for a rich coconut liquor, making for an even smoother sip.

Our amuse-bouche of whipped goat cheese on patachou to go with my G&T. (Photo by Chris Middleton)

I’m a faithful gin drinker, so my eyes couldn't help but dart right towards the restaurant's Gin and Tonic Experience. My server then informed me that this cocktail was a choose-your-own-adventure style drink: a custom gin and tonic catering to your specific tastes, or if you’d prefer, the bartender's.

While I chose the gin, I let my bartender do the rest. What was concocted was a G&T served with a slice of dried pineapple and lime, whole red peppercorns, and a yuzu-lime tonic. It was fruity, refreshing, and delightfully surprising.

Colourful cuisine with class

The menu lives up to its European inspiration, with Executive Chef Oxana Glazkova putting her time and attention into elevating classic techniques. While she leans on European styles of cooking, the menu also celebrates seasonal Canadian ingredients — specifically our country's high-quality meat and seafood.

The Black Angus steak tartare.

We started with something that was recommended to us as a must-try: the Black Angus Tartare on Confit Potatoes Fried. This starter definitely lives up to the hype — crispy fried potatoes layered with Parmesan cheese and topped with a light chili aioli, the tartare, and a dollop of black caviar.

It was a starter that really emphasizes the ethos of the whole menu: elevated yet simple cooking. While tartare in practice is a relatively simple raw-beef preparation, this dish actually takes two days to make because of its crispy fried potato base. It's small details like this that made our meal that much better.

For the mains, we went all in on risotto and ordered the Veal Osso Bucco with Saffron Risotto along with the Risotto with Duck Confit. Even if our diversity of dishes wasn't the most expansive, the meal was so sumptuous we didn't really care. I was particularly struck by the warm and inviting duck confit practically quacking at you to peel its tender flesh off the bone.

Risotto with Duck Confit.

There's always room for dessert at our table, and we got Convivium's signature éclair with poppy seeds and the pavlova — neither of which disappointed.

A European dining escape

As a new addition to Toronto's fine-dining scene, Convivium certainly makes an impression. The experience, from the food to the atmosphere, was exceptionally well considered.

A special shout out to our server, who helped us along our journey with what to order, and one of the other servers who noted my clumsiness and came prepped with a new fork even before my old one hit the floor.

Beautiful eclairs.

The romantic night out was made all the more special by a wondrous occasion, and I'll definitely be back — maybe even to take advantage of the private second-floor dining rooms (I have my eye on the peacock room in the future).

If you want to experience this culinary journey for yourself (and I highly recommend you do), you can reserve your table at Convivium today.