Hamilton Cuisine
 

we seem to have a few forumers who are sincerely unsure of where to eat in the city, particularly downtown. let's use this thread as a resource for great dining options in the city. you like a particular restaurant? post the name, location and even a review if you want. i'd love to see a comprehensive list of all the great restaurants we've got downtown and the surrounding area. i'll give it a go first.

BROWNIES DOWNTOWN, FINE FOOD & SPIRIT
275 King Street East, International Village

the atmosphere is chic, urban and just a little parisian. the menu is franco-italian offering such fare as escargot, quiche, crepes as well as antipasto, gnocchi and paninis. they've also got a tapas menu of which i have not partaken. for further details check out their website: http://www.browniesdowntown.com/

THREE 16 LOUNGE
316 King Street East, International Village

one of downtown's most recent culinary additions, 'three 16 lounge' offers reasonably priced food and drink in a relaxed, friendly and trendy atmosphere. the menu is basic, which is very appealing to me. if you've got a hankering for a salad, sandwich and a pint [from their extensive list], this is your spot. also, the owner is ever-present and always happy to talk about downtown hamilton. here's their site: http://www.three16lounge.com/

August 8
1 Wilson St., Unit 11-12 (Wilson & Hughson)

Don't let the squat single storey plaza diagonal from City Centre turn you off, the restaurant offers probably the best Dim Sum west / south of Mississauga and has the cool combination of All You Can Eat Dim Sum & Sushi! Prior to the name change, I would go here for Dim Sum while living in St. Catharines.

IL FIASCO
182 Locke St. South

Nice relaxed atmosphere, good service, excellent food, surprisingly low prices for the quality of the food. An interesting menu, I had venison with a blueberry wine sauce and my wife had penne with smoked salmon. The appetizers and both dishes were excellent and had the subtlety and combination of flavours you would expect at an expensive restaurant. There is also a bar at il fiasco with a selection of wine and a smaller selection of other drinks. Highly recommended.

http://www.ilfiasco.ca/index.html

A great affordable Italian place is Cafe Palazzo, they make the BEST panzerotti in the world!, seriously you must try one. Everything is homemade including the sauce. Great food. MUST MUST MUST TRY! lol.

It's near Mohawk College so during long breaks I sometimes take friends over and eat there.

The address is 612 Upper James Street. It's south of Fennell.

PHO DAU BO

The best soup in the city.

Does anyone know if there are any good Sushi restaraunts left in the city?

There is a good sushi place on King St. in Dundas.

Sapporos Japanese Restaurant at Main and Catharine.

Oooh. This thread is delicious... it's making me hungry!

My Top 3 (frequented) Downtown Restos, in order:

1) Pagoda (King/John ontop of Pizza Pizza)
2) Modern India Buffet (Main/Walnut)
3) My Thai (King/John, between King&King William)

Some restos that I like that don't get too much love:
- Papagayo, King & Hess area (mexican/south american food)
- Bronzies, James S & Young area (awesome meatball subs!)
- Maxims, IV King & Walnut (good for a light snack... plus I'm addicted to Mtl Smkd Meat! haha)

A couple of my favourites:

Incognito (93 John St. South between Hunter and Jackson): The food here is of the hightest quality. This is our 'special nught out' place of choice.

Zum Linzer (537 Main Street E): New entry for me - IMO replaces Black Forest as the city's best Austrian-German cuisine in town.

Brownies Downtown: Great for Sunday brunch, dinners are good too (but Incognito is superior IMO)

Rebel's Rock (537 King Street E): My favourite Irish pub, mainly because it is a real Irish pub run by a real Irish ex-pat, not some pre-packaged concept (my head's not feeling too bad from yesterday's party). Occasionally caught off-guard with an early switch to bar menu, but it's pure hand-made comfort food.

Westdale beat:

1010 is definitely one of the top restos in town, and our new favourite since the much mourned demise of Las Aguas. Unfortunately no longer serving brunch.

Montfort is a small local chain specializing in simple, authentic Mediterranean cuisine. I ate their with a friend who grew up in Israel and he was very impressed.

Village Green is a delightful little vegetarian bistro with takeout. Very kid friendly as well. Closed Saturdays.

Don't often eat in at Valentino's, but it's the only place we go for pizza or ice cream. Great Italian pastries as well. It's pretty standard Italian fare, but beats the pants off East Side Marios.

Dragon's Court is solid. It's nice not to have to leave the hood for Chinese.

A new cafe has opened up where Vital Planet used to be. Haven't checked it out yet and can't remember the name. Anyone?

For the urban pioneers, Karolina's Restaurant on Barton for an authentic Polish experience.

If you ever get a chance, go upstairs to the O Lounge and you will see some of our work.

The best Polish food anywhere!!!! It is like going home to my mothers cooking.

Leghorns King & Balmoral for the best chicken wings in the city.

Lemoncello’s Ottawa Street north of Cannon. Excellent Italian food.

Beach Road Meats on Locke Street for takeout sandwiches.

Hutches on Bay and the Beach for burgers and fries

Staropolskie Delikatesy Barton Street East just east of Sherman for takeout sandwiches and deli stuff.

Tony Roma’s for excellent ribs. On Queenston Road near Eastgate Mall.

You own the place?!

Yea Hutches makes the best fries in Hamilton. I went down to the Beach strip this weekend for a walk and stopped by for the fries. Hmm it's good!

Bistro Parisien
150 James Street South

This is an intimate, comfortable place serving very competently prepared traditional French bistro fare. I have been here often for firm lunches and dinners. In particular, I always enjoy the steak frites and generously proportioned salads. Off-menu specials, particularly the fish, are also a good bet. There is (by Hamilton standards) a pretty decent winelist with a number of good Ontario selections. Ambience is excellent. Staff is unobtrusive and polite (traditional French service, unlike the cloying effusive friendliness one finds at chain restaurants). Tends to attract a more mature, old money Durand sort of crowd (which is a good thing). Prices are fairly high by Hamilton standards but ultimately quite reasonable.

I wish some really good restaurants (or at least one really good restaurant) would open in Dundas.

Dundas seems to have most of Hamilton's best gourmet boutiques (Picones, Cumbrae's, Village Bakery, Mickey Maguire's, etc.) but no truly upscale dining option to go with them.

They had a couple. Spencers and La Cascada were pretty good, but they both closed. I wonder what it is about Dundas that they can't keep a decent restaurant. My hubby has a business there and he has nowhere to take out of town clients. It's pretty embarrassing.

No, we did most of the reno work. It was converted from a plain empty room. I think it turned out quite nice.