When you hear the word ‘Taline’, what emotions or thoughts does it evoke? If you’re Armenian, you may find it to be a name for females, meaning “sunshine” or “rise”.  But for me, I envision a tranquil cozy environment surrounded by a feeling of warmth. 

Upon stepping into the restaurant, it partially mirrored my thoughts. The dining room, separated across two floors, was cozy and dimly lit with lighting predominantly emitted from table lamps. It just wasn’t tranquil… tables were squished together and there was loud music blaring.

At least their food was comforting. The banru ($16) was described as a three-cheese dip, in which I could decipher two – cream cheese and feta – creating a thick, smooth but textured spread reminiscent of a cheese ball. It’s salty with a ting of spice (from Thai chili jam) and was topped with three circles of charred carrots that provided a neutral finish. The spread was served with hot toasted matnakash, an Armenian flatbread that’s soft but surprisingly dense so a slice was enough.

Taline’s fattoush ($28) eliminates lettuce and uses roasted squash, cucumbers, sweet persimmon, and microgreens instead. Tossed with a well-seasoned pomegranate and shallot vinaigrette, the salad was almost salsa like – sweet, salty, tangy – all things good on a fork. In lieu of pita, chunks of toasted matnakash create croutons that soak up the salad’s juices.

Taline should consider reordering how appetizers arrive as the mante ($30) needs to be served first. Being a more neutral dish - simply seasoned with sumac, mint, and tomato consommé – it seemed bland compared to the other flavourful starters. For me, the meat screamed for seasoning and a tomato sauce (instead of a consommé) would be more flavourful and stick to the wrapper, which was a bit hard and could benefit from being softened.

Still, I liked that Taline’s mante doesn’t rely on tons of yoghurt, just a bit of it at the bottom, and instead focuses on the actual dumpling – beautifully made containing an ample portion of ground beef. Once I smeared the mante with banru and topped it with a few vegetables from the fattoush, it was delicious. So, maybe you need to eat the dumplings in conjunction with other starters.

Lamb chop fans must try the vochkhar ($58). Its spice rub creates a flavourful but not overly salty crust that’s delicious plain or with a smear of the garlicky herbed yoghurt sauce. Cooked to a medium/medium rare, the lamb was deliciously tender served with pearl couscous that soak up excess meat juice. Yet, at first bite, you wouldn’t know the chops are tender as the “steak knives” were so dull that a regular serrated butter knife would work better. Please Taline, switch out the knives.

As the maitake jasmine broth was poured over the dikranagerd pilav ($30), an intoxicating aroma flooded the table. And while I loved the soft flavourful mushroom studded rice, the overly thick dough wrapped around the grains detracted from the dish. It doesn’t need the dough, served with a thick smoked labneh and bright barberries the rice on its own is enough.

Dining at Taline does require patience, especially during the busy weekend dinner service. It takes a while to get a drink (our cocktails arrived after the first appetizer) and we were never asked if we wanted a second. Even water refills were slow, finally picking up after half the tables left. While not deal breakers, if you’re a thirsty table, I’d recommend ordering a bottle of wine and asking for a carafe of water.

At least the people working there are knowledgeable and forthcoming about their small but mighty menu. Taline’s not stuffy; it feels familial. And like a good family dinner, the meal was delicious and comforting, just not necessarily tranquil.