Last weekend, Gina Mallet’s National Post report gave 93 Harbord a 3-star rating (“don’t miss”). That same day, the Rabbitz had coincidentally booked a dinner rez to celebrate the weekend-visit of the Really Big Rabbit (a.k.a. “the Dad”). After reading her review, we were all ready to be blown away by what was coming out of this kitchen. Unfortunately, our experience did not pan out the same as Gina’s.

I made my rez via email on Thursday and had yet to hear a confirmation as of Saturday, so I called to make sure everything was OK. “93” assured me that all was well, and indeed they had a table ready for our 7:00 reservation. It was a slightly crap table, too close to the server’s station, and another randomly placed two-top, so we asked to move to slightly better real estate in the mostly empty resto. Fine. The room is pretty-pretty – exposed brick, flattering lighting, comfortable chairs, a well-stocked bar, and good music (old-school jazz, the night of our visit). On a further decorative note, the Christmas tree was still up — but we actually thought that a little passé, this being mid-January.

After some considerable menu deliberation, and in consultation with our seemingly knowledgeable server, we placed our orders and started picking at some very nice warm pita with a tasty green olive tapenade. The wine list is uninspired, but also not particularly price-y, so we went with an Aussie Coonanwarra shiraz/merlot ($38), which was totally quaffable (we went back for another couple of glasses later in the meal). “93” also had an interesting cocktail list, but I was in a wine-mood, so I didn’t do any experimenting (regret now… fig martini!!).

“93” has a mezes menu in addition to the appetizer section on their main menu. The mezes tended to be dips and relatively familiar stuff, and while we were initially going to build from this list (why not try the classics?), our server suggested that the starters from the main menu were more special. Despite this counsel, the Rabbit-sister ordered the sumac chicken from the mezes card, which presented a small plate with chopped chicken, leaves, nuts and pita. It was very flavourful, and a good start (also, a very appropriate serving size).

The Really Big Rab had the calamari appetizer with figs. This was an extremely generous serving of very tender squid with a peppery, fig-y accompaniment (there seemed to be something else in the mix, but we couldn’t quite place it). I think this was the best of the apps!

My recommended starter of haloumi with arugula and pomegranate sauce was tasty, but I fatigued of the richness and flavour well before the dish was finished. The Rabbit-sister said the pomegranate sauce was disconcertingly bloody, but I found it quite beautiful.

Overall, apps were tasty, but no wow!-factor. Still, Mallet had really raved about the lamb, so we sat back and waited for our server to bring on the mains.

The RBR and I had the lamb tagine with shiraz and figs (pictured above), and the Rabbit-sister had a lamb shank with ginger and apricots (a dish about which Mallet raved). The lamb, in both cases, was very tender and succulent, but the actual flavours of the tagines were disappointingly similar. Of course there were subtle cues (ahoy — an apricot!), but I expected the dishes to have had more contrast. Also, we expected the tagines to be more stew-like, but there was barely enough sauce with mine to sop up the accompanying couscous. Most disappointing was the thoroughly inauthentic veg… since when is bok choy a Middle eastern thing?? The shiraz-fig tagine was slightly disappointing since it was not sauce-y nor fig-y enough. It’s not that anything was bad — it was actually a pleasant meal, and despite perpetually declining service, but I really couldn’t figure out why this was a “don’t miss.”

The apricot-ginger dish did have a nice flavour, but it was subtle, with not-enough fruit and a bit too much restraint on the spice. Worse, it did not come with its promised honey date yogurt. By this time, the restaurant was full and our service had deteriorated significantly, so we never did manage to procure the yog (sometimes peaceable family talk takes precedence over securing an errant side-dish). 

Finally, the wow!-factor presented itself with dessert. The cheesecake with fig was creamy and delectable with a sweet and flavourful sauce — absolutely wonderful. We also ordered a pistachio crème caramel which, after ordering, our served informed us was no-longer-available. Given that we were one of about three tables upon arrival and that most other diners were well behind us in the process, we took it that this “ran out of” actually meant “didn’t make any today” and we were frustrated that our waiter hadn’t mentioned this sooner. We subbed in a baklava that our waiter reported was a customer favourite, but we found this very disappointing. The pastry was thin — more struedel than baklava, and the unsweetened pastry had a dough-y flavour that was disappointing. I always think of baklava as honey-dripping and this was anything-but. My mint-tea was “Master’s Choice” — and while I don’t want to snob it up too much, one might think that “93″ would want to do better than an A& P housebrand. The Rabbit-sister put back her tawny-port without complaint. RBR continued to work on wine. I was done.

When we arrived at “93″ the place was quite empty, but by the time we left it was very full. Our service reflected this — and toward the end of our evening, with empty water glasses, and RBR thirsty for more wine, the slow service became rather annoying despite the company.

“93″ might be a “don’t miss” for Gina Mallet, but our meal was merely OK.  This is a nice, neighbourhood restaurant with an interesting twist, but I wouldn’t make it a destination, and given all the options in Toronto, I wouldn’t immediately recommend. Nor do I have any plans for a hasty return.

Overall —Our bill was $235ish with tax and tip (and there was some deliberation about how much the absentee waiter actually deserved).

Posted on January 17th, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Toronto, Restaurant Reviews