Harbord Street continues to be a top-notch culinary destination in Toronto. It’s home to the legendary Splendido, and also to The Harbord Room and its sister restaurant, THR & Co. The Food Dudes chose the neighbourhood for their upcoming venture, Tabula Rasa, and about a month ago Harvest Kitchen opened up in the space previously occupied by Tati Bistro.

Leaside residents may recognize two of Harvest Kitchen’s owners: Owen Steinberg and Jill McAbe. The pair (twins, incidentally) previously owned Bayview’s Jov Bistro, a restaurant that built a loyal following before it closed a few years ago.

Steinberg acts as executive chef (he has also cooked at Il Fornello and was an instructor at George Brown’s culinary school). At Harvest Kitchen, he has collaborated with chef de cuisine Hyeonho "Ho" Yi (Shangri-La Hotel, Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill) to put together a menu that’s aimed at both vegetarians and meat eaters; a menu in which multicultural influences are rampant and wherein all foods are sourced from ethical purveyors (such as Sanagan’s Meat Locker, Nature’s Farm, YU Ranch, and Hooked).

Shu Mai dumplings ($7.45) come stuffed with pork, chicken, shrimp and shiitake mushrooms, while a gluten-free chicken pot pie ($14.45) is filled with diced chicken, carrots, mushrooms and celery. A selection of salads is offset by a selection of burgers, while the drinks menu is populated with fresh-made juices (known as “elixirs”) and cocktails alike. Wine from St. Catherines’ 13th Street Winery flows on tap ($4.95 for 5 oz).

Harvest Kitchen's Mains range from the ultra-healthy (chickpea quinoa pasta, $14.45) to the merely kind-of-healthy (spaghetti Bolognese, $15.95). After all, as McAbe says, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Published on: Jan 15, 2014