Luma
350 King St. West | 647 288 4715 | oliverbonacini.com
Kathleen Turner and I were having dinner recently and the waiter said the….what? Yes, that Kathleen Turner. Yes, in person. Sigh. I just said…we were having dinner together. Well, no. She didn’t exactly sit at my table; she was at the next table, with David Mirvish and others. Less than five feet away, though. And we were eating the same thing, so that practically makes us BFFs.
And, no matter what I have to say about the food at Luma, THAT is exactly the reason that you will go there. Not for the delicate sashimi, nor for the tongue + cheek with “wild Canadian flavours,” but for the chance to dine with celebrity. But even if you don’t happen to sit next to Johnny Depp, you can still take solace in the food. Luma, located in the TIFF Bell Lightbox and part of the Oliver & Bonacini empire (Jump, Canoe, Auberge du Pommier, Bannock, etc.) will send you away fed, happy and on time for your show.
Luma is, unfortunately, tucked away on the second floor and reachable after a trek up two sets of escalators, and after locating an entrance obscured by the bar. Having reached the restaurant, we are greeted enthusiastically and seated immediately. Our server appears and she, too, is enthusiastic. She is also knowledgeable, personable and attentive — this, despite having a far better class of people seated right at our elbows. So Luma gets full points for service.
The restaurant itself is big, with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on to King Street West. This is the other reason you will come to Luma — for the streetscape and the feeling that you’re part of the scene. Sadly, that’s about as close as you’ll get to a scene because Luma is strangely detached from both the street and its own building. True, the cocktails have clever film-themed names (Black Swan, Green Lantern, Beetlejuiced), but the effort ends there.
But then, Luma is a restaurant and not a theatre, so the focus should be on the food. There is a good selection of appetizers — the burrata with its fresh mozzarella ($17) is luscious and the Caesar salad ($10), while nothing unusual, is well executed and not drowning in dressing. The rest of the menu is on the short side, which leaves me hoping that Luma has chosen to do a few things and do them exceptionally well. Unfortunately, I am disappointed — everything we have is good, but none of it is stellar.
I choose ricotta gnudi, with sautéed mushrooms, parmesan and chives ($15/$20). Gnudi is essentially naked gnocchi — the filling without the pasta shell. This sounds like a potential disaster, but mine is light and almost fluffy in texture. My companion chooses another pasta dish, pappardelle with braised beef short rib, carmelized onions and horseradish cream ($19). It too is good, and the horseradish cream is a good contrast without being overpowering. Both dishes, however, suffer from a surfeit of fat and oil. Sides are extra, and we choose the truffle and parmesan French fries ($6). They are tasty, but come bogged down in oil.
Luma’s space isn’t conducive to quiet conversation, being on the cavernous side. During weeknights, which is when we dined, seating was not a problem and the few people there ran the gamut from diehard film aficionados to, well, Kathleen Turner. With a bit of due diligence and consultation of film schedules, speaking engagements and tour dates, it’s certainly possible to impress a client (or a date) by scoring a table next to a star (I’m there Wednesdays after 6).
Judge Foodie’s verdict:
Highs: the service and the star-spotting
Lows: needs a better presence in the TIFF building
Kirsten Thompson is a Toronto-based research lawyer and commercial litigator. Since her call to the bar in 2000, she estimates that her restaurant to courtroom ratio has been approximately 14:1. Thoughts? Comments? Ideas for a review? Email her.
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