My friend Adrienne recommended Stonefire to me a couple of months ago. It is located in Thornhill, near Hwy 7 & Bathurst. I'm excited since besides the big chains, such as Moxies, Milestones, Alice Fazoolis, etc) I'm oblivious to non-chain restaurants in Uptown for casual dining.
Once I walked into Stonefire I already feel good about it because it has an open kitchen. Haven't tasted their food yet but open kitchens are always a +1 for me. However, I can't say the same for their wooden floors. It looks a bit out of place for me; the thought of those chairs dragging on the floor haunts me.
The layout of Stonefire also seems a bit awkward. I think it's because I'm not used to seeing restaurants these days as just one giant rectangular space with booths on the sides and tables in the middle. I mean, I see that in Chinese restaurants all the time, but not in lets say, those chain restaurants I talked about before. I don't think I would feel too comfortable dining in the middle like that couple there - I would feel "exposed". Is it just me?
The bread was very soft and light.
Butter and olive oil/vinegar for the bread. Cute plate!
Adrienne ordered a Caesar.
And I had a Sangria. It was deliciously refreshing - a lot of fruits in it.
Baked Cheese & Spinach Dip - A select blend of cheese, spinach, chipotle, and fresh herbs served with flat bread and tortilla chips. The dip was warm and creamy, pretty good actually, however there was way too little of it! You probably can't tell from this picture but the dip only filled half of that bowl, while there were tons of flat bread and tortilla chips. I did not like the flat bread either, it was thick, dry, and tasteless. In contrast, the tortilla chips were extremely salty. I would not order this again for sure.
Butternut Squash Soup - This was their daily soup. Adrienne loves butternut squash soup and she has it often. She said it's not the best she's had but it was still not bad.
Mushroom Risotto - Porcini, button, portobello, oyster, cremini mushrooms, sautéed with shallots, white wine, chicken stock and arborio rice. My friend really enjoyed his risotto. It looks really good to me too!
Spinach Salad - Goat cheese, sliced strawberries, pink grapefruit, toasted almonds on baby spinach with blueberry vinaigrette. This was my entree. Love the presentation on this salad; it looks so grand and tall. It was also very tasty. I thought the addition of grapefruit was really neat, I don't see that very often.
Lasagna - Homemade oven baked lasagna with bolognese sauce, ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Without the layers and height, it doesn't look like your typical lasagna but Adrienne liked it a lot.
We were all full after the entrees (I was mainly full from the hard flat breads O_o) so we skipped out on dessert. I would want to go back to Stonefire to try their pizza or their striploin burger, and perhaps their lava cake or dulce de leche cheesecake for dessert.
Leave me a note if you know any other casual dining places in Uptown, k? Thanks ^_*
