I have been trying to get to one of the evening events at Gilead for a while and finally had the chance back in June. It was one of the Friday night wine bars that are periodically run throughout the year,
I was a bit surprised by both the location and the decor at 4 Gilead in Corktown. It’s certainly not your typical wine bar environment, probably because it’s mainly only open for breakfast and lunch. That said, you can’t judge a place by it’s decor, so I forked up ready to indulge on the Jamie Kennedy inspired menu.
After the decor, my second surprise were the clientele. I was easily the youngest patron in the place, maybe because it was 6 pm. I felt like I was at an early bird dinner. Even later, however, there was not the crowd I would have expected for an almost underground one night wine bar experience. Well, except maybe for one jackass who showed up with his date and demanded the door be shut despite the fact it was 35 degrees and subsequently complained about every one of the 6 or 8 drinks he had in a span of an hour.
It only made sense to start with the featured drink, a Fragolina cocktail (wine, strawberry beer and a bit of lime) for $7. It was very average. The featured wines were a couple of Ontario red and whites for $7 a glass.
As I was waiting for a colleague, I ordered the poutine with braised beef and cheddar. The fries were great. The gravy was a bit salty which ended up being a theme for the evening. The beef was tender, the cheese was scarce. In the end, it was decent but not great.
I have an issue paying for bread but I was interested in the highly touted red fife sour dough, so I ordered some with two vegetarian dips for $5. I think they were beet and some kind of hummus. It was also served with a side of a spice mix which was not explained to me. Not clear on the intent of this mix, I used liberally on a piece of bread only to find out it was 90% salt. When I brought this up with the waitress, she scoffed and pointed out “It’s a french thing” and “it should be used sparingly ” on top of the butter. After pointing out there was no butter at the table, I was told I shouldn’t have got it anyway since it’s only served with lunch.
On the heels of asparagus season, I wasn’t surprised to see it on the menu, simply served with a honey vinaigrette. For $7, it was too simple..9 boiled pieces painted with a mediocre dressing. I found the green salad with sorrel dressing a bit better (it had a few radishes and sorrel thrown in) for $7 but the dressing looked and tasted similar to the one used on the asparagus. The beet salad with lentils and feta looked great on the menu but once again has a taste profile not much different than the others.
I was excited to try the pristine poached halibut with curried lobster sauce. Once again it was a disappointment. The halibut has the consistency of that piece of poached egg white that escapes and floats to the top of the pan. It was rather bland and seasoned with large chunks of salt scattered among the bottom of the filet. The lobster curry and bitter greens made the dish salvageable. At least if wasn’t ridiculously priced at $16.
I’m not really a flourless chocolate cake fan but decided to try it since it was served with a rhubarb reduction and cardamom ice cream, two flavours I happen to love in a dessert. I thought it was well done, especially if you incorporated the sweet ice cream, the bitter sweet cake and the sour reduction all in one bite.
My Take
I was excited to experience this drop-in wine bar, especially with an attractive online menu that featured a nice array of fresh and creative foods developed by one of Toronto’s iconic chefs. Instead, I was treated to an experience that felt like a dinner at an old age home. Each of the three veggie dishes tasted almost exactly the same, the fish was overdone and salt was the predominant seasoning (don’t you know us old people can’t have too much salt). I felt I was treated a bit like a nursing home resident as well, especially after being scolded about my shallow knowledge regarding the use of salted herbs on butterless bread in much the same way one would after stepping off the property without permission. Maybe it’s better at breakfast or lunch but mention the word hip at this place during dinner and most would immediately think it’s a high risk area for a fracture.
Fare..Eat..Ales 