Elevated classics with a touch of fusion (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Aloette is the more approachable sibling of Alo, the best restaurant in Canada. It takes at least a month to get a reservation at Alo, so Aloette is a reliable fallback that gives a glimpse of what to expect. It has long operating hours, walk-ins are welcome, prices are within a good lunch budget ($20 – $40 mains, after tax), and best of all, food quality and service is similar to Alo. I actually prefer Aloette because the quality/price ratio is heads and shoulders above its competitors.
Both Alo and Aloette offer takeout in light of COVID-19. Honestly, only Aloette makes sense because Alo’s fine dining tasting menu doesn’t translate well for takeout. People go to Alo for the ambience, the plating, the “complimentary” dishes, and the interaction with the chefs. Even at a lower price point of $73.45 per person for its “Alo at Home” multi-course menu, it’s still a lot of money. Aloette’s casual à la carte menu works better for takeout. They have also reduced prices for most items, so take advantage of the opportunity to try them. When I visited in the evening, the restaurant was slammed with orders. I guess that’s a good problem to have in an economic slump.
Aloette’s menu looks boring. It reads like the usual gastropub fare: burgers, pastas, salads, and pies. There is the occasional twist thrown in like yuzu honey for fried chicken. Don’t let the unexciting descriptions put you off. Aloette’s strength is in execution and presentation. They succeed in elevating these common dishes and inject a bit of their personality in it.
The food
Take the fried chicken, for instance. The accompanying yuzu honey jam was a contemporary combination of sweet sauce in Korean fried chicken and lemon sauce in pseudo-Chinese lemon chicken. The zing from the yuzu zest was potent and lighted up the chicken. The hot sauce was decently flavoured, but not as good as that from Korean fried chicken specialists. The spice was gentle.
The star of the show was the chicken itself. When I was bringing the package home, the aroma tempted me to sneak a bite multiple times. The pieces are de-boned for convenience, another thoughtful departure from traditional Korean fried chicken. Meat was moist and seasoned, though most of the spices came from the batter. The batter remained crunchy even a few hours later.
Even though it was a takeout order, they still gave thought to presentation. They folded lettuce leaves into a pretty plume. The produce was high quality. It’s not days-old lettuce from the fridge. I have to admit, I was impressed. There were some fennel pickles—a Mediterranean addition and another sign of their light fusion touches. The pickles were not objectionable but I preferred a less assertive vegetable to go with fried chicken.
The Aloette burger and fries were less successful for takeout. A medium-done beef patty is difficult to preserve past 20 minutes. It’s one of those things that are best eaten fresh off the griddle. The pretty knife work that went into the julienned lettuce was lost when the burger was squashed in the foil wrapper. The fries also did not survive well after 30 minutes and become limp from being steamed in the box. Also, the meal was not well-presented. Everything was dumped in the same container, including a sachet of Heinz ketchup. It would be more sensible to put the ketchup outside the box so that it wouldn’t get oily from the fries. Speaking about Heinz ketchup, why didn’t they make their own ketchup or dipping sauce?
In normal times, the Aloette burger is one of the top contenders for best burger in the city. However, the takeout burger falls from being great to just being good. Don’t get me wrong, it was still delicious. The patty had a pink centre. The Beaufort cheese added a hint of pungency and a hit of salt, even though it had congealed in transit.
When dine-in is available again, it’s worth going to see their phenomenal plating skills. Aloette’s menu changes regularly, so it is hard to give recommendations. The mainstays have been the Aloette burger and lemon meringue pie. Nearly everything is excellent. They also make the best bread rolls I’ve had in my life. The bread melts in the mouth and the butter is silky. They give these out for dine-in orders but you have to order it for take-out.
The place
Aloette tries hard to be invisible. The exterior is grey and black. There is no sign on top of the restaurant. The only clue that this is Aloette is the thin logo stencilled onto one of the windows. It is pale-coloured, of course, and disappears into the rest of the exterior.
The interior is like an upscale French diner. There are only a few booths and a couple of seats by the bar. Targeted towards the downtown office crowd, for lunch and after-office drinks. It’s also not a bad place for dates and social gatherings because there is no loud music to shout over. It’s meant to be a casual restaurant but you can tell the waitstaff have been trained in fine dining. They can anticipate what you want before you ask and not ask perfunctory questions. Utensils are laid out in military precision.
Verdict
Takeout quality depends on what you order. It still tastes great, though. 8/10 for takeout.
The dine-in experience is superior in terms of selection, food temperature, presentation, and service. Amazing value. 9/10 for dine-in.
Practical information
- Name
- Aloette
- Rating
- 9/10 (dine-in)
8/10 (takeout) - Recommended dishes
- Fried chicken and bibb lettuce
Alobar house rolls - Prices (takeout)
- Aloette burger and fries: $20.34 ($18.00 before tax)
Fried chicken and bibb lettuce: $22.60 ($20.00 before tax)
Alobar house rolls x 4: $6.65 ($6.00 before tax) - Address
- 163 Spadina Avenue
- Hours
- Daily 1130h – 2230h
- Date of visit
- April 2020