OK, I am the first to admit it, we go out a lot. We try to go out only once per weekend for dinner, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. Too tired to cook, forgot to take something out of the freezer, you name it, I can come up with a reason. Bloor West Village has quite a few restaurants but unfortunately most are not that great. Bloom is a place that has been around for quite some time, but changed chefs last year. The food has a Cuban/Latin/Italian flare. We tried it for lunch a few years ago and enjoyed it so last week we decided to try it again for dinner this time.
We didn’t make reservations and fortunately it wasn’t too packed when we arrived around 7:30 in the evening. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our house and it was a lovely warm night. We were greeted by a very nice gentleman who seemed very proud of the place (I’m guessing it’s a family affair). We were seated at a very nice four person table so JT and I were able to sit side by side (which we love).
We were hesitant to order the bottle of Prosecco but the gentleman quickly offered to bring us a taste to see if we liked it; it was nice and dry so we ordered it. They offer 41 bottles on their wine list, which is rather extensive for such a small place. The restaurant quickly filled up and by 8:30 all the tables were occupied. Fortunately another waiter (perhaps his wife?) came in to help our gentleman who seemed to be the only one serving. Not withstanding, he did a good job and we didn’t feel like we were waiting long for anything.
We weren’t starving so we decided to order only appetizers. I ordered the Ceviche which was listed as Chef’s Selection Seafood (sustainable B.C.Halibut, line caught) Lemon Juice, Habanero Pepper, Cilantro $13. It was served in a small martini glass. The white fish was nicely done but it was a tad citrus-y for my taste, perhaps a little more balance with something sweet like a mango would have been a fix. The martini glass was just tall enough that it made it difficult for a vertically challenged person like me to eat from it (click here for a video of Chef Pedro Quintanilla making the ceviche). JT ordered the Caesar Salad with Spanish Style Smoked Bacon, Home Made Garlic Croutons with sliced chicken breast on top $14. You might ask why one would order a Caesar salad in a Latin restaurant…or you might not. Anyway, it was pretty ordinary.
I’d like to go back and try a few other items on the menu that caught my eye, such as the Avocado and Mango Salad $9, or the Cuban Shrimp Cocktail $15, or the Grilled Calamari $14, and the Arepa which is a Venezuelan corn cake with wild mushroom ragout, Asiago and crème fraiche $10
Overall rating of Bloom (in my opinion): Decor 3.5/5, service 3.5/5, food 3/5, Value 3/5, Noise: 5/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet). We paid for our meal in full.
Great review. I haven’t been to Bloom since the new chef arrived. Sorry it wasn’t a better experience.
Our first house was in Bloor West Village and we loved the neighborhood. Since then we’ve moved a little further west, but I always like going back to the village. Looking forward to checking out some of your other reviews!
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Thanks Beth, it’s always nice to ‘meet’ a fellow Torontonian. We were fortunate to meet up with Charles (Five Euro Food) when we visited Paris in September. It’s so cool when the blogging world and real world collide. I hope you enjoy the restaurant reviews, you should be able to find them easily by selecting that category; or you can search “Restaurant Review:” as I tend to use that as the heading consistently.
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Sounds like a cute restaurant! We don’t have any Cuban-inspired food in the area, I’d love to try something like this next time I’m in T.O.
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What fun to have restaurants within walking distance, but sorry the food wasn’t more impressive. I need to check the price on the burrata next time I’m at Whole Foods…I’m sure it was no bargain
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It’s definitely not a bargain cheese, but it is quality.
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I want the Arepa.
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It does sound tasty doesn’t i?
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Don’t you just love being able to walk to a nice restaurant in the neighborhood? Enjoy these warm summer nights while they are still here!!!
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Thanks Barbie, they are fast exiting that’s for sure!
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Don’t you just love being able to walk somewhere nice for dinner? Too bad Bloor West isn’t a little closer to us as we’d love to meet you there!
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Sounds like a cool family-type establishment, generous of you to be willing to give it another go.
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My hubbie is left handed so if we sit side by side I have to make sure he sits on my left otherwise it is total mayhem. Paris restaurants are often side by side when we would ‘coffee’ or eat outside. I love to ‘people watch’ too 🙂
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Oh my Corrie, mayhem is not good at dinner!
I really love that about Paris; I can hardly wait to get there again in September!
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What is up with the hesitancy of ordering the Prosecco?
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Hi Jed, some Prosecco’s are a little too fruity or sweet for my taste.
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Understood. 🙂
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Not all meals hit it out of the park unfortunately. Sounds like there are many interesting choices to check out in the future. 🙂
Speaking of that, the arepas have come up recently in my search of Latin/Central South American dishes to try in the future. I just need a bag of masa harina.
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What an interesting cake/bread Maria, of course, I had to google it! I recently made English crumpets, stay tuned for the blog not that it’s similar to arepas, but it was different and rather newish for me (last time I tried to make it was 30 years ago!
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Crumpets with their lovely nooks and crannies for honey or butter or jam to flow into … yummy. I’ve been tempted to save my tuna cans, remove the bottoms and try to make some myself.
Bread products are one of my big weaknesses. 🙂
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Thanks Maria, I do love that about the crumpets.
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We like sitting side-by-side too. Especially in booths. 🙂 So nice that they offered a tasting of the Prosecco. Sounds like a great evening out.
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This is a restaurant I think I’d enjoy. Not at all pretentious, a full wine list, and a menu with tasty, not common options. Being able to walk to it would be a big bonus. A walk on a Summer’s night after a good meal is such a nice way to end an evening out.
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So true John, that is one of the reasons JT and I adore Bloor West Village; like you, even though we are right in the city of Toronto, we feel like we are in a small town away from the hustle and bustle.
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I hate sitting side by side. Carl’s elbows could knock me out. But that’s great that it works well for you – JT must have had his wings clipped! I love the sound of this restaurant. It’s almost as if you’ve walked into the dining room of their house. It’s a shame the food wasn’t better but perhaps the mains are better than the appetisers xx
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I know what you mean Charlie, We were taught to eat with text books under our arms! We’ll try this place again soon.
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Many years ago I had a saffron risotto there I have never been able to forget. When you go back you must try it if it’s still on the menu.
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Yum Saffron risotto, I’ll have to keep that in mind Lisa, I still have a lot of saffron left from our trip to Morocco.
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Mmm I like the sound of that Venezualan corn cake! 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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It does sound yummy, CCU!
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Isn’t that funny how you mention liking to sit side by side? I prefer that too! 😀
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That way there’s the cuddle benefit and you both get to people watch!
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