The West Hill Wine Bar

Had several great meals here, service not always great but food made up for it.
Last meal in the beginning of November was a disaster. Waited well over an hr for our meal, and when it finally came, they got the order wrong. By the time the correct meal came, we had to get it boxed to go. Now I fully understand that sometimes things just happen due to unforeseen circumstances, but it is how the management deals with the situations which I feel determine a good business from a poor business.
After 3 promises to reimburse us for our meal, one from the server who took our email address, and 2 from the owner who apologized for the poor service after I sent him an email outlining our experience that night, we have yet to receive any reimbursement.
Very very poor customer service, especially after both server and owner acknowledged that our dinner experience was subpar
Too bad, really wanted to have a great restaurant in my neighbourhood that we can
frequent, will never go back

The West Hill Wine Bar has an unassuming presence out in the wilds of Kingston Road (and Morningside). Menu and food is exceptional for the area. The menu we were presented at lunch today was different from what’s on the web menu — it would have been good if the two matched. However, we had a good lunch of tapas instead of your regular soup and salad or sandwich board.
The noodle-​wrapped shrimp with mango slaw was excellent! We also had wild mushrooms, sweet potato tower, grilled calamari, grilled sirloin, fried egg plant and baba ganoush with nan. All very well-​prepared and presented, but on the salty side. If I return, I would ask for less salt.
Good luck to Chef Chris Kanda for this adventure in Scarborough.

The softest piece of beef I have ever eaten. Presentation fit for royalty. Without question the finest food experience available in Scarborough.

I ordered the deconstructed ceasar and cheese tray. The lettuce leaves were brown and some were totally slimy. I would have thought they would have more pride than to send it out considering their prices.
The cheese tray came with what looked like house made dry toast cracker things with fruit and nuts. One had a 2 inch hair baked right in. When I gave it back to the waitress we didn’t get even a «sorry». No replacement or anything.
They had the door open and the curtains were blowing in and knocking the glasses off the table next to us and I had to keep jumping up to save them before they fell on the floor. It beats the hell out of me why the waitress didn’t handle this!
Not worth it for the price.

My wife and I ate here on Tuesday 3÷18÷2014 at about 8pm for dinner.
With only 3 other couples inside the restaurant (I was asked if I made reservations, or called) from the gentleman who greeted me. (I wanted to laugh, because the place was pretty much empty, and was 1 hour away from the kitchen closing) normally when I get asked questions like that, I get worried about what my food may be like.
So we sat down. Ordered 2 Ontario Beers, Oysters and Prosciutto Appetizers, and I had what stated on the menu (Chefs Winter Favourite) which was a mixed seafood dish with shrimp, muscles and scallops, and my wife had Seared Scallops. 2 double shot espressos after dinner and a shared freshly made, freshly baked apple pie with ice cream on the side (very very good in all)
The food was amazing (fresh, looked great, tasted great, and was the best part of the night)
The lady who was our server, could use a better restaurant service personality but over all she gets a B+ for trying… The place is nice, clean, and the wonderful food smell before opening the front door is awesome as well. Its on Kingston Road in Scarborough on the corner across from a mom and pop car dealership, but even though its not as nice as a location as maybe restaurants by the the water in downtown that I have been to, it sure has the best seafood and food in general that I have ate in a long time. with Tip (it was about $ 155) that is only because I like to tip 20 to 25% when the food is amazing as it is (23% tip) given that day.
The flavours, the love that goes into making the food was 10 out of 10. The quality of the fish, and the quality of flavour, texture, taste, was awesome. Nothing over powering each other, just perfect (food wise)
Location 8 out of 10
Food 15 out of 10 (yes 15 out of 10)
Drinks 9.5 out of 10 (good selection to choose from)
Prices 9.5 out of 10 (very reasonable for the quality of food)

Wow! Five stars all the way! Truly fantastic food.

Ate at West Hill Wine Bar with some friends. It was the first time I dined at this establishment. Overall the service was terrible, our waiter /​chef was not friendly at all. He needs to check his attitude at the door! There was a long wait for food and drinks as there was not enough staff to service the busy but small diningroom. The waiter was not personable at all and could use some customer service training! Ambiance in the restaurant requires improvement, lighting is terrible and for an upscale restaurant.
Food was ok and appetizer portion of shrimp was small. I would not recommend this place due to the service I received.

This is my 2^nd time here and I can’t get enough. If you want to see my first review, head over to urbanspoon.
I moved into this area a year ago and one of my top complaints is that there was no place for me to have a great meal. Not anymore!
I’m completely impressed by the food, the service, the ambiance. Tonight, I had salmon and prawns. I was asked how I like my salmon cooked (and that hardly EVER happens) so I knew I was in for a treat. It was absolutely delicious, melted in my mouth. The mixed greens complimented the seafood so well.
My other half ordered the French Laundry and it arrived with an ENORMOUS beef rib and some rooted vegetables. It was so tender and delicious (yes I had some), and he was grabbing forkfuls of my salmon when he thought I wasn’t looking.
And what’s a fantastic meal without dessert? I had the Caramel apple package which was wrapped in pastry and came with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was all I could do to not put my face in the plate and lick it clean. My husband had the carrot cake which was artfully stacked on his plate and served with a tart lime sorbet. AMAZING.
This restaurant is not a value restaurant but is competitively priced for the food served (they use a lot of local produce and sustainable meats-​thumbs up). In addition there are great specials every day of the week AND live music on some nights (the singer there tonight was fantastic. I could’ve stayed all night).
I’m so glad I’m not confined to King Street any longer-there’s a better restaurant right around the corner.
Extra kudos for amazing staff! I’ll be back.

Not going to go into too much detail here, but if you live anywhere in the area and are looking for a superior dinning experience, this is the place. Chef Chris came out to our table and answered all of our questions and made excellent suggestions for our dinner and dessert. My main was the French Laundry (Braised Beef cheeks and tongue with seasonal roasted veg) and my wife got the Sticky ribs. All I can say is that every single morsel was divine. Got the deconstructed Lemon Parfait and Chai Crème Brule for dessert, also incredible.

Occupying the space that was the once short lived Belfiero Trattoria & Pizzeria is now an upscale wine bar owned and operated by Top Chef Canada Season One Contestant, Chris Kanka.
Upon entering we were greeted by some friendly hostess who told us to pick a table and they would be right over with some menus.
We chose a table in the corner against the back wall with a cozy and comfy banquet. The tables are all adorned with black table cloths and candle light with the walls painted in hues of dark blue and grey.
The menu is pretty diverse focusing on fresh, local and seasonal ingredients as well as using only sustainable seafood and naturally raised meats. They also offer a 3 course prix menu for $ 45 that changes weekly.
To drink we started off with a delicious and refreshing glass of rose, I could of easily downed the bottle! I enjoyed the bread served as it came with a whole bulb of roasted garlic. Sweet and creamy, a nice change from the traditional butter or olive oil/​balsamic.
To Start we decided to share two appetizers
Sophisticated Poutine — Hand Cut Fries, Grated Parma, Thunder Oak Gouda, Homemade Chorizo, Demi, Truffle Oil, Caramelized Onions, Heirloom Tomato, Roasted Banana Peppers, Fresh Herbs
Unlike anything I’ve ever had before. A delicious combo of flavours, the aroma of truffle oil and the presentation was gorgeous. Loved the crumbles of chorizo and the soft and crispy frites. Definitely sophisticated and it does pack heat but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Cucumbered Greens — Greens, Candied Walnuts, Heirloom Tomatoes, Radish, Grapes, Orange Blossom & Rose Water Vinaigrette
Almost too pretty to eat, just almost! The vinaigrette was the perfect combo of sweet and sour, the crunch from the candied walnuts and pops of sweetness from the grapes garnished with pretty flower petals A very enjoyable salad!
For main we decided to split a pizza and boy was I glad we did because there pizza’s are huge. 8 slices but far too much for one to handle even the table beside us commented on the large size of our pizza. The pizzas are all create your own, It starts at $ 12 and you get to pick your own sauce from there you build your own choosing from an assortment of gourmet and traditional toppings priced from 1.50 to 2.50 a topping.
We chose Spicy tomato sauce, Buffalo mozzarella, Smoked chicken, Baby spinach, and Wild mushrooms.
Loved the spicy tomato sauce, no need for chili flakes here it definitely packs the punch I like, the smokey chicken delivered in flavour and the assortment of wild mushroom and gooey cheese was more than satisfying. The crust is nice and chewy with crispy edges. We could only eat half the pizza but our waitress kindly packed the rest up in a pizza box to go for us.
Finally if we weren’t already overly full we decided to indulge in some dessert
Molten Chocolate Torte — Served Hot out of the Oven, Topped w/​Cream Cheese Iced Cream
It really came right out of the oven as our waitress advised it takes 20 minutes to bake but it didn’t feel like it actually took 20 minutes.
Crispy edges with a warm oozing chocolatey centre. Richly intense chocolate not too sweet more of a semisweet to bittersweet taste plus the cream cheese ice cream was a delicious sweet & tangy contrast, I only wish the scoop was a bit larger as I really enjoyed it.
Ooo and the coffee here is delicious!
Overall a really sensational meal. Compared to the local restaurants in the area prices are much higher than what you would expect however when you factor in the ingredients, presentation and taste of the food delivered here I’d say the prices are spot on! Service was really great, waitresses checking on you through out the meal and refilling water glasses without you having to nag. Another nice touch was they offered a complimentary lemon sorbet prior to the main course as a palate cleanser which we both really enjoyed. Definitely a place worth checking out! If didn’t know any better I’d say I was downtown at fine dining restaurant.
****UPDATE***
Came back two weeks later after seeing another couple order the Chef’s Choice Dry Aged Shared Steak for two. We couldn’t get the succulent images out of our heads so we had to come back to try it.
40oz on the Bone Grilled Ontario Rib Steak, Parmesan Truffled Frites Sauté Forest Mushrooms, Balsamic Braised Cippolinni Onions, Heirloom Root Vegetables.
Everything was spectacular, the meat cooked perfectly medium rare was to die for! So tender juicy and flavourful. A definite must try!

An undiscovered Gem hidden in West Hill region of Scarborough! Top Chef Canada Season One Chef Contestant, Chris Kanka, has a great menu of modern fusion cuisine specializing in sustainable seafood and fresh and organic ingredients. Lots of great appetizers and delicious mains. For exceptional value, bring a friend and try the ‘Meat for Two’ which is a generous 40oz on the Bone Grilled Ontario Rib Steak with Parmesan Truffled Frites, Sauté Forest Mushrooms, Balsamic Braised Cippolinni Onions, Charred Rapini. Definitely worth a trip as a destination and a must try if you happen to be in the area.