DESTINGO 

741 Queen Street West (just west of Bathurst Street), Toronto, On., (647) 748-3113 Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, No reservations.

There is a new restaurant in the Queen West area between Bathurst and Ossington that has a wonderful large patio right on the street.  It is called Destingo and is a great place to sit, sip wine (they have a nice selection of reds and whites), eat and people watch.  It has taken over a space that was once a furniture store. 

We arrived on Saturday at about 6:30 and took our time, sipping wine and talking before ordering dinner.  They don't hover over you and allow you to take your time here.

We began by ordering a couple of bottles of California Cabernet Savignon and took our time.  We ordered a plate of brushcetta, they were delicious but small - only three pieces.

We were getting hungry after a while and decided to order some mains.  After we placed our order a platter arrived with an unusual cranberry bread with butter, it was delicious.

My wife, Tom and I ordered the Caesar salad to start.  It was a typical caesar that could have been a bit larger, but it was tasty.

Mark my son (http://www.markallenrealty.ca/) ordered the beef carpaccio which was a nice presentation and quite large.

For mains my wife and Tom ordered the veal.  It was delicious, but could have been a larger serving.

I had the chicken piccata and it too was delicious, but also could have been a larger serving since the chicken was very thin.

Mark opted for the gnocchi and they were very tender and perfectly tasty even though the presentation was rather bland.

Although this restaurant is quite new, the owner and the chef are quite experienced and it shows.  The food is quite good, the new waitress was very pleasant and the overall feeling was very relaxing - especially on the wonderful patio.  Some of the patio seating does not appear comfortable but we did not mind.  Overall a good experience (even though some portions were quite small) and we will probably come again.

http://destingo.ca/