Reviews
We're very proud of the reviews we've
received by some of Toronto's leading restaurant critics.
Below
are some highlights.
September 11, 2009 - The Moveable Feast - Marty & Avrum – 24 Hours Toronto
“The Spirit of Frida lives on"
"Frida Restaurant & Bar is an inspiration and guiding light; it is a Mexican restaurant with a living soul. The enchiladas de barbacoa, with gently braised lamb, are excellent. Same with their mini-tacos. With one taste of their ceviche, made of fresh lime, marinated shrimp, scallops and mussels and their homemade chips, you’ll cherish every bite.
The chef, Pepe, lived at Michael Stätlander farm. Michael was rated one of the top 10 chefs in the world. Pepe is gifted and his canvas is his kitchen. The soup was pure paradise in a bowl.
When the chiles poblanos arrived, it was enormous.
This is poblano pepper stuffed with Oaxaca cheese, and offers unique flavours. Pollo Pibil, is a slow-cooked chicken in banana leaves and annatto seeds — you won’t want to share it with anyone else. All the sauces are homemade here. The delicious desserts are made to perfection in-house. You keep thinking to yourself, how is it possible that one man can be so talented? Tuesdays and Thursdays are jazz nights. Are we really in a Mexican restaurant?
The art on the wall changes monthly. Sunday brunch has been a roaring success, that reservations now are a must. One amazing dish is the shredded chicken breast, basted in green salsa, chopped onions, sour cream and beans. You must not miss his selection of tacos on Sunday brunch. On his menu it says, “the truthfulness, rebellious essence and natural talent of Frida Kahlo are the inspirations for our Mexican restaurant.”
July 4, 2009 - Cory Mintz – Toronto Star
"Three tries, three wins for Mexican"
"Frida on Eglinton near Bathurst is nearly perfect. Personally, I would thank Shazam (or deity of your choice) if a restaurant like Frida were relocated in Kensington, made 25 per cent cheaper, and served pork. I would be there all the time.
It's unusual for a Mexican restaurant to have no pork on the menu. Perhaps it is less absurd as Frida is located in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, where pork is discouraged.
The breezy space, walled with small, ocean blue tiles, is home to classic Mexican flavours in dishes that are detailed but not manicured. Most of the menu is available in two sizes. Their salsas alone would qualify them for success in a neighbourhood with more foot traffic. Two salsas, made that day, arrive first, with chips. The green is wicked tart from tomatillo and lime. The red is sweet and fire-scented with roasted tomatoes and a variety of peppers (guajillo, arbol, morita). Neither is too spicy."
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/659145
May 2009 - Craig Moy - Hot Dining – Where Magazine
"No mere burrito joint .... sophisticated .... authentic"
"COOL, CALIENTE! A welcome wave of heat has made its way from Mexico to Toronto, in the form of Frida Restaurant & Bar. Named for Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, this midtown outpost features an azure-tinted interior that nods to her famed home, la casa azul (blue house), and aims to replicate Kahlo's mercurial spirit and uncompromising creativity through the culinary arts. No mere burrito joint, Frida's fare comprises such sophisticated - yet still authentic - offerings as quail with mole-poblano sauce, slow cooked chicken in banana leaves and braised lamb barbacoa with salsa roja, morita sauce and seasonal vegetables."
February 2009 – Sabrina
Melchiori – Toronto.com
“Toronto's Top 10 New Romantic Restaurants”
"Fiery Mexican dishes
paired with traditional sangrias, margaritas and
cocktails. That and the atmosphere is gorgeous and the service, warm
and hospitable. What’s not to like?"
http://www.toronto.com/guide/valentines/article/630530
January 17, 2009 – Joanne Kates –
The Globe & Mail
“Frida fulfils a hunger for fine Mexican fare”
"Toronto's historic dearth of quality Mexican restaurants is a good reason for Frida. Where others have opened Tex-Mex taco parlours with such selling features as margaritas in martini glasses the size of small swimming pools, Frida aims for something much finer. Instead of sombreros on the walls, we have tiny tiles in white and blue. It's an elegant little room done in midnight blue punctuated by tangerine-coloured banquettes. The light is flattering thanks to candles in navy blue glass holders and a sweet little crystal chandelier wrapped in white voile."
“The
majority of [Chef Hadad’s] cooking is unimpeachable. His tortilla
soup, while somewhat iconoclastic (a clear consommé style rather than
the traditional purée of grilled tomatoes and onions in stock), is
loaded with flavour and extremely charming when the skinny little
crisped tortilla strips melt into the soup alongside the melted bits of
sharp anejo cheese. His miniature tacos filled with sweet tender duck
meat are well matched by frisée salad, guacamole and fresh salsa.”
“I
usually find mole heavy and unsubtle, but Haddad's mole is complex and
delicate, with just a hint of cinnamon and chocolate. The fact that it
envelops perfectly cooked quail is quite fabulous. His tamal en salsa
verde is equally magnificent.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090117.wkates17/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/
December 2008 – Janice Warren – North Toronto Post
“Authentic Mexican fare prepared with tender loving care.
Welcome to the neighbourhood Frida. We’ve been waiting for
you.”
The Village Post
November 20, 2008 – Sabrina Melchiori – Toronto.com
“The Buzz: Frida Restaurant & Bar”
“Toronto’s
Mexican food lovers have been sharing the same lament for years. Where
to go for good, authentic eats in the city? The answer may now be Frida
-- an upscale Mexican resto in Forest Hill.”
http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/627441
November 4, 2008 – Jamila-Khanom Allidina – martiniboys.com
“Frida”
“It’s
the guacamole that hooks me. I rarely get to experience great
guac….This one is a gorgeous green, grass-green, and has chunks of the
fruit in it, with just a drizzle of oil and a handful of minced peppers
crowning it. Buried inside are sharp, surprising flashes of black
pepper. I shouldn’t know this; I shouldn’t have gotten that far in;
avocados make my throat close up. But this is how good this guacamole
is – I'm eating it long after I should have put the tortilla chips
down.”
“The room is quite cool for a place named for Frida Kahlo.
Blue and white tiled walls, black tables with white napkins – it’s chic
but simple, clean lined and casual. There is one streak of red – the
banquet along the east side – that pulls the whole room together, that
implies that the restaurant might be more than it looks. The purple
facade outside – striking in a neighbourhood that almost seems suburban
to this downtowner - might indicate this as well. The outside is a nod
to la casa azul, Frida Khalo’s family home in Mexico City, which, of
course, translates to the blue house.”
http://www.martiniboys.com/Toronto/Frida-review.html
October 28, 2008 - Don Young – FutuRéale Magazine
“Mexican fine
dining”
“Every
once in a while there is a new and interesting place to dine, with food
that captures your imagination and an atmosphere that makes you feel
like a guest in someone’s kitchen. Frida has that feel, without the
heat and bustle of the kitchen, which is somewhere out the back, where
the crew does magic to the dishes before they are brought quickly to
the diners.”
“…the appetizer, Enchiladas de Barbacoa:
“Gently braised lamb, “Borracha” style salsa, cotija cheese, coriander
and onion” sounds interesting, but once it is in your mouth, the
flavours take on an identity that is greater than the sum of the
ingedients. Or consider the dinner entre, Camarones al Guajillo, “Jumbo
shrimp covered with toasty garlic and guajillo pepper sauce, seared
spinach and Mexican rice.” One bite and you know that you are not just
eating dinner; you are beginning a culinary experience. And other
choices like Quail and Mole Poblano, or the Lamb Barbacoa, will tempt
you, and assure that you will return for another culinary experience.”
http://www.futureale.com/reviews/restaurants/frida/
