Byblos: An Eastern Mediterranean Feast in Toronto Worth the Money

Lentils are having a heyday.

Is it because 2016 is the International Year of Pulses (so says the UN). Is it Ottolenghi? Has the London-based restaurateur, cookbook author and Guardian contributor inspired this high-end restauraurant in Toronto?

Whatever the reason, it’s very hard to get a reservation at Byblos, the two-floor, elegant, Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in Toronto’s financial district. I went as part of a birthday party and ordered one of the group menus. And although I usually hate group menus, this one was stellar. Pricey, but justified.

We started with the Maltese spiced olives (Fel Fel). Actually, no. We started with a cocktail:

Then it was time for olives, followed by super creamy, housemade labneh (no, it’s not hummus – it’s more like a thickened yogurt cheese) with fennel whisps, honey, olive oil and beautifully blistered barbari bread. 

Look at that char…

One of the most impressive parts of the evening was that even with a group menu, they adapted to my gluten intolerance easily. They’d planned the menu in advance with our party’s organizer, but even on a night when the restaurant was packed with reservations, even my special deep-fried eggplant with sumac came out in time with the rest of the group’s persimmon dish.

Everyone else was supposed to get the lamb ribs, but they were out, so they were told upon arrival that they’d get the duck kibbeh instead (with date molasses and tahini, I think). Then the main courses. A vegetarian lentil and Basmati rice dish with deep-fried onions to garnish and a big dollop of thick, unsweetened, plain yogurt (pure vegetarian comfort food – savoury, nutty, slippery and rich) and a dry-aged ribeye steak, blistered in all the right places, with thick strips of almost rendered fat, za’atar butter and smoked eggplant (the eggplant was the best, all fried and silken). But actually, my favourite dish of the night was the green beans, a side dish. They were charred and chewy and soft and fresh ad served with a still textured tomato sauce that screamed eat me. My second favourite thing was the rice and lentils, which was totally inhale-able. And my third favourite was the broccolini on the rib-eye. The rib-eye itself was fine, but had nothing on the hunk of a seasoned and charbroiled slab we’d had at Valdez Latin Street Food a few months before (Valdez is now closed!!!!!).

For dessert, I got a special gluten-free chocolate mousse cake with labneh (it’s usually served with broken baklava but they left that off for me). The pomegranate seeds and greens garnish were nice touches.

All in all, Byblos lived up to the expectation. It’s not cheap, but the prices are justified for the quality, the creativity and the execution of its delicious dishes. When someone can do green beans that well, they deserve the applause.

Byblos
11 Duncan Street, Toronto
Hours: Mon-Sun 5pm-close
Tel: 647-660-0909
Cost: $60-$90 per person plus tax and tip