Lovage

“This place doesn’t only balance flavours perfectly; it also balances a cozy, relaxed atmosphere with stunningly elegant dishes too. It’s a fine dining eating experience with an open kitchen, yet no sign of a pretentious atmosphere- instead it’s welcoming, warm and creative. The menu is changed daily which is such a treat and rarity. My husband and I shared the Fritto Misto to start, which was choy sum, green onions, gremolata, and lemon in a light, crispy batter. This was a delightful start to our food adventure, and like everything we had today, was a new flavour experience for us. The airy batter complimented the freshness of the vegetables perfectly, and my personal favourite was the battered lemon- such a unique dish to find and cooked to perfection. For our mains, we both got the same dish due to our own dietary restrictions but it did not disappoint. We got the Halibut which came with hakurei turnips, ohitashi tops and a shio koji sauce. Again, a creative and dreamy combination of flavours! To finish, we shared the Maddy as recommended by our lovely server. She told us this is one of the chef’s own recipe and it was perhaps the highlight for me in uniqueness. This dish was fresh madelines with a miso caramel sauce and genmaicha ice cream. The flavours and textures were out of this world, with the sponginess of the madeleines complimented by the smooth ice cream, velvety sauce, and the punchy element which was the crispy toasted brown rice at the bottom. What a treat! The service was fabulous, atmosphere was welcoming and extremely relaxed considering it’s a restaurant on the pricier side. Portion sizes were great for such good food quality. Absolutely no complaints and we loved our visit!”

“The place is nice and warm. The server was a very nice lady, friendly and helpful regarding the menu. The food was delicious and a good portion for us. Remember also that every person has a different palette. So some don't like the food and for some it's good.”

“What a creative and delicious experience at Lovage! We started with the scallop crudo served cold. The scallops were fresh & delicious. Next came the smoked trout roulette, which quickly became our favourite dish of the meal. It featured a crispy, fried potato bottom, topped with an incredible smoked trout spread, thinly sliced cucumbers, and fresh dill. An absolute standout. For our mains, we shared a Paris ham sandwich with a beautiful leek vinaigrette and funky Grand Trunk cheese (we had never had the GT Cheese but it really worked). We also tried the rigatoni, a new kale-based addition to their menu, finished with a generous dollop of ricotta. Again, absolutely delicious. The prices were reasonable, and the service was amazing…lots of smiles and genuinely warm interactions throughout. This was easily the best restaurant we ate at during our stay in Stratford. Highly recommend!”

“Came here for lunch and it was a great experience! Make a reservation! Menu changes daily, i had the best breakfast sandwich I have ever had in my life and will be thinking about this sandwich for the rest of it lol. The salmon and other menu items were also tasty. Would love to come back for dinner next time I am in the area. Lovely vibe and great service as well.”

“Nothing but overpriced mid food. It was our first time going and we arrived a few minutes before opening and saw that they were prepping so decided to wait in the cold. Another crowd showed up 2 mins later and they opened the door immediately which was interesting to me. They let us get seated despite showing up 15 mins prior to our reservation which was nice but did not show us where the coat rack was or try to interact with us. The cod crostini was good but I wish it was warm and crunchier. The mushroom pasta was good but got a bit too greasy, I liked the mushrooms. The steak was medium rare on the rarer side. Not sure if it was protocol to ask how we wanted it to be cooked but they didn’t. I also felt that the other group was being treated better, their server would check on them often. I was really excited to try this place during my Stratford day trip but was disappointed by the food and service. I also wanted to try their dessert but was not excited about any of the dessert they had available that day. I wanted the Striploin steak to share from the website but they only had hanger steak (The turnip was so bitter and I didnt like the steak butter). This was supposed to be a celebration dinner but we left disappointed.”