The Best Meal I Had in Toronto
Japanese-Peruvian cuisine FTW!
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I am a creature of habit. When I head to Toronto — the city where I was born and raised — I connect with old friends, and we inevitably head to old haunts. It’s a wonderful feeling, retracing (happy) past steps. But on my latest trip back over Easter, my best friend and I ended up somewhere new… and that was not by choice.
When I’m in Toronto, I generally rely on public transit, and thanks to car trouble, my friend was in the same situation. Since we were coming from opposite ends of the sprawling Greater Toronto Area, we decided to meet near Union Station. That’s why I ended up frantically searching for a nearby dinner spot. And that’s how I ended up discovering Chotto Matte.
The restaurant’s website boasts that “The Nikkei experience starts here: Discover the best of Japanese-Peruvian cuisine in an electric atmosphere and vibrant space.” That sounded lovely, but the real selling point was the menu, which had many options marked gluten-free.
I had high hopes, and Chotto Matte exceeded expectations.
The toughest part of the night was trying to figure out what to order. Chotto Matte offers several tasting menus, and there are many à la carte options as well. After consulting with our incredibly kind and helpful waiter, we chose to order the Signature Sharing Menu and the Vegetarian Menu. We also opted to make every dish gluten-free. My friend is allergic to uncooked garlic and onions, and the restaurant was able to accommodate that as well. (In the cases where the offerings on the two menus overlapped, my dishes were served with onion and garlic.)
It was impossible to decide on a favorite dish. The sea-bass ceviche was an early contender, but the vegan crispy sushi was just as amazing. The Sato Maki with yellowtail and salmon was heaven, but so was the Pollo Picante (grilled chicken with red and yellow anticucho, and yuzu), and the mushroom tostada. Believe me when I say that every dish was a hit. The plates are small but the flavors are strong.
The desserts on all the tasting menus are listed as “chef’s choice,” I ended up with sorbet and mochi. Was I slightly jealous of the churros and creme brulée my friend got? Maybe a little, but I was stuffed at that point and barely had room for sorbet.
Chotto Matte also has outposts in Miami (South Beach); London (Soho); San Francisco (Union Square); Doha (Marsa Arabia); and Riyadh (Kafd). I can’t promise that they’re all as stellar on the gluten-free front as the Toronto location, but I can tell you that if I find myself in one of those cities, I’ll be making fresh tracks to find out.
PS You know me as a travel journalist who writes about gluten-free spots, but my real job is writing crime novels… and I have huge news on that front coming soon. If you want to get the scoop first, subscribe to my (free) author newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy this teaser video!