Woodlot Restaurant & Bakery

freshly baked pumpernickel bread with butter

individually baked onion soup with caraway rye and gruyere


potato salad with whitefish


farm fresh handmade egg tagliatelle tosssed with slivers of pork  


chop of whey-fed pork with caramelized apple 

had a belated celebration for the boyfriend at the much hyped Woodlot Restaurant and Bakery
Woodlot opened earlier this year to much buzz and reservations are extremely hard to come by if you want to book for a normal eating time
however, they reserve communal bench seats and spaces at the bar for walk ins
so after a few futile trys at a reservation,
we took our chances, went in on an early tuesday evening
and immediately got a seat at the bar

the restaurant is relaxed and a bit hipster
so suits are absolutely not necessary
(but not out of place on a weeknight)

the bar area was sunken and a bit removed from the rest of the restaurant
so we didn't notice the huge wood burning oven until a while after being seated
nevertheless, the cheerful flames added a decidedly warm feel to the atmosphere

being seated at the bar, we had the advantage of getting immediate service from the bartender instead of having to wait for a waiter, so its hard for me to comment upon the speed of their service
our drinks were obviously made in front of us
and our appetizers came right away
however, the mains required a bit of a wait
which the bartender compensated by keeping us well stocked of fresh bread

i'm a huge fan of soup, and the onion soup was quite good with strong flavor
however, one draw back with the massive amounts of crutons inside
if your'e a slow eater (like me), then they are prone to getting soggy

the potato salad with whitefish was delicious
tender and flavourful
definitely recommended

my least favourite dish was the tagliatelle i ordered
although quite rich, the over-saltyness masked all other flavours
the pork was also overcooked and a bit hard
overall, the except for the tender fresh pasta, i wouldn't have rated this dish any better than the ones i make for myself

on the other hand,
the whey fed pork was absolutely delicious
the pork was fall off the bone tender
and the apple provided a nice sweet complement
the trick is to take the pork and apple in one bite
interestingly, the apple by itself was a bit bitter

overall, i would rate my experience at woodlot as enjoyable but not worth the hype

2.5/5
woodlot restaurant and bakery
293 Palmerston (college and palmerston)
dinner for two with drinks and no dessert: roughly $100