Hotel Ocho

Hotel Ocho

I first experienced this new hotel at a birthday party. I was so impressed with this old building that has been remodeled in incredible taste. The hotel was a former industrial site. It is on the corner of Phoebe and Spadina, one block north of Queen. The inside is completely gutted and refitted. Wooden beams remain. Large new windows have been replaced. Apparently the 12 guest rooms of the hotel are also well designed. Modern industrial furnishings and artwork make this a notable place to visit. The desk for the hotel is a simple wooden table at the back of the restaurant. I loved it. I could see residents of the hotel coming and going as we dined.
The second floor is quite open and was the location for the birthday party. It was an incredible space.
The restaurant is casual in design but in such good taste. The menu is impressive. I was intrigued by the $35.00 3 course Prix-fixe. The Grilled Garlic Shrimp caught my eye as an appetizer. Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Soup as well as a Spring Mix Salad are offered as a first course. Pan-seared Salmon Fillet would have made for a delicious second course. Chicken Supreme and Linguini in Garlic Chili Oil were tempting choices. There was no question about dessert. The Chocolate Brownie would have won out over the Orange Cheesecake. My friend and I had just been to a wonderful film. We were craving a fine glass of wine and some gourmet food while we continued our discussion of the film. When we looked at the regular menu we noticed Baked Tuna.($22.00) We both quickly decided on this favorite food. At this point the evening became a comedy of errors. Our sweet young server was new on the job. We ordered our wine but it didn’t taste quite right. She did quickly exchange the wine for us.

We started with a Spring Salad.($5.00) Fresh mixed greens were lightly flavored with a lovely tasting
vinaigrette. We did need to ask for salt and pepper. It was a generous portion and we could have shared it. Our main course arrived before we had barely started the salad. For some reason our newly hired server thought we were going to share the main course. I can’t imagine what made her think that. The main course was returned to the table but I have a feeling it was the same dish that had arrived too early. We did in fact share that main course as she scuffled off to the kitchen to order another main course .The tuna was flavorful and nicely prepared. A small mound of rice was on the plate. The stir fried vegetables suffered from an overdose of jalapeno peppers. I can eat hot food but this was beyond comfortable.
The second platter arrived and we noticed two pieces of tuna on the plate. It was getting very bizarre
but we did see the humor in it all. The flavor was wonderful. We shared an Apricot Biscotti that needed a few more minutes of baking. We were appreciative of the
wrapped dark chocolate piece that accompanied the Espresso. Our young server was not familiar with the menu. I think this had to be her first serving experience. For
that reason we chose to enjoy the experience and not complain. My dining companion loves a good
adventure and this was a new experience.
We loved the location. The tuna was excellent. I would return again for lunch to see if the problems
have been ‘ironed out.’

195 Spadina Ave

416 593 0885