Beaumont Kitchen
Beaumont Kitchen at Sherway Gardens is the Oliver & Bonacini restaurant adjacent to Saks. The Etobicoke shopping centre is already home to high end shops like Holts and Harry Rosen, and this appropriately upscale dining destination fits right in with its neighbours.
The softly lit room is swathed in muted hues and furnished with a mix of seating including plush lounge chairs, deep booths and formal dining tables.
Brass pendant lamps accent the room like jewelry while clusters of framed artworks and sculptural bookshelves adorn the walls.
Beverages from bar manager, Darren LeBlanc include a line up of craft draft and bottled beers, wine and potent specialty cocktails that'll surely loosen inhibitions before heading off to shop next door.
The Fifth Avenue Sangria ($14) is a three and a half ounce drink blending moscato, Lillet Blanc, cranberry/raspberry juice and rhubarb bitters.
Lightweights like me should steer clear and perhaps stick to the BB Smash ($14) crafted with just a single ounce of vodka muddled with blackberries and basil and loosened up with a splash of soda,
The menu from chef Michael Hay prides itself on featuring Canadian products with Californian influences, but the flavours are eclectic and look towards global cuisines.
The opening dinner menu offers apps, vegetables and salads, thin crust pizzas and a selection of more robust mains, while menus at lunch and weekend brunch include plenty of light, vegetable-centric fare peppered with a few indulgences.
The selection of starters includes polenta fries with lemon aioli ($9), yellowfin tuna tartare ($19), burrata with currants and roasted bartlett pears ($19).
I try the king crab toast ($18) which is kind of like a fancy, open faced lobster roll. The cold salad comprises luscious shellfish with crème fraiche and chives, and it's generously piled onto a thick slab of toasted country bread.
Next up is the Thai root veg salad ($12), which is equally suitable as a starter or light entree. It's a tangle of vibrant spiralized vegetables in a chili and lime vinaigrette over a swoosh of velvety cashew butter.
That cashew butter surely offers some semblance of protein, but the dish can be enriched further with the addition of coriander-crusted tuna ($24), sustainable salmon ($25) or lime and ginger shrimp ($22).
Entrees like braised beef brisket ($28) over roasted garlic-whipped potatoes are heartier. The meat is moist and tender and accompanied by a classic parsley and lemon zest gremolata perked up with fresh horseradish. It's paired with tangy cremini mushrooms pickled in oil and vinegar.
Expect the menu to change seasonally.
Photos by Hector Vasquez.