Borealis Grille- The Experience

I recently had the opportunity to have dinner at Borealis Grille, which is known for serving seasonal food from Ontario. I love the concept of this place- think globally, eat locally. I had heard the food was pretty good too- I've been wanting to try this place for ages. So, when a friend suggest we venture over for dinner, I said yes!

We got their just before 5, so the place was pretty quiet. The atmosphere and decor were nice. There are three places to sit- the bar, the patio and the dinning room (which was mostly booths!). We ate in the dinning room, where the one wall was all window. The room was bright and cheerful.

Their menu was pretty limited- not a ton of options- and there were only a handful of things on the menu I wanted to try. At most places, this would be a 'negative' but I won't hold this against Borealis, knowing that their limited menu is due to what is in season and what they can get from the area.

I ended up ordering... 

Chicken Pesto Linguini (chicken, basil pesto, sweet peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese)

It was really good and something I would get again. My friend had vegetable and quinoa curry and a side of yam fries- she said it was good. To drink, I had iced tea and she had a glass of 'Dolomite', a riesling by Cave Spring, a winery in the Niagara Region. It's one of her favourite wines and you can only get it from the winery (you can't buy it at the LCBO).

I didn't save room for dessert, but did order dessert to go. My friend insisted that we 'stage' a picture of the dessert...

Cheesecake in a mini-mason jar

I had to order this for three reasons:

1. I love cheesecake
2. It came in a mini-mason jar...how awesome is that|???
3. I had along day/week and I deserved/earned dessert

Oh. My. Gosh. Not the best cheesecake I've ever had...but really, really good. It was the perfect size, especially for how rich it was. It was more of a dense consistency, but a creamy enough texture and you could really taste the 'cheese'. I would go back to Borealis just for this!

Because they serve food grown in Ontario and what is in season, their menu changes frequently. I will definitely go back during the other seasons  to check out their menu and try something new. 

I also felt the price points were pretty standard and reasonable. My entire meal (entree, drink and dessert), including tax, was just under $30. Some people might think the wine is a bit pricey (my friend paid $10 for her glass), but they serve a nicer quality wine and wine that isn't easily available outside of the winery. Based on this, I think the price is reasonable. 

Did Borealis live up to the hype? I'm not sure...but if it didn't, the seasonal/local concept, to me, more than makes up for it. 

Bottom line: I would go back to Borealis and I would recommend to others.