Spoon and Fork

At Spoon and Fork, 1233 The Queensway, you can dine one of two ways: order a la carte off their regular menu or do the ‘all you can eat’ version from their special menu ($24.95). The latter should be entered into with caution as there are rules that must be followed...or else.

Rule Number One: You have to eat everything you order or you will be charged at regular price

Rule Number Two: There is a two hour dining limit.

Rule Number Three: Please do not order excessive food.

We decide to feast because we are starving and capable. We divide ourselves into two teams of two and decide to go page by page in the ordering process. It becomes a sort of game, a kind of challenge between what we want to eat and what we can eat.

Spoon and Fork is not the first of its’ kind; there is plenty of 'all you can eat sushi' in Toronto but none have the look of this restaurant. The dining room has that resto lounge feel. The ceiling is tall, the light fixtures are cool, and there is lots of black, a little bit of purple and a few candles. It’s Buddha and Zen and Vegas and Club all rolled into one. It is the fanciest ‘all you can eat’ that you are going to eat.

At Spoon and Fork, the focus is not just Japanese, it is equal parts Thai with a dash of Chinese. The dishes are small and shareable. They are also chipped, not properly expedited; splashes of sauce make them look dirty and they are literally dumped at your table like some sort of feeding frenzy.

To recall every dish would take this piece into another dot com so I will just give you the high and low lights.

Be sure to sample any of the tempuras as the batter is properly light and crispy. The peppery fried calamari with sweet chilli dipping sauce is another ‘do’ as is the curry pumpkin soup. Things get a little too Americanized with a scallop Rockefeller that takes an overdone scallop and smothers it in potato and cheddar cheese. Another downer is the agedashi tofu; lightly fried but also light on taste. The Thai dumplings are mushy and a smoked duck salad shows the meat more as a corned beef than a smoked duck.

Page two is dedicated to sushi. This is good because there is a lot of choice. This is bad because its’ quality is a small step up from Bento Nouveau.

A Thai green curry is surprisingly spicy. The chicken is tender and juicy and I like the chunks of fresh vegetables and the firm steamed rice. I get out the spoon for this one.

The beef teriyaki is nicely grilled, medium rare and tender. A jarred sauce is the only component holding the dish back. A Bangkok Street Style Pad Thai is overly salted and overly cooked but I’m just happy that it is dry. I do not like a ketchupy, saucy Pad Thai.

Desserts are not included and we are honestly way too full to proceed.

The last thing I need are some deep fried bananas.