I secretly believe Toronto restaurants create a how-to guide
for launching establishments in a particular area. In Yorkville, the décor
budget cannot be spared for there needs to be an elegant wow factor to the
dining room esthetics. Consequently, menus are priced higher-than-average to pay
back the opulence. There can be music playing, but unless your restaurant turns
into a late-night destination the decibel level should be kept lower. And the service is attentive and professional,
but never overly friendly with almost a slight snooty air. C’mon restaurateurs,
am I right?
Walk into Adrak Yorkville and you’ll be transported into an
exotic destination, settling into roomy comfortable booths that have an element
of privacy despite the one long dining room layout. Beautiful esthetics –
check!
You’ll pay a pretty penny for the meal, where an appetizer papad
ki tokri, essentially an assortment of papadams and chutneys will
cost $16. It’s a dish that’s sometimes given away freely at other places. At
Adrak they provide three different crispy crackers to dip into finely chopped
salsa, a spiced beet dip, and a fruity chutney. It’s something that arrives
quickly to keep diners placated and awaken the taste buds.
Unlike my experience at their Richmond Hill counterpart,
Adrak Yorkville doesn’t shy away from spice. The batter of their onion bhajia
($16) is a cacophony of flavours with different spices coming through as you
bite through the crispy onion fritter ending with a heat that lingers on the
tongue. The mint chutney doesn’t calm down the sting at all but acts as a
delicious condiment for other dishes as well.
Such as the thecha paneer tikka ($22), an interesting
creation where two discs of soft Indian cheese are tossed with spices, roasted,
and filled with finely chopped nuts, creating a delicate bite with a bit of
texture. While there is a smear of curry and green chili sauce topping the paneer,
I found the mint chutney (from the bhadjia) adds a bright refreshing
element that makes it even better.
For a more traditional take on paneer, the paneer
khurchan ($28) keeps the cheese in large chunks so it’s soft within the savoury
tomato sauce. It’s great for tucking into a piece of the garlic naan ($5 a
piece; 2 pieces shown) that’s so fluffy with lightly blistered crispy edges.
Adrak’s pork vindaloo ($38) uses a unique preparation,
slices of pork tenderloin that’s pan fried and drizzled with the slightly
vinegary spicy sauce, rather than being braised in the vindaloo. So,
while this dish is listed under the “curries” umbrella of the menu, it’s not saucy.
Consequently, something our waiter pointed out when we tried
to order the naan, “But, what are you going to
eat this with?” Um… the vindaloo and paneer khurchan, we pointed
out. Which is when the final characteristic of the Yorkville handbook came out –
a helpful but sometimes snooty feeling air.
Apparently, those two dishes would not be enough to warrant ordering
naan. He then suggested a full explanation of the menu before we order. Truthfully, I was taken aback from his response, there were already so
many titles and descriptions of the menu that surely it should be self
explanatory? No, it’s not.
Yet, with some simple changes, it could work. For example,
the “Adrak Signatures” dishes are not the typical chef recommendations, rather
just more expensive and interesting takes on their appetizers. My suggestion: just
call the section “Adrak Signature Starters” and the confusion is solved. And if
the pork vindaloo is not a curry than move it to another section.
In the end, this exchange with their staff irked me. Sure,
he was probably trying to be helpful and make sure we were aware of Adrak’s special
take on dishes, but there was almost a condescending tone that came through – let me
explain and order for you because you obviously you don’t know what you’re
doing is how I felt the exchange transpired.
Which is precisely how we ended up ordering the murgh
makhana ($29) or more commonly known as butter chicken. To be fair, it was delicious
and one of our favourite mains of the night. The tandoor roasted chicken was
left in in large pieces and the tomato-fenugreek sauce poured onto the dish table
side. The sauce wasn’t too creamy, rather silky and full flavoured.
The sauce was delicious spooned over the awadhi gosht
biryani ($36), where the rice was already abundantly spiced and moist. At
Adrak, they cook the biryani under a pastry dome and is unveiled at the table,
so a fragrant aroma erupts. While the cubes of marinated lamb were not gamey
and tender, the vegetarian version of the biryani would have likely been
better after ordering the murgh makhana.
Putting the order snafu aside, they were certainly attentive,
and he even became pleasant to speak to as the meal went on and we exchanged
conversations. Still, I’d offer one last suggestion to improve upon service:
stop trying to force more food and drink on the diners. This pushiness throughout
the meal is annoying.
Case in point, despite feeling we ordered enough food for
four people (after the detailed explanation of the menu), he ended with a
question akin to “what else are you going to get”? A better way to phrase the
conversation, if they felt we were ordering too little, would be ending it with
a phrase like, “Let’s start with this order, it may be a little light, but if you’d like anything else, we
can add onto this later.”
Moreover, while I know the pandemic was an economic hit on restaurants
and they’re trying to increase profit margins to make up for the slowdown, to
constantly try to push another bottle of water or wine feels nitpicky. A better
way to approach the situation we be, “We’ve finished the bottle. If you’d like
another, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”
Besides, do you really want to fill everyone up with liquid and
have them not order dessert? The margins on the dessert must be decent. Three
spheres of kulfi come in at $21, and while they are dense and creamy,
the flavours weren’t that distinctive, other than the pistachio that included
tell tale signs of the nut.
I prefer the gajar ki mithi zalak ($21), which includes
carrot kulfi as well as dollops of earthy rich carrot pudding and cookie
& cake pieces to provide some interesting textures to go against the Indian
ice cream.
If there is a how-to guide, I suggest it’s time for an
updated edition. Keep the lovely décor and the higher price points - this glitziness
is part of the Yorkville cache – but change the attitude. I’m not saying that
the diner is always right and for the restaurant cannot offer suggestions, just
deploy it with a lighter touch. 
