Dinner at the Foxley

Went on Tuesday night. The place was still kind of empty when we got there at about 7:00, but there was a big rush of people showing up just after we got there. The place is kind of small, it sits about 30 or 35 and maybe 40 if you count the seats at the bar. They don't take reservations. You're probably OK if you show early, but expect a bit of a wait if you get there later.

The place is on the small side, its pretty narrow. The ceilings are really high -- 12 -14 feet, which is nice. The brick on the left wall is exposed and i guess its got some sort of varnish or maybe a sealer on it because it has a bit of sheen. Most of the tables are are on the left wall. They have a few "elevated tables" along the wall as well. The right wall has a small banquette, that has seating for 6, maybe 8 if everyone knows each other. The place has got a decent hardwood floor. It's a medium stain, looks like oak. Similar to what they have at Jamie Kennedy Gardiner. The furniture isn't much to speak of. I don't think the chef/owner had any big time financial backers, so I think he's making do with what he could get. Still the place looks a lot better than most of the stuff you see on Restaurant Make Over.

The crowd is definitely on the younger side. There was a table of five girls beside us, 2 of which were definitely in the higher reaches of the hotness scale and two were quite acceptable (pleasant to look at and adequately breasted). There were some couples and a few parties of three. There was only one old couple in the place. I don't think that this place gets much of the older crowd because it is a little on the loud side. Might be because its on the small side, so the sound just gets amplified. They play alternative/indie rock, but its kind of in the background because the chatter is louder. The place has a lot of energy to it and an inviting vibe to it.

The service is decent and casual. We were kind of uncertain about how much food to order, so we asked our waitress for a little help in terms of guiding the number of dishes. She told us, that she would let us know if we ordered too much. We also had a few questions on the dishes and she effectively answered the questions we had for her. The plates come pretty quick and in twos. The chef brought out our last dish, he even gave us new little plates -- so we could savour the full flavours of the last meat dish we had, without contaminating it with some of the earlier orders.

They have fairly big selection of wines, with quite a few whites on the list. There also have a bunch of premium/imported beer around (cans and bottles). I'm sure quite a few people will go for the wine. My advice would be to skip the wine and drink beer, which is what I did. The dishes on the menu use a lot of spices on it, e.g., hot chillies as well as the more fragrant and flavourful kind. Once you get the spices in your mouth after you start eating its really going to change the taste of the wine. So while the wine will start out OK, its going to be a different story once you start eating. On the other hand, beer is always going to taste the same. Beer also has the added benefit of cleansing your palate, particularly if you have something with a lot of heat.

It's a tapas style place, but the servings are a little on the larger size. The fish and vegetarian dishes are a little smaller and lighter, while the meat dishes are larger and more filling. The menu is ordered with the vegetarian and fish dishes at the top, while the meat dishes are at the bottom. There are quite a few selections to pick from. I would probably guess that there are something like 20-30 dishes to pick from.

I've heard this place described as Asian inspired Portuguese food. I don't see that at all. To me there are strong overtones of Thai cooking on the menu. They give you chop sticks, no forks in the place settings. While there is a lot of seafood, I didn't see any Portuguese style seafood food here (grilled sardines or salted cod). I haven't really explored the menu that deeply, so I can't offer a better description than to say that the menu is really eclectic. I'm not sure how much of the menu is seasonal, so whether it would change it in the winter (always a good sign). My educated guess, given what i've seen, is that it will because the chef is really into what he's doing.

We ordered 5 dishes:

• a shrimp and mango salad
• a new zealand tarakihi ceviche
• a vegetarian spring roll
• a lamb and duck (prosciutto) dumpling
• a beef cheek curry, with coconut scented steamed rice

I like all of the dishes we had. One of things you notice right away with the lighter things is how fresh the food is and also how fragrant it is. The new zealand tarakihi ceviche was especially noteworthy, it had a nice salsa/fruit accompaniment. There were 4 portions of the spring roll and it came with a really hot dipping sauce. I didn't mind the heat so much, but others might. Note that the spring rolls are not like the ones you get at the $6 Thai lunch place. The spring rolls are not deep fried nor are they doughy. I'm not sure what the wrapping was, but it was like raw vegetables or something. The lamb and duck dumplings were also another highlight. I really like the blend of the lamb and duck -- two rich meats. They brought five dumplings, plus a dipping sauce. I wouldn't have minded getting another dish. The beef cheek curry was also really good (this to me is more french than Portuguese, but i guess they're a lot of uneducated reviewers out there). There were something like 5 big chunks of cheek. I emptied the curry juice onto my steamed rice after I got through my share of the dish. Really tasty. I think 5 dishes is a decent meal in terms of quantity for two people.

They don't have a big selection of deserts and it looks like they vary from night to night. They had a rice pudding when on the night I went. I didn't try it, although I was kind of tempted.

The price point is relatively reasonable. The 5 dishes, a beer and a glass of sparkling rose when for about $90 and change with the tip.

Overall, I really liked the place. With so many shitty resto lounges opening up in the city its nice to go to place with a bit of a soul to it that serves really good food. The bill refers to the place as the "Foxley Bistro and Bar". If this is the future of the bistro in this city, then they should bring the future to the present. The chef really cares about the food, which you can tell by the quality of the ingredients he uses and the fact that he works the room too. I'd say the place is comparable to Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar in terms of the quality of the food and the energy in the room. This place is a solid 2 bunny restaurant.


Rating: 2 Bunnies

Notes on the Bunny Rating System:

• 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
• 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
• 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
• 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool