Restaurant: Lamesa Filipino Kitchen
Location: 669 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M6J
Price Range: $$
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This is my second time at Lamesa now as I was here for their Summerlicious menu (review here) back in July, and I am completely blown away by the food and service as last time!
I admit, their prices are quite up there and they serve more of a modern fusion Filipino food, thus if you are still not so sure whether to dine here or not, I recommend trying their Summerlicious/Winterlicious menu. I think for both occasions, Lamesa only offers the dinner menu at $35 and in my opinion it was worth it! My friends left the restaurant extremely satisfied and loved every bits of it.
C ordered the beef cheek sinigang and she said the beef cheek was incredibly tender. I only tried the broth as she was raving about it as well and I have to say, it was the star of the dish! The broth was clear, sour but not in an artificial way and very refreshing with all the slightly-steamed vegetables.
If I remember correctly, the lechon kawali and pork inasal came with a side a garlic rice as well and the rice was garlicky but not overwhelming at all.
So much fatty goodness with this one. Crispy skin and tender pork belly, need I say more? The acidity from the picked papaya helped to cut down the fattiness of the pork belly… However, that dipping sauce or sawsawan?! I don’t know what is it made of but it was slightly sweet for me, and I thought the flavor combinations were pretty interesting (in a good way!).
The pork chop was on the verge of being dry, hence the -0.5 point :(. With that said, I found the jus really helped to keep the meat somewhat moist, and don’t get me wrong, the pork was seasoned perfectly with a hint of sweetness from the 7-up glaze. The tangy pineapple cut through the heavy pork chop and I didn’t care too much for the scallion since I didn’t think it was needed.
I was quite surprised to see this being served in a take out plastic cup and I was hoping there would be jellies or fruits like the one I see in other restaurants. Nonetheless it was still good and although a tad too sweet, that’s expected from the creamy ube (purple yam) flan and ice cream. With every bite you are getting some crunchy texture from the rice krispy topping and apple tapioca, overall a very refreshing and fun dessert!
As always, service was exceptional and all the dishes were delicious! Great attention to the details from the flavors to the presentation. I can definitely feel the chef’s passion and love in all of the dishes from Lamesa. I would wholeheartedly recommend Lamesa to anyone as it is easily one of my favorite restaurant in Toronto now! Depends on the Winterlicious menu (if they participate and change it up), I would consider coming back here or I’m thinking of trying their Kamayan where you only eat with your hands!