Foxley Bistro and Bar

Tasty stuff! what a dining experience should be-​delightful and interesting flavors

Wonderful little place. Really fun experience with amazing food. It’s tasting style so we each got a few things and split them all. Here’s a breakdown of our order:
Pork ribs-​very tender. Too gingery B
Shrimp– amazing. Even my friend who doesn’t really like shrimp enjoyed the dish A+
Halibut– nothing special. But good B
Dumplings– slightly greasy but very tasty B+
seaweed salad– asked for no celanto but forgot so we had to send back (friend hates cilantro). I loved it though. He obviously did not. A
Quail– amazing. First time trying quail. Loved the dish A+
Venison wrapped in la lot leaf– boyfriend loved it. I liked it a lot but not as much B+
Chocolate banana spring roll with ginger ice cream– was literally just a banana with Nutella around it covered in a spring roll. (Ginger ice cream was good) Not bad though B–

We got there around 9pm on a Sat night, no wait. The menu is mostly small dishes but some larger ones as well. We got 3 – 4 smaller ones and 1 large one and that was more than plenty for us. Our server suggested a wine that was tasty and they serve in carafes for those that don’t want to commit to a whole bottle.
If you are looking for a good, solid gourmet meal in a cute storefront space and are willing to wait (because apparently we really were unusual in the no-​wait category), then this is the place for you. The neighborhood seemed to be trendy and fun, but was a subway and streetcar/​cab ride from our condo. It was definitely worth the work to get out there. (And we figured out a cheaper cab ride to a closer subway got us home much cheaper.) It was good for couples, but a larger group would get to try more things.

Had multiple dishes that I liked, ambiance was good and they fit our large group in at the last minute.

Service is good. Food is solid. Good crowd. Foxley largely serves Asian food. Good executed Asian food similar to the Chinese food in Richmond Hill. If you like tapas in Asian style, this is not a bad place. Of course, you will pay the tapa price.

Delicious selection of sharing plates, mostly meat/​fish based.

Following the recommendations on Unilocal,my partner and I decided to take a gander at Foxley. It’s an intimate space — the type of joint you’d hit up because you live in the neighbourhood, know the owners, and just vibe with it.
Items ordered:
+Blue crab avocado salad
+/​-​Lamb and prosciutto dumplings
+/​-​Cremini and shiitake mushroom hand roll maki
–Sea bream ceviche with yuzu and shiso
Portions were decent but nothing really WOWOW’d us, yanno? Though, that blue crab avocado salad came quite close. I have to say that I do appreciate the effort that must go into making that dish! Presentation is very interesting. If I ever find myself back at this establishment, would order the blue crab avocado salad again.

Our 1hr20min wait worth every second! The food is so damn tasty, Asian Japanese fusion from beyond this planet! Service and wine complimented our whole experience nicely. Definitely recommended! #FoxelyBarBistro #Foxely

Had a very enjoyable meal at Foxley. The menu is tapas style with a single list of maybe 20 items and another 4 or so specials on a blackboard, varying from $ 9 to $ 16.
Two of us ordered a couple of fish’y ones, a dumpling and a couple of meats, and that about right/​ever-​so-​slightly too much food. The dishes arrived from the kitchen one or two at a time in what seemed to be lightest to heartiest. I don’t know if that was carefully considered and deliberate or just a function of cooking time:
* The scallop ceviche with kumquat and grilled jalapeño was fantastic. Scallops ‘cooked’ just enough, the kumquat really nailed the sweet/​sour citrus — I would have like a touch more heat from the jalapeño.
* One of that night’s specials were Gaspe Nordic shrimp (i.e. fresh-​water) — these are served deep fried with head and shell complete (almost a tempura batter), and you eat them whole. These were also nice, but again I wanted a bit more acidity and heat — dipped in the left-​over sauce from the scallops they were great.
* The lamb and duck prosciutto dumplings were served as thoroughly filled, juicy gyoza. They were fine, but nothing special. Can’t say I could taste the duck prosciutto.
* The tea smoked Quail on green papaya slaw was very nice. I had to be reminded it was tea-​smoked, because I couldn’t taste any smoke. The little leg pieces were tender, the breast a little overcooked, the papaya slaw was very good contrast.
* the pork side ribs with caramelized shallot glaze were fantastic. Two enormous side ribs (which means the bone only extends about half the length of the meat and the rest is pieces of cartilage), were melt-​in-​the-​mouth tender, with a complex salt/​sweet/​citrus/​garlic sauce. Apart from the fact I was full, I could have have eaten these all night.
Our server was gracious and helpful. He offered us samples of a couple of wines to help us choose.

This was a great dinner. We had the oyster roll, crab/​avocado salad, pork belly and mushroom roll.
The oyster roll was delicious! The combo of mango, oyster and spice was spot on. I wish my GF gave me her roll!
The crab avocado, although simple, was refreshing and tasty.
The mushroom roll was decent, a little vinegary, and worth the price.
The pork belly was more like pork rib – it did not seem like pork belly to me, and the sauce was a bit too salty. But it was tender and still tasty. I ate it all.
All of this and two drinks, was just under $ 100 w/​tip.
I’d go back in a heartbeat to try other small plates. In fact, I would try everything, as the entire menu would have likely been delicious. Highly recommend.

We had an outstanding meal here — everything was delicious. Excellent wine by the glass. Nice vibe. Very good service.

Terribly rude server! When my friend and I tried the vegetable spring rolls, we were both disgusted by the taste of gross licorice. As fennel was not listed as an ingredient on the menu, when we were finally able to get our server’s attention, we politely told him that we were sorry but really did not like the spring rolls and could not eat them. He just looked at us and said «well you’re putting me in a very uncomfortable position» and then continued to just look at us as if we were doing something wrong. We were not refusing to pay for them, we simply could not eat them. So we eventually asked him to please take them from our table, and he avoided us for the remainder of our stay, making us feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome. And yes, we were charged for the spring rolls. Definitely the most uncomfortable dining experience I have had in this city, and I will not return.

never heard of it and it was part walk-​in /​part suggestion from the person I was with. The menu is overwhelming and I didn’t really know what to make of the whole place. That all said, food was good but it was an expensive meal for what we got.

The crab and avocado salad is a great starter. All the dishes we tried had an interesting variety of flavours. Don’t fuss too much about the different dishes clashing with one another. Nice and cozy.

Other must haves: blue crab avocado salad, pork side ribs, beef hearts.
Can get a little loud!

Followed a recommendation from friends of mine to check out this little spot. I was dining solo and it really was the perfect place to do so. Foxleys is very easy to miss as the lettering is fairly small and being a bistro it’s pretty tiny in size as well. Street parking only. I had to do four loops around the block on a Thursday night around 8 and was able to parallel across the street. The entrance way was a tad confusing. You couldn’t see in through the front door and when you did open the door up, you had to guess which way to turn. I ventured to the left and was enclosed in this black curtain. At first I thought maybe they were closed because I couldn’t understand why a place would have guests walk into an enclosed curtain. I literally felt like I was in a shower or behind a stage and just didn’t know where to turn to break free or break in. I kind of poked my finger around and found an opening, thank goodness. For the claustrophobic out there, you would not have been happy with the situation. Immediately after finding my way, I saw a sign that said, ‘Please wait to be seated.’ A gentleman immediately noticed me and I asked if it was okay to sit at the bar, at which point he said of course and I took a seat. There were about two other two tops seated and one other person at the bar when I arrived. The interior is beautiful, but very small. Exactly what I would have pictured from the description my friends gave me being a bistro with tapas. I was given a wine list which was extensive for bottle purposes but I was wildly underwhelmed with the selection they offered by the glass. Only four reds to choose from, none of which really tickled my fancy. That was a little disappointing to start off the night. If you are dining with friends however, enormous selection. I went with a glass of Sangiovese, too fruit forward and acidic for my palate, my own fault though because that’s exactly what a Sangiovese should be. It was $ 13 for a glass. I was eager to check out the menu, as the place was described as, «Asian Fusion.» Was it? I didn’t really think so.
The gentleman assisting me was the same who greeted me at the door. He was very friendly and thoroughly described all of the specials to me in detail. There was another man who didn’t utter a word to me the entire time I was there. I don’t know if he was the manager or another bartender but I was alone, in a chatty mood and it wasn’t being reciprocated, oh well. I took a look at the menu and it was too much to handle. It was a giant list of «tapas» but no organization, no classifications, no grouping, just one giant list. It was overwhelming. I wish it had been separated into you know, ‘salads’ ‘ceviche’ ‘meat’ something like that. I was all over the place. They had tapas for 9 bucks and some for 22 so I was curious about the different sizes. The bartender told me that most people go with 2 or 3 tapas. I inquired about the seaweed salad and the bartender told me that the kale one was better. Awesome. I love a good recommendation. I got the kale salad and it was ready within 5 minutes. It was BIG. I was shocked at the size of it, biggest small plate I had ever seen. It was a mountain of shredded kale topped with a hearty amount of pecorino romano cheese in a lemon dressing. It was also topped with some fried onions. The salad was TO DIE FOR. Seriously unbelievable combination of flavors, filled me up too, I just wanted more and more and more. It was served with chopsticks, which may have amused others if they happened to catch a glimpse of me mid bite. The bartender tried to push the ceviche on me in a completely polite way. He said that’s what they were known for but I wasn’t feeling that adventurous. Again, I didn’t know where to go next, chicken? short ribs? pork? skate? veggie dish? There were so many options, which sounds great, but needed a little organization. Menus need to be visually stimulating to guests I think and this wasn’t. I kept looking at the guy sitting at the bar next to me to see what he was ordering because he looked pretty content. Turns out he had chosen the pork side ribs with a caramel shallot glaze. I’ll have what he’s having. The pork took a long time and then some to come out. There were so few people in the place I was surprised it was taking so long for one dish. Finally they came out and they looked unbelievably delicious. Turns out, they weren’t great. There were SO many bones and hard pieces at one point I actually swallowed one and was praying someone knew the heimlich for when it caught in my esophagus. Thankfully with the super attentive bartender who was on his water refilling game, there was enough fluid for it to go down. The sauce was great but there was WAY too much of it, couldn’t catch the real flavor of the pork. There was probably only an ounce and a half of actual meat I was able to eat. Most of it was incredibly fatty.
Overall experience was good enough. Restroom not handicap accessible, located in the basement.

Both my wife and I agree this is our favourite restaurant in Toronto after the Harbord Room. The food is consistently phenomenonal. It is also a great date restaurant. The restaurant is well lit, pleasant music, unpretentious, not too noisy, and it’s fun to share the small delicious portions, especially the crab and avocado salad, and the shallot glazed ribs.

I really enjoyed the food at Foxley. The dishes are tapas-​style; small portions.
We ordered:
— Sauteed frog legs (Frog legs tastes like chicken for those who haven’t tried before!)
— Sea scallops ceviche (I’d rate this one the highest out of all the dishes.)
— Caramelized side ribs
— Smoked quail with papaya salad (The marinating sauce reminds me of Chinese sweet soy sauce.)
— Lamb & duck prosciutto dumplings
I’d recommend everything that I ordered :) Although the lamb & duck prosciutto dumplings weren’t as special as the others.
Service was excellent!

I’d heard and read nothing but positive things from sources I trust (Sources I trust: Friends, Globe and Mail, Joanne Kates. Sources I don’t trust: 905ers on Unilocal.), but Foxley always seemed to fly a little under my radar when it actually came time to answer the question «What to eat tonight?»
I finally gave it a try and was very impressed, despite the polarizing reviews. For what it’s worth, we took most of our server’s recommendations and ordered: the crab and avocado salad; a Lao-​style spicy beef salad; a wahoo and peach ceviche; fried shrimp with jalapenos and garlic; and red curry beef cheek. I thought the curry lacked some depth and spice but everything else was great, particularly the fish ceviche and crispy shrimp.
Portions are ample. I can (and do, with alarming regularity) take down a large pizza myself in 20 minutes when I’m hungry and I left Foxley very full. You should be pretty satisfied ordering 5 dishes between two people. By my math that’s about $ 80 of food — not exactly breaking the bank, so people here should stop complaining about portion sizes and just order one more dish for $ 12-​$ 16 if you’re still hungry.
Service was really friendly and the back patio is a great place to sit on a summer night. (Not too many left, unfortunately.) I will definitely be adding Foxley to my rotation.

The Asian fusion aspect of the menu was not great.
1. Crab/​avocado salad:
— Not bad but nothing special. Expensive for half an avocado and crab.
2. Lamb/​duck prosciutto dumplings
— Loaded with meat, crispy skin. I liked this one.
3. Taro fries
— The crispy ones were good but the thicker fries were chewy.
4. Ribs
— Expensive for 2 pieces of ribs. Very saucy and tender but wouldn’t recommend this.
5. Steamed black cod
— Fish came in 2 pieces of aluminum foil. The small piece of fish was sitting in a pool of soup. The truffle oil was unnecessary and overpowering. Wouldn’t recommend this.
Overall:
We won’t be returning due to the mediocre food and service.