Richmond Station

Another hot spot that I needed to check out before I left for Hong Kong was Top Chef Canada's season 2 winner Carl Heinrich and his partner (both ex-Marben) Ryan Donovan's newest project, Richmond Station.  The theme of a train station seems fitting by it's location, in the heart of the financial district and on Yonge street which is the main street where our city's transit system traverses and by it's decor, using white sterile subway tiles and high ceilings to create the ambience of a station.

We decided on a couple of sharing plates for the evening for our dinners as there was a lot of good options to share on the menu:
We started with oysters which were from New Brunswick - we ordered a dozen to indulge in and they were very fresh and we enjoyed all the house made accoutrements which were the standard fare of mignonette, marinara and hot sauce.
We couldn't resist and ordered their charcuterie - it was lovely presented with a lamb and juniper terrine, fennel and chilli sausage, shaved ham and 2 fried small croquettes of pate.  All was delicious and another way to satiate our appetites.
The polenta fries are a must have  on their menu - they are crispy and perfectly battered on the outside but on the inside it's the mushy goodness from the polenta and served with a bomba mayo which isn't as fiery as you may think so it's good for the masses!
We also had the lobster cocktail - which was different from what I had originally envisioned of fresh succulent pieces of juicy lobster presented in a martini glass.  This version was battered chunks of lobsters on a piece of lettuce with a dollop of cocktail sauce.  It was very underwhelming.
Finally we had the smoked trout - it was a very healthy dish served with kale, soybean hummus and antipasto that included nice chunks of eggplant, it was a balanced dish but had a lot going on and I think for me, it was my least favourite.
The service was impeccable though and to make a comment that even in it's first month, the food, service and timing of everything was very good is a nice change for a new restaurant on the block.
For my friends who are bankers or work in the area, they are serving up lunches too!
 It is definitely a lively spot to check out especially if you are in the financial district.

*** stars
Richmond Station, 1 Richmond St. W., 647-748-1444