There’s a friendliness at La Paella that instantly disarms you and puts you at ease. The welcoming service and cheerful, warm décor made it clear right away that this was going to be a good experience. If you’re hungry, be sure to order some appetizers - the paella takes time (about 40 minutes), and you’ll want something to tide you over.

If I see Iberico ham on a menu, I’m always tempted. At La Paella, the plato de jamon Iberico ($42) is cut thicker than usual, making it meatier and chewier than the delicate, thinner versions I’ve had before. The upside is you really taste the sweet pork. The downside? It’s paired with black truffle chips that completely overpower it. Do yourself a favour: eat the ham first, then the chips to wash down your cerveza. Otherwise, you’re wasting the ham.

The croquetas ($18 for six) change with the season. Ours were studded with bits of ham, finely diced into a creamy, almost mashed potato-like filling. The crisp exterior against the soft interior made for a great bite.

I’m glad the server suggested ordering sourdough ($5) alongside the gambas al ajillo ($29), because the garlicky olive oil and sherry sauce was excellent. Specks of guindilla chilies add a subtle but noticeable kick. If I weren’t trying to save room for the main, I would have devoured an entire thick slice of that crusty bread.

You’ll need at least two people to share a paella but a larger table is even better so you can try a couple of versions.

Do not miss the paella de langosta ($100 for two-person portion). It’s a simple but effective combination of lobster tail, prawns, and scallops, all cooked well despite the risk of overcooking such large pieces. The saffron rice is infused with an aromatic seafood stock and dotted with broad beans and peas for colour. It could be a touch drier - I prefer when the bottom forms a crispy crust - but if you enjoy a creamier, risotto-like consistency, this will suit you. Only while writing this did I realize you can request it done socarrat (the traditional burnt crust), which I’d request next time.

As for meat options, the paella matadero ($84 for two-person portion) is not for the faint of heart. You really really need to love pork - chorizo, pork belly, and ribs make it rich, salty, and quite heavy. Without much sauce, the ribs can lean a bit gamey. As a table, we agreed we should’ve gone with the traditional chicken-based Valenciana instead, as this was simply too much.

By the time 8:30pm rolled around the cheesecake was sold out, but who cares as their churros were fantastic! Freshly fried with a light crispy exterior and a soft moist centre, they were coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a chocolate sauce that wasn’t overly sweet. Easily one of the best churro orders I’ve had.

La Paella is made for sharing, lingering, and eating a little too much. Just remember: ham before chips, seafood over meat, and always save room for churros.

After walking around Main Street in Huntsville, we wound up in Mill on Main after an unfortunate wait at 1858 Caesar Bar up the street. The dark cool interior was welcoming during a hot summer day, but we were just excited to sit down in a restaurant that’s properly staffed so a glass of water and menus arrived at a proper time… I know, lowered expectations.

With an oven on display and a significant portion of the menu dedicated to wood fired pizza, I had to try one. The classic pizza ($22.50) seemed like the ideal choice, essentially a pepperoni pie. While it wasn’t terrible, it also wasn’t good - the crust too hard and the tomato sauce tasted canned.

It’s certainly not the thin blistery Napoli pies their menu describes. If anything, it’s something you’d find at Boston Pizza. At least it was covered with a decent amount of mozzarella to make it nice and gooey.

Their lunch special, a Korean fried chicken sandwich ($20) was a popular choice. If they just charged a couple dollars more to use a thicker slice of chicken it’d be delicious. Unfortunately, the thin cutlet was too dry and the sweet sauce overwhelming. Even the coleslaw couldn’t counteract the sugariness of the glaze. If anything, the potato wedges were the best part of the dish – an abundant portion of the hot and crispy spuds.

I don’t usually go for a massive buffet at lunch, but Jongro Korean BBQ Buffet happened to be steps from a friend’s place, making it an easy choice for a leisurely and inexpensive meal. Their AYCE BBQ, buffet, and salad bar lunch ($29 on weekdays and $32 on weekends for adults) is a great deal, especially since it includes beverages like juice, coffee, or tea.

The buffet is a nice way to pass the time while the grill heats up. The selection is manageable, so you can try a bit of most items without overloading your plate. Not everything listed online is available, but there’s still a solid variety.

On this visit, I tried the chili shrimp. The sauce was well-balanced with a gentle heat, though it leans on the sweeter side. It would be even better if the shrimp were kept under a heat lamp, like the French fries and tempura, instead of sitting in a covered dome where they lose their crispness.

The same issue applies to the fried chicken wings. They had the potential to be crispy, but the dome traps moisture and softens them. Fried food just shouldn’t be covered.

If soggy fried items are a dealbreaker, it’s best to stick with safer options like the tteokbokki, fried rice, or the sliced jokbal, all of which were solid. I even went back for seconds of the “spicy” rice cakes, which stayed impressively springy despite sitting in sauce.

The main draw, of course, is the Korean BBQ, where everything is cooked fresh at the table. Pro tip: go for thinner cuts like brisket and top blade, which cook quickly and evenly. The chicken kalbi thigh, on the other hand, took a while on the not-so-hot grill. The beef finger was decent and cooked faster, especially since it doesn’t need to be fully done. That said, I wish the meats had more flavour on their own. Even the soy-marinated options were fairly mild, and there aren’t many dipping sauces to compensate.

A nice way to finish is with a bowl of udon. I added some steamed beef with bean sprouts, which in hindsight wasn’t the best move as they were dry and chewy.

Dessert options at lunch are minimal, just some sweet fruits and vanilla soft serve. Probably for the best, since we were already full. I definitely didn’t need dinner that night.

Service was attentive, especially for an AYCE spot. Staff came by twice during our visit to change the grill plate, and since we went on a weekday, the spacious dining room never filled up. They were also relaxed about the 1 hour and 45 minute seating limit, letting tables linger a bit longer to chat.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly AYCE lunch in Toronto, Jongro checks a lot of boxes. Come with good company, stick to the BBQ and safer buffet picks, and you’ll leave full and satisfied.

It was admittedly disappointing that our table at Providence wasn’t ready at the reserved time, something you expect can happen at restaurants, but usually not at a three-Michelin-star establishment. Instead, we were seated in the bar area with menus and water while we waited. Ten minutes later, we were finally brought to our table. Maybe it’s simply California time, because for a major city, people in Los Angeles are awfully relaxed. Eventually, I embraced the slower pace with a glass of champagne. Bubbles make almost anything better.

Providence offers two tasting menus: the classic ($375 for 8 courses) or the chef ($495 for 10 courses). Interestingly, the menus are largely the same. With the classic, diners choose one of three mains, including paying an additional $45 supplement for the wagyu. The chef’s menu includes all three mains and folds the supplement into the price. There are also numerous supplemental dishes available, but the chef’s menu already felt like more than enough.

That’s especially true once the amuse-bouches begin arriving. A trio of tarts kicks off the meal, each using the same delicate shell in different ways. First comes bluefin tuna topped with caviar and sprayed tableside with basil vinegar that instantly perfumes the air. Then a creamy uni tart decorated with edible flowers and microgreens from Providence’s rooftop garden. Finally, a crispy roll filled with crème fraîche and wrapped in salmon. Elegant but playful all at once.

Additional bites continue the Americana theme, including a grilled cheese that takes truffle and sandwiches it between impossibly thin toasted bread. I may never look at grilled cheese the same way again.

A bite-sized taco follows, filled with wagyu and smoked oyster tartare. Despite its delicate appearance, it delivers an incredible amount of richness and flavour.

The official tasting menu begins with kaluga caviar paired with slices of geoduck and a country ham broth. We’re instructed to eat about two-thirds of the dish before adding more broth and shooting the remainder directly from the shell. The geoduck is wonderfully fresh and meaty, elevated by the caviar and bright tomato broth. A layer of silky tofu hidden underneath ties everything together and lends creaminess without relying on dairy. The final “shot” shifts the dish into a more savoury, almost comforting finish.

Before the next course, another off-menu surprise arrives - a miniature lobster roll featuring lobster tartare tucked into thick toasted milk bread and shaved Italian truffle. Delicious, though the lobster itself becomes somewhat overshadowed by the richer additions.

Their sashimi course showcased dry-aged wild cod surrounded by crème fraîche, nori oil, and hibiscus salt. Bite by bite, the fish felt delicate and spring-like, especially swirled through the airy sauce. Still, the final bite, layered with pickled ginger and extra flowers, ended up being the most memorable.

Pressure-cooked abalone followed, incredibly tender yet still satisfyingly meaty beneath a lightly sweet glaze. While I could have done without the puffed rice scattered overtop, I understood the textural contrast they were aiming for. Providence then doubled down on luxury by bringing over a box of spring white truffles and shaving them generously over the dish, which paired beautifully with the thick egg yolk sauce underneath.

Still, I found myself brushing aside the truffles just to admire the largest asparagus spear I’d ever seen. Had the menu not explained it came from Roscoe Zuckerman’s third-generation farm, I might have assumed it was genetically engineered. Somehow, the asparagus tasted almost juicy.

The patty pan squash tortellini arrived plump and surrounded by chunks of crab and uni. Individually, every element was excellent but once combined with the broth and fennel-basil oil, the dish truly came alive. The sweetness of the seafood balanced the broth beautifully.

Anyone worried about leaving hungry can relax once an entire boule of red fife sourdough arrives warm from the oven alongside cultured butter and sea salt. I’d heard about the revival of this heritage grain before but hadn’t realized its California roots. The bread itself had a hearty nuttiness while remaining fluffy and light.

When the black bass arrived and the server described it as “kinki fish” from Japan, I momentarily thought he said “kinky fish,” which certainly grabbed my attention. The fish itself was delicate yet rich, almost like a lighter but fattier version of black cod. Still, the sweet spring peas nearly stole the show.

The menu then transitions into the trio of mains. Ordinarily, I probably wouldn’t have selected the California king salmon, which would have been a shame because the dish came with a story. Due to years of drought, the salmon hadn’t appeared on menus for four years since there wasn’t enough water for migration upstream.

Providence prepares the salmon by sandwiching it between thin milk bread before searing it, allowing the bread to soak up the beurre blanc and herb oil. Paired with porcini mushrooms and grilled ramps, the dish had that coastal feel.

Had I been choosing independently, I likely would have gravitated toward the Liberty Farms duck from Napa Valley. Before serving, the kitchen presents the entire bird tableside in a theatrical “show-and-tell” moment before carving it into beautifully tender slices.

While the duck itself was excellent, the salted cherry sauce wasn’t entirely to my taste. I did, however, love the whimsical “faux” foie gras cherry accompanying the dish, silky and visually stunning enough to make you forget about the real thing entirely.

The final savoury course was A5 wagyu, so intensely rich that after a few bites my palate was completely overwhelmed with buttery fat. As though that weren’t decadent enough, it arrived alongside a morel stuffed with sweetbread, turning the mushroom into a rich protein of its own. By this point in the meal, it was simply too much for me personally.

Before dessert, a cheese cart appears tableside. Completely stuffed, I opted out, though my friend didn’t. Frankly, the restaurant should warn diners that the cheese service ($70) is large enough for a table. Two long slices of 30-month-aged Jura Comté topped with generous summer truffles and rooftop honey arrived first, surprisingly light due to how thinly the cheese was sliced.

The truffle brie, meanwhile, was far richer and funkier than expected, almost approaching blue cheese territory. Providence creates it by splitting a wheel of brie, stuffing it with black truffles, then coating the outside with chopped truffle “frosting.” Truffle lovers would probably lose their minds over it.

Thankfully, the next course was a refreshing red fruit sorbet that acted as the palate cleanser I desperately needed. The combination of berries, shiso, and makrut lime struck a beautiful balance between sweet and citrusy. Shaping it like a Michelin star was a cheeky touch, though I joked they should have served three of them.

One thing that truly sets fine dining apart is the obsessive dedication behind the scenes. During COVID, Providence pastry chef Mac Daniel Dimla apparently spent his downtime learning chocolate making. He now produces chocolate in-house and dessert becomes a showcase for that passion.

The first dessert, using Hawaiian Mauna Kea cacao, resembled a delicate cake layered with thick mousse and a silky ganache disk, paired with a salty Venetian sauce and another tart accompaniment. Individually, the flavours felt bold and distinct, but together they combined beautifully.

Among the petit fours, my favourite was easily the blueberry verbena tart, which cleverly echoed the tart amuse-bouches from the beginning of the meal. There was, naturally, even more chocolate in the form of a Mexican chocolate macaron and a truffle filled with crunchy pistachio centre. The cone-shaped bite, meanwhile, leaned heavily into sesame and citrus flavours that felt more acquired in taste.

What truly fascinated me, however, was the chocolate mint tea. It smells unmistakably like chocolate but drinks like herbal tea. Alongside it came what looked like honey but turned out to be a syrup made from cocoa husks, it’s an example of Chef Dimla’s low-waste philosophy.

Ultimately, Providence feels distinctly Californian. The menu leans heavily into seafood and seasonality without ever becoming overly stiff. There are playful touches everywhere, from animal-shaped zodiac knife rests to rooftop gardens, house-made honey, and in-house chocolate production. And just when you think the experience is over, they send you home with a small bar of Peruvian chocolate as one final reminder of the evening.

Providence somehow balances luxury with personality. One moment you’re eating caviar and white truffles, the next you’re laughing about zodiac knife rests and “kinky fish.” It’s polished fine dining that still knows how to have fun.