Aviv Restaurant

I am appalled by the experience that I had here tonight.
Rated 4.5 stars by fellow Unilocalers, I came here for Winterlicious with great anticipation that I would have a splendid meal. My expectations were severely unmet.
Atmosphere: Let’s start off with the music that was blaring so loudly that I felt uncomfortable having a conversation across my small table. This place definitely felt more like a pub/​bar than a restaurant. The noise level was way too high and I basically reached my yelling capacity where I just needed a break from talking because it was too stressful. And yes, I needed to yell that much. Why? Read on for the next point.
Service: Although we arrived for our reservations at 8pm, which is already considerably late, it took roughly 1hr15mins for our main dishes to arrive. That’s right — you read it right. It took over an hour for our food to come and by that point, I had already starved for so long that I lost my appetite. We had originally made post-​dinner plans to visit a shop that closes at 10 but by the time we finished our meal, it was already 9:58. So much for that!
Food: Now onto the real reason why we came here tonight — to try their delicious food that’s offered at reduced Winterlicious prices! It’s quite unfortunate that I have to say that the food was NOT delicious and only mediocre AT BEST.
Appetizer 1 — Tunisian Lamb and Veal Meatball = The meat was tough, quite likely overcooked by the darkened edges, and served with a goop of tomato sauce on the most unappetizing-​looking plastic plate.
Appetizer 2 — Thai Salmon and Cod Ceviche = I actually quite liked this, it was likely the best part of my meal. The chunks of fish were sizable, the spices and herbs left a tangy aftertaste, and the avocado and mango pieces added a nice hint of freshness. However, again, this was served in a questionable looking plastic bowl.
Main 1+2 — AVIV Dry Rub Baby Back Pork Ribs = Don’t read too much between the lines, it literally is DRY rub. I had anticipated and hoped for juicy and savoury meat that would fall apart from the bone but the ribs were very mediocre. The meat wasn’t tender or tough, it was just. meat. The rub was very pungent and layered very heavily on the ribs so drink lots of water between bites and beware of choking on the seasoning! The sweet potato fries that accompanied the ribs were, again, mediocre at best. The coleslaw was highly disappointing. It was flavourless, lacked colour, and given in a very small portion.
Dessert 1 — Tiramisu = I’ll give it to them that the layers were thick and creamy but it was definitely lacking flavour. The coffee was barely detectable. Also, the portion sizing was tiny yet again.
Dessert 2 — Fresh Fruit Crumble = This was such a sad, sad excuse of a dessert. It’s clear they had prepped these beforehand. It was sliced unknown fruits mixed with granola and drowned in unsweetened strawberry syrup. The colour itself was already enough of a deterrent because it was a bright artificial red. Ontop of that, the fruits were not sweet at all, and the little drop of ice cream was so minuscule that I was almost offended that it wasn’t a full scoop.
This restaurant had definitely cut corners for the Winterlicious menu. No doubt. I am highly unimpressed and would not consider coming back, it’s not worth the commute to give a second try.

This was my first trip to Toronto and one of the reasons I came was to visit during Winterlicious. We have something similar in the States, so I was really looking forward to it. When I narrowed my search to vegetarian, Aviv came up, so my friend and I decided to give it a try. I opted for the quinoa and kale salad, which was absolutely exquisite! I could tell the dressing was simply lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, but the salad wasn’t overly dressed and the combination of tangy and sweet was brilliant.
For the entrée, I ordered the potato gnocchi which was accompanied by an assortment of veggies like snow peas, mushrooms, etc. It, too, was quite good but just a bit heavy on the sauce.
1^st gripe: I will echo two comments made recently by the same Unilocaler, the first about the fruit crumble. It was very lackluster – the fruit was not warm at all, the «crisp» was a shell of its former self as it had no bite or crispiness to it, and the fruit was not fresh. Disappointing. My dinner companion opted for the tiramisu, which was good as tiramisu goes so I can’t complain too much about that. (It wasn’t even my dessert so how could I complain?)
2^nd gripe: The music was a mixture of hip hop, R&B, and pop – it seemed so out of place I actually said something to the person I came with. It certainly took away from the mood of this quaint, rustic, and charming establishment.
While these two things did dull my experience a little, my overall experience was very good. I’ll definitely be back on my next trip to Toronto.

This place is the holy trifecta (food, service, timeliness).
This is the little known place you want to bring someone if you want to impress them and have good food that’s reasonably priced. I have never hated a dish I tried here and the people I’ve brought here loved it too.
If you’re looking for pizzas and paninis, this place is one of the best I’ve tried and everything else on their menu is excellent with a good selection of options.
My 4 Factors:
Food: ⁴⁵⁄₅₀
Service: ²⁰⁄₂₀
Timeliness: ¹⁵⁄₂₀
Good Vibes: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Total: 90÷100− A+
Tips:
This place has booths! Also lots of tables to sit and eat.
Favourite Dish: Margherita Panini, Shrimp Pasta
Bonuses:
You can ask for extra cheese (for free).
Clean bathrooms, seperate gendered.
Rating System:
A– Excellent (80+)
B– Good (70 – 79)
C– Tolerable (60 – 69)
D– Something but not good (50 – 59)
F– Not even if I was starving (49-​)
4 Factors:
Food (50%) — How does it taste?
Service (20%) — How was I treated?
Timeliness (20%) — Did my food get there before I expired?
Good Vibes (10%) — Could I relax and eat my food/​atmosphere/​space?

Very, very nice place. Casual, cozy with extremely friendly server. Food did not disappoint either. Extremely clean. Highly recommended!

Solid quality. Attentive staff. Good prices. And they didn’t skimp on the alcohol in the cocktail either!

This place was ok. Stopped in for lunch. Ambiance is a bit lacking as it’s pretty dark in there. The service was friendly and efficient. Not complaints on that. The grilled cheese sandwich was decent. The side garden salad wasn’t great. Wilted lettuce, only a few pieces of cucumber and tomato and a flavourless dressing. Overall nothing special and I won’t be rushing back.

We love it here! Rob always goes the extra mile to make sure we’re happy and the food has been really excellent every time we come. It’s a good price point and they give you a ton of booze in your drink, you can’t go wrong!

Here after Casa Loma — a nice walk and greeted by a friendly man — owner? manager? Attentive just enough. The good was DELICIOUS — had a burger and the grilled cheese with Brie and cheddar — yum! And inexpensive too. Def worth the stop!

The service was good, however the food was really plain and flavourless. I really like Mediterranean food but definitely not here. I had the mazze plate (very plain with no flavour) my mom had the calamari that she said tasted like frozen calamari with not much flavour and my hubby had the Burger and said it was ok. After I had the bread pudding which wasn’t even sweet, just a very little so it didn’t really tasted like dessert, the bartender didn’t make the old fashion that I asked for and invented a drink (you know, you can google it) Anyways not coming back

Came here for lunch after Casa Loma. We were the only ones in the restaurant. The manager was very attentive to our table. I ordered the pizza Marisa. It was very good and filling.
Overall, the food was really good but it seems to be more than Mediterranean cuisine on the menu.
It would be nice to see what the environment is at night.

We came for the Summerlicious 3-​course $ 18 lunch. We got 2 fattoush salads, linguine with shrimp, fish and chips (replaced the salami sandwich from the menu online), a Nutella bread pudding, and a chocolate mousse.
Fattoush salad was decent (it’s salad, after all) — there were mint leaves and pomegranate inside, which was an interesting twist.
The fried fish was dark in colour but tasty — the fries stole the show though, they were hand-​cut and fresh.
The shrimp linguine was delicious! I loved the tomato sauce (and there was plenty of it) which had a bit of heat to it.
Both desserts were good — Nutella bread pudding would have been better hot though and with more Nutella.
The owner served us and was VERY engaging and enthusiastic, definitely improved our experience.

Found this little gem by accident! Had a lovely and unique pizza and promised to come back, which I did for Sunday brunch. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Good fresh food, attentive friendly staff give great service, AND a patio! away from the maddening crowd, I’ll be spending lots more time at Aviv this summer.

I don’t know where to start. I love this place, my family loves this place, friends love this place. The service is fantastic, I even know the owner’s name is Rob, hes super friendly and outgoing. The food is fantasitc. Bruch to dinner. The place is quite fancy and is in a hipster ville. Never had any problems, the pizza is perfect and fancy. And youre paying for what you get!

We went for Brunch on a Sunday. They did feed into one of my pet peeves — which is having the menu on the cutlery — I’m not a germaphobe, but this should be a restaurant no no.
Service was very attentive and prompt with coffee — which is exactly what you need for brunch! The menu was a perfect size with delicious items I was going to share a brunch because I often find portions way to large — but my eyes could not avoid the Beef Brisket Hash (which didn’t sit right with my vegetarian companion). I ordered that and she ordered the grilled cheese. The hash was delicious though a tad too sweet for my liking. The hot sauce is potent and great.
The grilled cheese was triple decker and great — but the potatoes however were undercooked and hard. I’m a potato guy and these were not up to par. I generally always order potatoes well done but this wasn’t my meal (and the potatoes in the hash were a little more done still not amazing).
A good spot that wasn’t busy — though if you don’t sit near the front it’s a tad dark.

Top class lunch!
Fresh mussels from PEI in a white wine, garlic & tomato sauce.
Good coffee!
Great service!

Wow.
do the people of T.O. know what that have in a place like this?
tried 4 different pizzas and MANY appetizers.
Glad we went. Thanks Robert.

I give this restaurant 3.5 out of 5, but rounded it to 4
I had visited Aviv Restaurant last year for a Unilocal event, and there were several dishes at the event that I really enjoyed, one being the pancakes with bananas, so I made a mental note to return with my group (I run a food Meetup group) for brunch in the near future.
I contacted Robert, the manager at Aviv Restaurant over the summer and discussed with him the possibility of hosting a Meetup event at his restaurant. Initially I had made the reservation for 16 people, but the interest for this event was so high, that I increased the reservation to 22 people. Robert was incredibly accommodating and patient with the last minute changes I had to make.
The Good:
1) Robert responded to my messages quickly. He was also very professional and eager to please my guests and accommodate my requests.
2) Most of the food was delicious.
3) Good portions and good value for money.
4) I wanted to order a dish from the regular lunch menu, instead of the brunch menu, and Robert made it happen.
5) The restaurant had a jazz band come in to entertain the guests during brunch.
6) Gave my guests a glass of dessert wine at the end of the meal on the house.
7) My dish did not come with shrimps, only calamari, but received shrimps as an extra treat.
The Not So Good:
1) I had asked Robert if he could make mini pancakes like the ones we had at the Unilocal event for my guests (I would pay for it), and he agreed to do it. This never happened.
2) The reason I chose to order the salad from the lunch menu is because I love avocado and calamari. When I received my salad, it had calamari but was missing the avocado.
3) The jazz band was very distracting. My guests and I had to yell at each other in order to carry a conversation.
4) There was one waiter and one waitress, and the waiter did not seem to know what he was doing. He seemed so lost and confused. Even with the coffee refills; seems simple enough, but he had to be reminded to refill our cups many times.
5) The food took about an hour to come out.
All in all, we had a good experience at Aviv and would return if the kinks are ironed out.

An exquisite dining experience! We were in the mood for a light and healthy lunch, and they sure delivered. My kale quinoa salad was out of this world — crispy translucent kale pieces were the star of this dish, accompanied by pumpkin seeds, dates, dried apricots, dark lettuce, pistachios, butternut squash, and quinoa. I devoured it all! Then the blueberry lemonade, fresh-​made on the premises from real squeezed lemon juice and their own blueberry compote, and garnished with mint. Finally the friendliness and welcomingness of our host made the experience complete, along with the whimsically artistic ambiance. If I am ever in the area again, I’ll be sure to come back.

N.B. this review is for dinner service only.
Are most of the Unilocalers who gave this spot 5 STARS (?!) a) friends with the owner b) huge fans of their brunch (is it actually good– really?) c) indulging in Aviv’s free corkage nights before writing their reviews?
I will agree that the server (/​owner?) is incredibly friendly and attentive and I will grant 5 stars for the service which is great. However, that’s where my positive comments end. I feel bad giving this extremely nice guy a less than glowing review (two stars is actually pushing it, tbh) and plus the location puts Aviv at a disadvantage being below ground and all. But still, my truth must be told…
It’s not a coincidence that this place is mostly empty while other Dupont spots (e.g. Farmhouse Tavern, Universal Grill, Roti Cuisine of India, Fat Pasha, Fanny Chadwicks, Ezra’s, Live, Rose & Sons/​Big Crow, Playa Cabana etc.) are pretty consistently bustling with life. These other places have decent food and at least a few memorable aspects. Aviv was forgettable to the point that I forgot to write this review a few months ago.
I live in the general hood and was excited to see that the meh-​worthy «Diverso by Ferraro» had been replaced by what was labeled as a Mediterranean restaurant. I was a bit skeptical from the start for some reason, but was slightly encouraged to check this place out by the glowing reviews I saw on Unilocal.
Unfortunately, it almost seemed like Ferraro, but repackaged and expanded to attract more business. The food was fair at best — nothing imaginative or particularly tasty. Maybe the pizzas are good? I stayed away due to my negative associations with Ferraro pizza, but that could have been my mistake… Anyway, I was pretty disappointed. I wanted to like Aviv!
I find Kent P.‘s assertion that this is «certainly the best restaurant on Dupont» to be positively preposterous! Off the top of my head I can think of at least half a dozen good places on Dupont and it would be generous to even place Aviv in the same league. Aviv is living in b-​land. No, that’s not basement land– it’s just bland.
The casual atmosphere and TV screens make me feel like this place should actually be a sports bar or something. Not a bad thing at all (mmm bring on the wings) but it’s just not what the current Aviv has been billed to be.
Again, I don’t like dumping on a local business (or fellow Unilocalers). I do want to support smaller spots, but this place needs some feedback if it wants to survive in the long run. I will check out their brunch sometime to see if this is what the handful of «Woohoos!» are all about.

Bundle up, Dupont Street. It’s time to go out for lunch, brunch, or dinner.
Aviv is an adorable subterranean Mediterranean restaurant that has been hiding out in The Annex for six months. It’s time you go and find them.
They have an epic brunch menu, littered with scratch-​made favourites and cocktail specials that I look forward to coming back and trying. You know what I’m more excited about trying? Their free BYOW on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Imagine. Free.
I was in here for lunch today and I enjoyed their grilled chicken sandwich piled high with fresh vegetables and bacon on their homemade whole wheat bread. I paired it with their salad (resolutions, y’all) that could have been a meal all on its own.
Some of the best service I’ve had in a long while. But else would you expect from the people that thought up free corkage nights?!
PEPPER POINTS: Imma say it again. They have free corkage on bring your own wine on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Free. And they’re very close to an LCBO.