Restaurants › Midday
Hank’s
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- 9 1/2 Church St. (at the Esplanade) • View on map »
- 416-504-2657
- http://hankstoronto.blogspot.com/
Scott and Rachelle Vivian left last summer to start their own restaurant (Beast), but fellow Jamie Kennedy protégé Bryan Burke has returned to Hank’s and the neighbouring Wine Bar after a stint at Joy Bistro. The decor is simple and rustic, with church pews, chalkboards, butcher-block tables and kitschy mason jars for water glasses. Open only for lunch (we’re told dinner service is coming later this fall), the vibe is laid-back; local cubicle and condo dwellers linger over salads and sammies. Grilled asparagus are complemented nicely by a crisp frisée salad and a pleasantly tart chervil-infused dijonnaise. “Romaine salad” arrives constructed from leaf lettuce, but the gentler flavoured greens are perfect for the dish’s light and briny caesar-style vinaigrette (though it’s too bad about the kibble-hard croutons). A phone-it-in-bland wrap of roasted peppers, creminis and goat cheese disappoints. Fish and chips offers two large chunks of gorgeously moist Ontario pickerel in a toasty hoagie-like beer batter, but dry fries are a far cry from Kennedy’s Platonically plump specimens. A small wine card offers interesting variety. Friendly but listless servers.
- Closed Sunday and Monday for dinner
- Bring your own bottle
- Vegetarian
9 1/2 Church St. (at the Esplanade)
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