Posted by Rebecca Zamon in mixed menu, restaurant review on June 13, 2008 at 4:35 pm

The Kitchen
1186 Queen Street West
416-536-7700
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $110

I really wanted to love The Kitchen. I love the location, I love the look, I even love the generic name - when it came down to it, the only thing I didn't love about this five-month old spot on Queen West was the food.

Approaching to eat lunch on a sunny weekday afternoon, I'm greeted first by the construction workers busily erecting a wooden patio, likely in anticipation of the nighttime crowds the space is known to attract. But inside, they've prepared for summer as well, with the front and side windows-cum-garage doors rolled up to encourage a cross breeze that more than makes up for a lack of air conditioning. A surprisingly heavy décor is the theme in this galley-type space, where heavy window coverings and large, iron chandeliers overlook the 34 high seats strewn throughout, the majority of which seat patrons side-by-side at counters.

Billed as "tapas," but electing to use that word's definition of "small plates," as opposed to anything resembling Spanish cuisine, the lunch menu is somewhat of a truncated version of the dishes served at dinner, offering six salads, five sashimi/maki type offerings, four wraps and three mains - which, interestingly, cost the same, if not less, than the salads. My companion and I decided to have five plates between the two of us - the Garden Maki ($7), the Italian Maki ($9), a steak salad ($14), the grilled chicken breast wrap ($8) and fish and chips ($8).

After waiting a significant amount of time - half patiently, the other half drumming-our-fingers-annoyed - the food arrived. Cold. Certainly set out for sharing on long, modern white plates, the six pieces of the Italian Maki, composed of risotto and poached pear rolled up in prosciutto, topped by Parmesan, were sticky sweet, the balsamic reduction with which it was plated overtaking the other flavours almost entirely. Asparagus, red pepper and rice were what made up the Garden Maki, along with a probably unnecessary panko crust, with a wasabi yogurt to dip into. It was fine, if not exciting, and the slightly mushy consistency of the rice made the texture of the whole dish a bit softer than I would have liked.

The "grilled medium rare flat iron steak" salad, complete with the colourful list of blue potatoes, green beans, red onions and black olives was, unfortunately, sub-par. I happen to be pretty particular about my greens, and though these were touted as "wilted," by the time they landed on our table, they were very close in consistency to "slimy." The grilled chicken breast wrap (with sun-dried tomato, black olive, bocaccini, red onions and pesto) was tasty in its spiciness, which then started me looking back at the menu to try to determine what the zesty red sauce encased within could be. I finally settled on the Cajun mayo, listed on the other chicken wrap option, as my companion noted that the charred herbs grilled on the exterior were overwhelming that potentially delicious combination.

My favourite dish of the meal was the fish and chips, a tilapia in tempura served with tri-colour fries that looked to hit a maximum of two separate hues, and all tasted the exact same. My companion's piece was a bit too thin and overcooked, but my thicker portion had the fish flaking away under my fork, and coupled with the malt tartar sauce, the tilapia managed to taste fresh, despite the deep-fried coating.

Hopefully these food woes will work themselves out, though according to a heated discussion on Chowhound, some others have not exactly been fans. Apparently, however, The Kitchen is shaping up to be a nighttime favourite, so perhaps their best option is just to change the name.