The Queen Mother Cafe

Dear Readers, this week has been something of an education in the different eating experiences that are possible here in Toronto. First up was an old favourite, the Queen Mother Café at 208 Queen Street West. it’s always full, bustling, and serves comfort food with a distinctly Thai/Laotian twist, for reasons that we’ll see below. The place opened in 1978, in just one of the three buildings that it now occupies, but had soon taken over numbers 206, 208 and 210.

The Queen Mother Café’s name is a play on the idea of ‘the Mother of Queen Street West’, but if you look behind the bar there is a collection of photos of the Queen Mother. And indeed the place has hosted not only multiple generations of diners, but some of the original founders are still involved in the restaurant. It has a feeling of confidence, of somewhere that has been doing what it does for years, and that in turn brings a sense of comfort and ‘being at home’.

In 1980, members of a Laotian/Thai family joined the kitchen staff and introduced such dishes as Pad Thai (pretty much unknown in Toronto in the 1980s), which are on the menu to this day. Chef Noy, the current chef, is a member of that original family. However, there’s also pasta and burgers, and a daily menu of cakes, so there’s something for everybody.

The building that houses the Queen Mother Café dates back to 1850, and it’s been everything from a wagon repair shop to a bonnet makers, to a variety of bakeries and restaurants. In the entry hall there’s a display of artefacts that have been discovered during the repeated renovations and restorations of the building.

Display Cabinet (Photo fromhttps://www.queenmothercafe.ca/building-history/

Last night, though, we decided to explore somewhere different. Carisma is an Italian restaurant close to the Financial District, and it’s every bit as glitzy as the Queen Mother Café is comforting. However, it was still very welcoming – we’d asked for ‘a quiet table’ (a very big ask in this town, believe me), and so we were given a semi-circular table at the back of the restaurant with a great view of all the bankers and sales people in full flight as they tried to impress their clients. The food was great (the creme brulee in particular), and the banquettes were teal-coloured, and the chandeliers looked like they’d been made from mother-of-pearl. It was loud, but at least there wasn’t thumping background music as well.

We were a bit surprised when a couple walked in with a samoyed dog – I wasn’t aware that Toronto had become ‘dog friendly’ to that extent. I was even more surprised when the woman in the couple sat at the table with the huge white fluffy dog in her arms like a giant baby. Maybe they were celebrities, or locals? I have no problem with well-behaved dogs in a restaurant, but  I hadn’t realised how far the trend had gone. Still, the dog was a lot quieter than some of the bankers, so in theory we need more dogs I think.

Carisma restaurant (Photo from https://www.carismarestaurant.com/)

So, that’s two restaurants in Toronto that couldn’t be more different. Let’s see where else we get to over the next few days.