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With another restaurant opening, there’s no stopping Charles Khabouth. His newest restaurant, Byblos (@ByblosToronto) opened up last week on the first and second floor of the Storys building (@STORYSBuilding) on Duncan Street.

The first floor

Charles Khabouth restaurants (Patria, La Société and Weslodge to name a few) are always beautifully designed and Byblos is no exception. The first floor features white walls and is bright and airy with the sun shining through the windows. The more formal dining room which has a darker, lounge-y feel, is located on the second floor.

The second floor

This new restaurant serves up eastern Mediterranean fare with Executive Chef Stuart Cameron in charge. He’s created a menu of unique dishes which are a combination of old and modern eastern Mediterranean elements. The gorgeous menu reads like a magazine and is divided into small plates (all served family-style), large plates, rice and cocktails.

Byblos

In addition to their delicious plates, they also have an impressive cocktail menu designed by Wes Galloway, the man in charge of the bar program.

The Bar

I attended Byblos’ media preview where we were given a taste of what the restaurant is all about. Here’s a look at what they’ve got to offer:

Mint Tea

Mint Tea

The Ten Suns – green tea-infused Ketel One vodka, lemongrass, ginger, honey syrup, yuzu juice & tincture of cardamom

The Ten Suns

Date Old Fasioned – Bulleit bourbon, date syrup, house aromatic bitters & tincture of fenugreek, Across the Sea – Moroccan mint tea-infused Captain Morgan light rum, fresh lemon, sugar, house middle east bitters & ginger beer, The Ten Suns – green tea-infused Ketel One vodka, lemongrass, ginger, honey syrup, yuzu juice & tincture of cardamom and Gulab – rose-infused Smirnoff vodka, house pomegranate reduction, fresh lemon & tincture of cardamom

A selection of cocktails: Date Old Fashioned, Across the Sea, Ten Suns & Gulab

Maple Punch

Maple Punch

Organic House Labneh – with fennel, honey, olive oil & house sangak bread

Organic House Labneh

Cheese Acharuli – with a quail egg, bioche & za’atar

Cheese Acharuli

Steak Tartare – with chili paste, mint, yoghurt & olive oil on Barbari bread

Steak Tartare

Duck Kibbeh – with dried fig, tahini sauce & date molasses

Duck Kibbeh

Turkish Manti Dumplings – with smoky eggplant, yoghurt sauce & molasses

Turkish Manti Dumplings

Spanish Octopus – Turkish spoon salad with pomegranate

Spanish Octopus

I was impressed by the food that came out of Byblos’ kitchen. My personal favourites were the Organic House Labneh, Spanish Octopus and Duck Kibbeh. The labneh (strained yogurt) had a creamy cheese-like consistency and was a delicious bite which paired incredibly well with the honey. They also get bonus points for making all their bread in-house.

The Spanish octopus was wonderfully tender and the pomegranate salad which topped it gave it a nice little pop. As for the duck kibbeh, it might not be the prettiest dish to look at but it makes up for its appearance in flavour. With the duck, figs and molasses, it was a great sweet and savoury combination.

To sum it up, Byblos is a great addition to Khabouth’s ever-growing restaurant empire!

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post, as always, are my own.*

Byblos on Urbanspoon



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