Summerlicious - The Drake

For a three course lunch at the Drake for $20, it seemed worth an outing to Parkdale. We tried to walk fast to avoid getting mugged, but in general encountered no sketchiness except for the restaurant itself!!

After positive reviews by the New York Times and Toronto Life we were expecting something a little more high end.

For starters, we were seated in their cafe section that was pretty casual and that included a mix of clientele (more to come on that later).

Appetizers went poorly with a bait and switch scam whereby the website offered a "Drake Maki roll with shrimp, crab and avocado" for lunch but the printed menu only had soup or salad.

The tomato soup ended up being delightful with some nice creaminess and spiciness all in one!

Ian on the other hand, wasn't thinking clearly and got swayed by the bacon in the iceberg wedge salad and didn't pay attention to the blue cheese in the dressing. Ian making a play for my soup was the result.


Ian's main course was pretty delightful - shrimp with grits and peas. The grits were particularly delicious, although from a presentation perspective, it was something we could have cooked up at home with little effort!

My main course was a very small portion of steak and a miami beef rib. Decently tasty, although the beef rib was a touch overcooked. Baked potato promised "salt baked old cheddar" but in the end only appeared to be overwhelmed with sour cream.

More entertaining than our meal itself was that of our table neighbors. They were a rather grouchy, not talking family of three. At one point, older lady had 2 baked potatoes loaded up on her plate, of which she was nominally picking away at. The younger lady had the meat from all three diners stacked up on her plate to take home. Odd to say the least..especially considering the rather puny portions dished out? Maybe they pre-ate at home before arriving?

Dessert was a favorite - Ian was very happy with his chocolate passion fruit pudding with generous amounts of whip cream and a fun take on an oreo cookie.

I really enjoyed my triple cream vanilla cake with rice krispies and strawberries.
At this point, the neighbors on the other side kicked in some entertainment. They seemed to be ex-workers of the Drake or possibly real regulars. They seemed desperate to know who was working where and for this or that person to say hi from them. At one point, they were freakin out about how busy it was and where they could possibly sit, but they were basically standing at an empty table for four at that point, thus making a freak-out seem rather silly.

In the end, a decent meal for $20, although the summerlicious experience has not converted me to a customer at regular price.