Gilead Café & Bistro

I went to Gilead Café with my friend Ed last Friday for dinner. Gilead Café, owned and operated by Chef Jamie Kennedy (@ChefJKennedy) is located between King Street East and Eastern Avenue east of Parliament. The location of the restaurant is very hidden and tucked inside Gilead Pl, an extremely small street that resembles an alleyway. It was difficult to spot the restaurant from the car. The exterior of Gilead Café is also a bit odd; I wouldn't have known it was a restaurant if it weren't for the signs - it looked like a warehouse to me.

Once I stepped inside, everything changed and there was nothing industrial about Gilead Café at all. It was very warm and inviting.

This is one big chalkboard! From wines to their breakfast menu to their lunch / dinner menu. 

Jars of preserves can be found throughout the restaurant. I think they are great because they gave a subtle splash of colour to the room. 

Ed and I shared four dishes. It turned out to be a lot because their portions are actually pretty decent (I'm so used to getting dinky and puny portions now for tapas so I was pleasantly surprised here). Also, Ed eats very little so I ended up eating 80% of everything lol~

JK Poutine with Bolognese ($10)

We both loved this poutine.  It was served piping hot. Perfect ratio between the bolognese, cheese and fries (we were half way done and there were still lots of bolognese and cheese left). With the fries being lightly crispy on the outside, the cheese curds being slightly melted and the bolognese so meaty, the whole poutine rocked my world.

Pan Seared Steel Head trout with Butter Caper Sauce ($18) - The trout was juicy and tender - I could easily break it apart with a fork. I didn't really like the butter caper sauce though because when we were done, there was quite a bit of oil on the plate. This was my least favourite dish that night.

Crispy Pork belly with Braised Cabbage & Cider Mignonette ($14) 

The pork belly had a nice and crispy skin with the perfect amount of FAT =D I also really liked the braised cabbage which complemented nicely with the heavy pork belly.

Braised Short Rib with Mashed Potato ($18) - Like the other dishes, the short rib was also very tender and moist (kinda tired of writing the same thing but it's true). The mashed potato was  smooth and tasty but a lot thinner than what I'm used to for mashed potatoes (resembled a soup).

Overall, I enjoyed my dinner at Gilead Café; I wouldn't' mind going back but probably won't be any time soon as I still have many restaurants I want to try in the city. 

Gilead Café also offers Sunday brunch.