Michael's On The Thames

Very pleasant professional staff

Although located downtown, it could be described as off the beaten track. Situated alongside the Thames River at the York Street bridge, a street that would not be described as a thoroughfare, one’s purpose would be to search for this restaurant. We were greeted by a consistently very pleasant professional staff, and the decor, which was first class, created an excellent fine dining atmosphere. We were led to the comfortable balcony room, overlooking the river that was mainly hidden by trees (It would be wonderful in the winter). We chose a Caesar salad and soup for starters, and a rib sandwich and ‘fish of the day’ as entrees. The salad was perfect and the mushroom soup was very tasty. I had failed to note the soup ingredients and was curious about a meat-like texture similar to tofu - it was explained to me as asparagus, ham and mushroom. The rib sandwich was accompanied by sweet potato fries, and the cod fish was served in a spicy Thai curry sauce on a bed of couscous - obviously, the cod was not locally caught but, also, it was not equal to the flaky North Atlantic variety of my youth. I believe that this species has been well overfished, and the farmed and frozen variety should be avoided, until it has fully recovered in the ocean (I suppose that makes me seem like a hypocrite). An enjoyable glass of a full-bodied Ontario Pinot Noir was included. During the evening there is live piano music, and one will never forget the warm Italian welcome by the proprietor, Jack diCarlo. Unfortunately, as I walked back into town, my stomach had a very uneasy feeling, causing my head to believe that I had drunk a full bottle of wine rather than just a glass - I feel sure that it was due to the tofu-tasting ham in the soup, and I did not fully recover until the following morning. I hope that there is a serious evaluation of the kitchen and its’ staff.

Great loctaion to dine at. service has been a little slow sometimes but over all the food was great everyone in the place seem to like what they got i go here often

MY first thought on seeing the interior of Michaels on the Thames is that it is just as a high class restaurant should look. That is if I were basing my opinions on movies I watched as a kid. I'm sure 20 years ago this place would have been the epitome of high class. Now; however, it just feels dated. The menu resembles the decor unfortunately. With quite a few dishes and honestly no coherent feel for what the restaurant specializes in, I found myself unimpressed with any choices. We started with an order of spring rolls, which were cold, and were no better than the frozen deep fried fare at any number of cheap asian restaurants. For the main course I ended up ordering the peppercorn duck, with was slathered in a steak sauce that totally masked any flavor that wasn't burnt out of the duck. The duck itself was completely black and inedible around the edges, and quite dry and tough inside. It was garnished with baby veg which was greasy.

Probably one of the nicest restaurant's I've ever eaten in - in Canada. Staff was excellent, and the place is very fancy. We we're serenaded by several musicians through the night. If I remember right, there was a piano player, an accordion player, and an opera singer. Food was excellent I would return here again. For a fancy place, the bill really was not that much.

Hard to go wrong here. I've been several times, and the service and food are wonderful. The Maitre D is a bit over the top, but it's obvious he likes what he's doing. It's pricey for me, but worth every penny.