where jess ate

Mike and I decided to go to Bymark for a special occasion and at seven o’clock on a Friday evening, the restaurant was rather empty. We were seated at a corner banquette table which was quite nice and intimate. The restaurant was pretty quiet and didn’t feel pretentious at all. Maybe it was because it wasn’t filled with people in suits this evening.

After ordering, a server came by to offer us warm bread. They had three types – olive, multigrain and white. I only had the white baguette bread which was quite nice. I think it makes such a big difference when restaurants serve bread warm. Nothing worse than cold, rock-hard bread. Throughout the meal, the server came by often to offer us more bread. Mike and I also started off with a pint of Steamwhistle. They were $7 each, which I didn’t find too unreasonable given the calibre of the restaurant.

I started off with the Seared Foie Gras – with wild blueberry brioche and bourbon maple syrup ($25.95). The foie gras with the blueberries was a classic combination as foie gras is often served with a type of berry. The foie gras was perfectly seared and the smooth, buttery texture of it was to-die-for and as expected, the blueberries and brioche were the perfect complements.

Mike decided to start with the Butter Braised Lobster Poutine – with crisp frites and classic béarnaise ($26.95). Béarnaise is similar to hollandaise except that a béarnaise sauce is flavoured with tarragon (something I’ve learned from the Food Network!). The sauce tasted delicious and went perfectly with the lobster and fries. The poutine was served in a lobster half-shell and contained chunks of lobster topped with fries and the sauce. There were only about fifteen fries which was perfectly fine since it was a pretty heavy starter. You can also order a side portion of this. I wonder what that would look like… Overall a pretty good dish – perfectly cooked lobster, crispy fries and a tasty béarnaise sauce!

For my main, I went with the Miso Roasted Black Cod – served with a Korean crab pancake, baby leeks, shiitake mushrooms & yuzu butter sauce ($37.95). I was surprised by how large the serving of this dish was. At first I thought there was only one piece of black cod, but underneath it was another substantial piece. Definitely had trouble finishing this, despite how great it tasted. The fish was perfectly cooked and the butter sauce was fantastic. I really enjoyed the mushrooms that it came with, especially when mixed with the butter sauce. As for the Korean crab cake, it had a chewy texture and unfortunately was a little bland. Too bad, it sounded so promising too! Aside from the crab cake, I thought this dish was a very nice dish.

Mike ordered the House Made Pappardelle – with braised lamb, artisan goat cheese, roasted root vegetable and gremolata ($26.95). We weren’t at all impressed by its appearance when it first arrived at our table. The pasta was dark yellow and the sauce was a dark shade of brown. It didn’t look appetizing at all. Unfortunately, the same could be said of its taste. Although the pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente, the sauce didn’t taste very good and there was also a bit too much goat cheese in the dish for our liking. We both agreed this dish was a miss.

Since the portions were quite generous and we both had pretty heavy appetizers, we decided to skip dessert. There were apple fritters on the menu which caught my eye… I’m a sucker for fritters and donuts! However, I thought I was going to explode if I had another bite of food. For the most part, I thought the food was pretty good (minus the pappardelle) and I’m sure the desserts wouldn’t disappoint.

I found the service here to be excellent! The servers were all very knowledgeable, accommodating and were extremely attentive. Staff came by to replace our used cutlery and refill our water/bread plates often. Overall – a great experience!

At a glance:

Located in the financial district (TD centre)

Quiet, intimate atmosphere

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 4 stars

Service: 4.5 stars

Atmosphere: 4 stars