TRIO RESTAURANT

Rallying for Trio to be the next “Comeback-Kid” we hope for. After a long closure during the pandemic, the sleek North York favourite re-opens with exciting potential. New and season highlights are: a happy hour menu, live jazz Thursday evenings, a Festive buffet, and Christmas day buffet. Consistently over the years Trio has maintained an excellent customer service standard, hoping with this come back the kitchen can attain the level of food it once had. A recent visit to the Festive Buffet for lunch is a telling tale of the challenges of restaurants these days. Raising food costs have kitchens cornered and treading water to survive. The salad bar is a good selection of fruits, vegetables, salads, pasta salads, salad toppings and dressings. The hot selection is various vegetable choices that need more salt/flavour and with carbohydrate choices that need more attention. Rice pilaf would benefit with more flavour and moisture, same with the odd option of roasted potatoes; a more classic option of mashed potato would be more ideal. A typical hotel style sliced turkey roll would have been more of a highlight to the buffet if there was more effort to dress it up. Here the kitchen could have stepped up with making a vibrant vegetarian stuffing/dressing option, with a simple in-house made cranberry sauce, putting out these options is of little cost and effort to the kitchen vs the commercial cranberry sauce offered. The barely noticeable gravy is mostly absorbed by the pre-sliced turkey in the steam table pan. Nowhere to be found is any gravy on the buffet. Nice additions are a fish option, a warm pasta and hot soup. There are many options for dessert selection, but here lies again a time where the kitchen could shine. Would have loved to see some in-house made desserts by the kitchen vs purchased generic cakes and pastries. Same with the pasta and soup option: would love to see the kitchen be creative and put out some unique in house chef inspired soups and pastas. Noted the food costs for commercial kitchens today, and hoping Trio will rise to the occasion to encourage their kitchen to shine with their staff creativity and talents by presenting patrons with more unique in-house made dishes. Will return in hopes Trio continues to improve.

December 8, 2024 on Google