Having been a Toronto resident for over 30 years, I rarely venture west of Avenue road. When I do, it's usually for a wedding or meeting up with friends in Port Credit, but rarely does it entail going to a mall. Beaumont Kitchen, a new entrant to the Oliver & Bonacini empire, has given me a reason to visit Sherway Gardens, which is a lot nicer than I’ve been led to believe.

Connected to Saks Fifth Avenue, like their sister restaurant Lena with the Saks downtown, Beaumont Kitchen is more down-to-earth and family friendly. During a weekend visit for their Summerlicious lunch ($23), the tables generally held three generations, all sitting together breaking bread ... it’s sort of refreshing that there wasn’t a suit or hipster in sight. Their menu is modeled like an O&B Café – no real ethnicity’s cuisine being featured, but rather popular “safe” options that diverse tables can choose from.

With so much raspberry dressing on the 100km beet salad, it was too tart. Luckily, the roasted beets’ sweetness help to cut down on the acidity, so after cutting the cubes into even smaller pieces and ensuring there was a bit of beet with each bite of overdressed spinach, the salad was decent.

Most of the table agreed the chicken piccatta was one of the better mains. Despite being a thick piece of chicken breast that was thoroughly cooked, it was still moist. The capers weren’t overpowering, adding a light saltiness to the dish and when combined with butter a great topping for the smashed potatoes, which sucked in all the juices. Even the crispy grilled broccolini were delicious, a healthier  balance to the dish.

Served really hot, you have to contain your excitement when the pudding chômeur arrives or risk burning your tongue. The rum caramel sauce is light on the rum (for those sharing with children) and isn’t too sweet so nicely balances the dense fudgy cake.

Who knows, after the lunch at Beaumont Kitchen, maybe I’ll go to Sherway Gardens more often; when the traffic is moving, it doesn’t take that much longer to drive there than Yorkdale or Fairview and parking is a whole lot easier to find. Summerlicious can be a beautiful thing, it encourages people to go out and try new restaurants. For me, it encouraged me to venture west out of my comfort zone. 

Is Summerlicious worth it (based on my meal selection)?
Summerlicious - $23
Regular menu - $37 - salad ($12), chicken picatta ($17) and dessert ($8)
Savings - $14 or 38%
* None of Summerlicious items are part of their regular menu, estimates are based on spinach salad, chicken breast sandwich, and carrot cake

• Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
• 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
• 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
• 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
• 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
• 10 - absolute perfection!

• Oliver & Bonacini Cafe and Grill
• Lena