A Royal York Epic

EPIC Restaurant at The Fairmont Royal York
Address: 100 Front Street W, Toronto ON M5J 1E3
Open:  Daily
Cost: Dinner for two with wine $125 before taxes and tip
Contact: 416-860-6949; epicrestaurant.ca

Amuse-bouche: A beautiful setting in the heart of the downtown and a classically comfortable dining room is the environment for some exquisite Ontario and Canadian flavours. One of the nation’s gems.

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From time to time, I hear the slag that kitchens in hotels can’t be successful. There are reasons, no doubt, that such a statement is made; and precedents for experiencing the truth of it. Many of us might agree with the statement.

However, it’s not the case with EPIC in the Fairmont Royal York.

The effort–and the execution–by Chef Tim Palmer and his EPIC staff  is a noble one; and one entirely successful, my palate tells me. They’ve put together a solid Canadian menu and some simply great Ontario wines. It’s packed with juicy flavours and aromas.

A 2008 Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir is delicious.

The Royal York is a grand hotel. It has history. Character. But it’s not beholden to the past. I like the soft, fluid and few plush elements of the dining room. I sat at a table which seemed quite private but also had the feel of a pleasantly busy dining room. That hits a good balance for me.

The line.

In terms of the food, the decision has been made for a sustainable, Canadian menu. That’s laudable. Yet, at the same time, it is never a good thing to be foist on one’s own local petard, or to be cudgeled by one’s own 100-mile principles (and Palmer isn’t). Sometimes you want an exotic piece of seafood from far, far away, or a succulent chunk of tropical fruit—and why shouldn’t you be able to have it?

Palmer has worked his way through the Fairmont program—the apprenticeship program is something the company is proud of—via Southern and Northern Alberta Institutes of Technology in Calgary and Edmonton, respectively, before earning his chops, among other establishments, at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the Fairmont Southampton Bermuda.

He’s cooked in enough places to know local, but he isn’t driven erratically by it. Like I say: it’s a good, solid Canadian-ingredient menu.

“Canada has the best of everything, except mangoes,” he says with a laugh. That’s a sentiment that I buy into.

To me, EPIC’s cooking—heightened by Canadian ingredients and flavours—puts the restaurant in the landmark hotel on simply delicious terrain, 100-mile or otherwise.

Two-breads-in-one in one lovely silver dish with butter and a satin-smooth cauliflower spread.

In its entirety, The Royal York, apparently, can punch out 10,000 meals a day, including banquets, and that’s no mean feat. At the same time, Palmer, et. al. have a very good and fine touch that belies the immensity of what an otherwise very busy major hotel does with food en masse. I love the majesty of ol’ RYH, still prominent though the taller bank buildings nearby tower over it. And the food never towers on the plate in overly dramatic presentations, or sits in a silly and overly fussy fashion on the plate.

Start the meal with a Martini? It seemed the only choice in a grand hotel.

The food can have towering flavour and architectural beauty, however. Sweet, satin-textured Laurentian, Quebec, foie gras is moulded and gently brûléed. Soft and heady, the foie is countered by the sweetness which settles nicely along as a classic pairing with walnut-raisin bread, bumbleberry, Saskatoonberry (a nod to Palmer’s prairie origins), and a luscious charred fig that yields an avocado-texture richness. Something you can’t find in Canada, is there anything more sensual than a fresh fig?

Luscious foie gras, headiness and sweetness combined.

Next, a trio of seafood.

Perhaps the best crab cake—meaty crab flavour and superb texture that you can get only from the real thing—I have ever had along with a succulent, meaty divers scallop—just translucent inside—with a balanced combination of Savoy cabbage, lentils, and a playful and zesty jalapeno truffle foam that doesn’t out muscle the scallop. The lentils snap just slightly, just like I like them to.

Crab cake, seared tuna, diver scallop: one for each of the prongs on Neptune's trident.

An inter-course of a mushroom cappuccino/latte is an inventive and complex chowder of heady hedgehog and yellowfoot or chanterelles topped with a Pinot Noir froth and garnish of porcini powder. It’s a delicious little slurp with big flavour and somehow manages to stimulate the appetite in a way I couldn’t imagine.

A rich, heady slurp of concentrated mushroom flavour.

A Ewenity Dairy Co-operative goat cheese, out of Conn, Ontario, accompanies a dual-coloured, sous vide-cooked beet salad served with a simple balsamic vinaigrette and greens. The flavour, and colour, of the beets shine. This, to me, is the the purest of cooking. Sure a sauce might be harder to make; however, treating the veg in this simple way is the essence of getting the most flavour out of the produce possible. I once had a wonderful tasting of heirloom carrots with just a bit of good butter, salt and pepper—more restaurants should do veg like that to reveal some deep flavour that lies hidden beneath.

The simplicity of beets is captured...simply.

A main course of roasted halibut arrives with fingerling potatoes. It’s sweet and succulent, and though I would have liked it just a tad less cooked, it is rich and delicious. Swiss chard, sweet potato, and broccoli are simple, foundational veg kicked up by a small dollop of sturgeon caviar. It’s a lovely dish in appearance and flavour.

Roasted halibut: so damn good.

Palmer riffs on surf and turf with tender lobster tail perched atop seared venison (I love that flavour) and served with the striking contrast of white asparagus and a citrusy foam. The marker here, though, is a chocolate-tinged sauce that pairs well with the venison and, not surprisingly given lobster-sweetness, manages well enough with the lobster.

Lobster, venison form surf and turf...chocolate does its magic. Together, the components of the dish mingle nicely.

Cheeses finish up the dinner and a favourite of mine: Le 1608.

Cheese is delightful. I wish I could eat more.

Made with milk from a unique and at-risk beast, Canadienne cattle, that were brought from France four hundred years ago, cheeses are matched nicely by a 2005 Lakeview Cellars “Starboard” fortified Cabernet Sauvignon at 19 percent a.b.v.  It spends 18 months in oak barrels and has plumy and chocolately tannins.

A lovely and different meal-finishing sip.

In tight on the classic facade. Building photos courtesy Royal York Hotel.