Insomnia

Another one of my coupon purchases brought me to Insomnia Restaurant & Lounge for dinner. It was a dealfind voucher this time, $60 worth of food and drinks for $25 at Insomnia.  


I've been to Insomnia a couple of years ago for brunch. I don't exactly remember what I had but I do recall that it was very good (I was obviously not as much as a foodie back then). I haven't been back since then because I do not frequent the Bloor and Bathurst area too often. 


While waiting for my friend to arrive, I took the picture below. Insomnia is actually a lot darker than this (I had my ISO cranked up for all these pictures because I hate using flash). Insomnia is a café during the day and a restaurant at night, and turns into a lounge even later at night. I personally really love the atmosphere at Insomnia - there is noticeable chatter in the background but it's not too loud, the dim lighting and music is very relaxing, and just seeing people around you having drinks and mingling...it gives a very chill, yet inviting ambiance.

By the way, you see the waitress serving the table there? With the white flower in her hair? She also served us, and she is, hands down, THE BEST SERVER I'VE EVER HAD. She is so friendly, so cheerful, so helpful, and most importantly, you can tell she genuinely loves her job. It was really busy that night but she always had a smile on her face. Her name is Roberta by the way, look for her if you're there =)

The cute candle and flower on the table. The candle was an important source of lighting for my pictures hehe

When my friend arrived, we ordered a half liter of pinot grigio. He also ordered the Bloody Hendrick's - Hendrick's Cucumber Infused Gin, Tomato juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire and a celery salt rim. I tried some of his cocktail and basically it's like a Caesar, a pretty good one at that. I ate all the olives because he hates them.

Appetizers

3/4 lbs mussels - served in a light white garlic white wine creme sauce with baby spinach. Really enjoyed these mussels as the thicker white wine cream sauce serves as a variation from the typical white wine or red wine sauce. Also nice was the addition of baby spinach. Dipping bread into the that sauce was heavenly.

Panko encrusted curried crab cakes - served on a bed of baby greens with a chipotle vinaigrette. Again, different than your normal crab cakes as the dipping sauce was spicy (usually it's a tartar sauce or just something non-spicy). If you can't take the heat you may think twice about ordering this. The crab cakes themselves had a nice, thin crunchy layer outside with a thick, hot filling inside. 

Mains

Grilled tuna steak on a bed of cilantro red pepper cous-cous and green beans - My friend had this and this is exactly what he said "I liked the tuna steak, but not he best I've had. Middle of the spectrum"

8 oz black angus beef burger (with brie cheese $2 extra) - This was my main. Being a sucker for cheese, I had to order the brie cheese =) This plate was massive, it had a side salad AND fries. I'm sure for those of you who know me well, I finished the whole thing O_o

This burger was very juicy, and it was really the perfect size / height where I can hold it with my hands and eat it without it falling all over the place or having to resort to a fork and knife (not my preference for eating burgers). 

Dessert

Warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream - gooey warm chocolate brownie + smooth vanilla ice cream + whipped cream + fresh strawberries = perfect dessert.

I would, without a doubt, go back to Insomnia. The coupon reminded me about how I've forgotten about Insomnia after that brunch a few years back. And now that I've had such a great dinner there, I want to go back for brunch again.