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Restaurant Comings & Goings

Richard White said:
Duckworths is expensive but they are really good at what they do. The Kingston Road location is far better than the Danforth Location which is a shell of what it once was.
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That's a shame about their Danforth location. My family visited regularly in the 80s and 90s and it was always a hit. I ordered it for takeout about 15 years ago and it was acceptable, but figured it was better dine-in.
 
christiesplits said:
That's a shame about their Danforth location. My family visited regularly in the 80s and 90s and it was always a hit. I ordered it for takeout about 15 years ago and it was acceptable, but figured it was better dine-in.
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They are both owned by the same family just by different family members. The name is similar but they are not the same business hence why one is Duckworths and the other is Len Duckworths.

I find the Danforth Location to be more diner like with it being geared towards fast food. The Kingston Road location has not changed much since the 50s and focuses on quality over price.

I went to the Danforth location last fall and I found the food to be greasy and fried to death. It was not worth the money in my opinion.
 
Haddock is better than halibut anyways, and it's only $21.

Rodney's has a $16 fish and chips lunch special. Probably the best fish and chips deal downtown. Ask for skinny fries instead of the big fat ones.
 
Richard White said:
They are both owned by the same family just by different family members. The name is similar but they are not the same business hence why one is Duckworths and the other is Len Duckworths.

I find the Danforth Location to be more diner like with it being geared towards fast food. The Kingston Road location has not changed much since the 50s and focuses on quality over price.

I went to the Danforth location last fall and I found the food to be greasy and fried to death. It was not worth the money in my opinion.
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Fish and chips is greasy by nature 🤷‍♀️
 
christiesplits said:
That's a shame about their Danforth location. My family visited regularly in the 80s and 90s and it was always a hit. I ordered it for takeout about 15 years ago and it was acceptable, but figured it was better dine-in.
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In the east end I far prefer Hamish's for fish n' chips, though they're now up close to Eglinton and I don't make my was up as often as when they were at Pharmacy/St. Clair.

After that, I would vote British Style fish n' chips on Dundas near Coxwell. I've never been that keen on Duckworth's on Danforth
 
Admiral Beez said:
I find I'm going to restaurants less and less. And I've noticed it in my bank accounts, just yesterday I mentioned to the Mrs. that we seem to have more dosh.

I guess Rob Ford said it best, I have enough to eat at home.
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I have cut down eating out because there is too many inexperienced cooks and servers in restaurants these days. So many restaurants are running lucrative LMIA scams The LMIA program has created incentives for employers to favor paying foreign workers over locals.

When i do eat out, i avoid fraudulent LMIA chain restaurants, and support small local independent businesses.
 
Interesting post! Good to see the boom in the wellness space! a new social gathering spot!


Is Toronto becoming a city of saunas? Half a dozen have opened in the past couple of months alone. CBC's Haydn Watters finds out why so many people are eager to sweat right now — and how much money is behind the trend.
 
I'm not entirely surprised. Matty Matheson cashes in on a lot of coming and going food trends. Vietnamese food in the downtown and periphery areas is probably near peak saturation right now. You have the old school joints on Spadina and Ossington which likely aren't going away anytime soon and have their long time customer bases. In the area near Ca Phe Rang, you have Pho Ngoc Yen which opened a location at Peter & Adelaide. And there's other recent additions like the Lunch Lady on Ossington which took a lot of the attention as the current "hype" spot.
 
AlbertC said:
I'm not entirely surprised. Matty Matheson cashes in on a lot of coming and going food trends. Vietnamese food in the downtown and periphery areas is probably near peak saturation right now. You have the old school joints on Spadina and Ossington which likely aren't going away anytime soon and have their long time customer bases. In the area near Ca Phe Rang, you have Pho Ngoc Yen which opened a location at Peter & Adelaide. And there's other recent additions like the Lunch Lady on Ossington which took a lot of the attention as the current "hype" spot.
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He also diluted his brand by shilling his wares at Walmart
 
AlbertC said:
I'm not entirely surprised. Matty Matheson cashes in on a lot of coming and going food trends. Vietnamese food in the downtown and periphery areas is probably near peak saturation right now. You have the old school joints on Spadina and Ossington which likely aren't going away anytime soon and have their long time customer bases. In the area near Ca Phe Rang, you have Pho Ngoc Yen which opened a location at Peter & Adelaide. And there's other recent additions like the Lunch Lady on Ossington which took a lot of the attention as the current "hype" spot.
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Terrible timing and stiff competition from nearby is the main culprit! However, keep in mind...consumer expectation for a bowl of pho is under $15 so charging a premium will be a hard sell no matter how modernized the dish flare will be.
 
artyboy123 said:
Terrible timing and stiff competition from nearby is the main culprit! However, keep in mind...consumer expectation for a bowl of pho is under $15 so charging a premium will be a hard sell no matter how modernized the dish flare will be.
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I go to Bun Saigon all the time. What was 10 dollars or less 20 years ago is now $15 and $20.

I don't think it is as much about charging a premium as the novelty wearing off. Think of him like Buddy Valastro, he had a name locally but once he sold out to retail things went downhill.
 


"Denovia, whose name comes from the Latin for “anew,” is equal parts coffee shop and wellness centre. It was inspired by owner Nick Wang’s wife, Angel Di, who is a licensed aromatherapist. “We wanted to create a space that helps people live healthier lives—not only from the medical side but from the mental health side,” he says. “There are a lot of places like this in Japan, but there’s really no such combination in Toronto.”
 
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