Dazzling Modern Restaurant and Bar

Went here last night looking for some good asian food. Mistake. Obviously the cook doesn’t know what he/​she is doing. The mango beef was horrible. The beef was soggy, the sauce was a mix between sweet and gross. I ate maybe three bites. Oh, on top of that, I got charged two dollars for steamed rice… it was not good rice either. It was the cheap kind. Had a avocado salad that started off pretty good, but the closer i got to the bottom of the bowl, the worse it tasted. They poured some type of sugar water in there. Whomever is cooking back there does not know how to mix different tastes, sweets and sours, etc. This place is amateur hour.

love the atmosphere, maybe because i was upstairs and there was live music. Had the Pad thai. loved it.

I’ve been to Dazzling a few times, but each time I’m becoming less and less enamoured with it.
There are a few dishes which are really good, such as the salted pepper calamari and the shrimp dumplings. Two dishes that are easy to get wrong, and they do them well. I’m also a fan of the panang pad thai — just the right amount of curry to give a good twist to an old favourite — I order it most times I go.
The waitstaff leave a little to be desired though. The friendliest and most helpful person there was the girl standing outside on the street. Once you get inside, there wasn’t a lot of love for the customers. My wine took forever to come, even my appetiser came first. I ordered my pad thai without egg due to an allergy, and only realised after eating most of it that they’d gotten the order wrong (and clearly hadn’t mixed the pad thai very well if all the egg was at the bottom of the plate). Not a happy camper.
But the worst thing I found? The wine list included a bottle of «Australian sparkling wine» called Pink Passion Pop. Back in Australia, this is absolutely the worst sparkling wine you can buy, and is actually targeted at teenage girls who just want something sweet to get them drunk. You can buy it in the bottle stores back in Australia for less than C$ 5, which goes to show you the quality. The price on Dazzling’s menu? C$ 45. Plus tax. An obscene markup on a disgusting wine that should never be on any wine list of a restaurant trying to be classier than KFC. And it’s on this basis alone that I will not be going back, and I dropped the rating to 2 (based on everything else I would have given a 3). And to be perfectly honest, with the number of Aussie ex-​pats living in Toronto, I’m surprised this hasn’t come up before now.

This is the restaurant equivalent of the emperor has no clothes. Putting on a good show without the goods to back it up, does not make you a good restaurant. The food looks flavorful but the colorful dishes are just pretty decoration for the tasteless soul beneath it. If it were just the food alone, I would have given this place 3 stars, but the staff also lacks passion.
We ordered the green dragon roll and the salt and pepper shrimp. The roll was tasteless and while I normally don’t use soy sauce on my sushi, I had to just to give it some flavor. Usually rolls with sauces are flavorful enough on their own, but not in this case… (hint to the sushi chef: usually sushi rice is seasoned).
The salt and pepper shrimp was overly oily and oddly also flavorless unless you got a piece that had a lot off the peppers on it. it’s as if they used zero seasoning on the shrimp or the batter and only seasoned the pepper sauce.
As for the service, our waitress acted like she had better things to do than be at work and was just kind of going through the motions of being a waitress without actually putting any effort into her job. I spilled my drink because of our overly cluttered table. Not only did she not make any effort to clean it up or offer me another drink, she sent over a younger, more enthusiastic, nicer waitress to deal with it. If it wasn’t for the other waitress, I would give this place one star.

Pretty cool ambiance. The food was very good. I had the pad thai and others ordered the bento box /​red curry chicken. Price was fair. I recommend.

Dazzling? Anything but. Visit Dazzling if you want tasteless, medicore food served at a snail’s pace.
The restaurant was nearly empty and we ordered just three items. Somehow, this order took 45 minutes to fill.
The Salmon Rose was tiny and expensive, which would be find if it wasn’t totally bland — it was literally devoid of flavor.
I ordered a noodle dish and requested no mushrooms. They sent my dish out with Chinese mushrooms. When I complained, they insisted Chinese mushrooms were not mushrooms.
My partner ordered salmon with vegetables. The salmon was good but tiny, and the rice was sent on a separate plate, which we thought was very weird. The mixed vegetables were quite plain. They were only seasoned with a bit of black pepper. Worst of all, they came to the table cold.

I came here looking for something in the area. My meal was good but not a place that I will be returning to any time soon.
I had the tuna tartar– not bad. It had your typical spicy mayo dressing which was not exciting. The chicken thai curry was oily and more spicy than flavorful.
I am sure there are other better places in the area.

Searching for an Asain restaurant that isn’t Manchu Wok or Thai express in Financial District for lunch, turned up this gem.
My boyfriend and I came for lunch yesterday and were pleasantly surprised at our «lunch on a whim, hope this place isn’t crap» choice.
Arrived at 1:30 and we were the opnly ones in there. I’m sure if we went at 12 or 12:30 it would have been busier.
We ordered the lunch special. I had the vegatable spring rolls and Kung pao chicken and rice with salad. My boyfriend ordered the miso soup and some shrimp beef rice thingy and salad. Our bill came to $ 22 which was great, considering we had a hot, sit down lunch, our portions were massive (we both had to bring the rest with us) and the food was brought over to us really quick (from the minute we came in to the minute we left, it took 45 minutes). Our waiter was super nice and filled our glasses with water before we even had a chance to ask. Can’t wait to come back for dinner and experience the bar!

EXCELLENT!
the service was terrific, waiters were all very very friendly
food, AMAZING my bf and I got pad thai (they have 4 types! i got curry, he got tomato base) they also give u more shrimp in the house pad thai than most places will!
inside is BEAUTIFUL!
over all, pretty much a perfect experience

Think of Spring Rolls. Now think of a better version of Spring Rolls and just like that, poof, Dazzling! Dazzling is a modern Asian Fusion restaurant. They have cuisine from every Asian country under the sun. Thai, Viet, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, some Malay.
My gf and I came in after a Salsa class. We sure worked up an appetite. They had a prix fixe deal that I found interesting. Appetizer, entrée, dessert for 23 bucks. The selection was adequate.
Choices ranged from a Japanese sushi entrée to Thai noodles. We chose the spring rolls to start, seafood fried rice and Crème brûlée to finish. We also ordered a sushi roll on the side. I forgot the name of it, but instead of the regular nori seaweed, it had a red rice flour wrapping. Inside, scallop, tuna and some veg. My gf and I thought this roll was one of the best sushi rolls we had ever experienced. The flavors were different but not too much to be unfamiliar. The wrapping gave it more of a fresh spring roll feel rather than a sushi roll, just delicious. The portion was very small, 4 pieces for around 11 bucks but it’s really good.
The spring rolls we ordered were also very good. In comparison to the countless spring rolls I’ve eaten before, these were much better. The filling was vegetarian, but it came out fresh out of the fryer, hot and crispy.
The seafood fried rice was a mound of delicious seafood flavour. Shrimp, squid, scallop, and a few mussels, it was all there. Typical fried rice but enough to feed 2.
Last, the Crème brûlée was a wreck. The worst I’ve eaten. The consistency was way off. Past the sugar crust was a flan like pudding which was scrambled in texture. Not smooth, silky and creamy as every dessert called a Crème brûlée ought to be. My gf is a Crème brûlée monster, she was ultra disappointed and upset with terrible ending to a decent meal.
The service is good, menu is well selected and the options are not limiting. The food on the most part was good. The prices are a bit more expensive, but expected for the area and location. Dessert killed our 4 star visit to a 3.

I came in here for dinner with a group of around 6 and the only reason we chose Dazzling was because we already had a pricey night planned and were looking for a nearby cheap restaurant and Dazzling ended up being that option. By cheap I mean it’s probably the cheapest food you can get in this block. It’s a far cry from some of it’s neighbours and is not as trendy as it wants to be.
It was more or less empty when we walked in, nothing special going on inside of it, service was friendly and quick, there is nothing to note that makes Dazzling stand out but their food is good enough and they have a good sized menu.
I would recommend Dazzling if you want decent food at a reasonable pricce, but not if you want a fancy night out on King Street.

The only reason this place is still open is because of its location. I ended up here because I had just seen a show with a friend and he really wanted something Asian, and it was raining so we didn’t want to walk around.
We had:
— Singapore style noodles — vermecelli noodles in a curry sauce with vegetables, chicken, and shrimp. The chicken was artificial-​tasting, rubbery and weird and the vegetables were lacking.
— Fried rice — okay, but you can get better fried rice in Chinatown
— Crème brule — the flavour was nice but it was all water-​y in texture and way too goopy.
Service was pretty good but could not make up for the sub-​par food.

Had a nice dinner here with my mom while she was visiting Toronto. We visited quite a few restaurants so there are a few more reviews to come :)
We checked out their $ 25 three-​course dinner menu. We both chose the spring roll appetizer, while my mom chose a chicken/​shrimp low mein dish as an entrée and I had the General Tao chicken dish. For dessert we both had the crème brûlée. Portion sizes were decent and the presentation was nice.
Overall, the food was okay and the meal was enjoyable and the $ 25 price tag was reasonable for what we got. However, the service was a little slow, but to be fair it was a busy Thursday night.
As for the ambiance, the restaurant was quite busy and a bit loud, but it was Thursday night and rather late for dinner. They had a private event on the rootop patio so unfortunately, we were not able to sit out there. Instead, we were seated at a small table near the sidewalk patio, which evnethough it wasn’t outside, it was quite nice.

Super Suhsi, absolute Topqualitaet.

The food is pretty good, although on the pricier side. I’ve had their tuna and salmon sushi and their fried rice; their both staples that I would get again and again.
I will say that I’m more often here for their Thursday night party, Sake & Soul. It’s a great night to hear some live R&B and then dance the night away upstairs to some good DJs. The upstairs space is kinda small, but on a regular night, it can be a great party.

If you’re in the mood for some good unconventional asian-​style food in downtown Toronto but don’t want to blow money as if you were celebrating your selection into the Raptors’ squad (we all know they could use some fresh hands and legs), then Dazzling Modern Restaurant/​Bar is a good place to check out.
The FOOD!:
— good variety
— decent list of wines /​other drinks
— REALLY good quantity (and I speak as a semi-​perennially hungry, 23-​year old guy)
— We had the chicken spring rolls, Thai Panang Noodles & Thai Panang Curry == I loved the taste for the price I paid. I highly recommend either the Thai Panang Noodles or the curry.
— Food rating: ⁵⁄₅
And the PRICE:
— pretty economic
— For one main entre, one appetizer and one drink (I got the sake), you’re looking at about $ 25-​$ 30. For a comfortable downtown location, that’s pretty good.
— Price rating: ⁵⁄₅
Décor:
— Comfortable seating; spacious enough
— moderately sized place, so it’s good to call before you go
— Good décor (we went at night, the lighting sets a good ambience)
— They have some flat-​screens as well with a bar
— Décor rating: ⁵⁄₅ in general. But since it won’t accommodate larger groups, I’ll dock a star for that == ⁴⁄₅.
Service:
— very polite
— took time to explain some dishes I wasn’t too sure about
— prompt service to other requests even when it got pretty busy and almost all tables were occupied
— Service rating: ⁵⁄₅
Other:
— they have some space on the 2^nd floor as well; there was a performance on the day we went, so didn’t get a chance to check it out.
— So for people who are looking to throw a party, this could be an option.
Why to go there:
— Not very expensive; good food for the price
— Good décor, good service
— Not very loud, but not very quiet either — pleasantly upbeat
— May get a seat right next to the window facing King St. I’m a fan of enjoying the city’s view at night.
— Might be a good place to go with a friend or your significant other
— For a first date = aah, that’s a tough one… I think you would want to check it out yourself before you put your eggs in this basket.
Why not to go there:
— Moderately sized = may not be ideal for large groups
All in all, if you’re looking for a place to go get some good food and enjoy it in an upbeat ambience with good service, this is a good choice. Like I said, it’s moderately sized, so call ahead.

How come I never reviewed this place?
I usually come here with Fabio N. for Dinner, and I really like the 3-​course japanese dinner. The price is right and I’m a fan of their appetizers. I could have ONLY appetizers, actually.
The service is very good and I think the place is beautiful too. For a reasonable price I eat a lot, have a good time, so I keep coming back.

Ugh, unimpressed. You’d think, right, that if a place displays rows of flavored vodkas impressively lit up behind the bar that you’d be able to order a drink made with one of them? Yeah, not here. We also only got one menu to share (it certainly wasn’t busy – they had plenty when I went to get more from the hostess station!) and had to explicitly ask for chopsticks and teacups. The place certainly is pretty, but I doubt I’ll return.

I went here for dinner with a group of 11. The table we sat at was too small (technically fit everyone but was crammed!) even though we made reservations. When we enquired about the upstairs we were told it was a private room.
Our service was ok, but we had to ask a few times to get the waiter to take drink orders.
The food was exactly what another reviewer said — similar to Spring Rolls (which isn’t anything fabulous).
Overall, I would say it’s an ok place but I will probably not return.

Not quite sure what all the Unilocal-​hype is over this place. It’s certainly adequate, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get back here.
Dazzling modern restaurant (what a douchy name!) serves up Toronto’s most overdone cuisine: «Asian Fusion». The menu manages to offer Thai, Chinese and Japenese, plus a sushi bar at the back.
The food was quite good! I had a thai green curry with chicken ($ 14), It was served with coconut sticky rice. The portion was decent and the curry was rich. The rice was delicious; it wasn’t quite as «sticky» as when you get it served in a bamboo basket, but the coconut flavour more than made up for that.
My dinner date had some kind of spicy lemongrass chicken ($ 12) which also got 2 thumbs up.
Décor is nice, staff were attentive, but overall I just felt like this place was trying a bit too hard to be cool.

OMG… this place is AWESOME!!!
Two days of business in Toronto… my job, to pick the restaurants for dinner (among the real work ;).
Unilocal Toronto to the rescue… We wanted to go into the entertainment district and get away from Markham our last night. I was laughing when I pulled up restaurants choices, Chinese, Dim Sum, Thai, Asian, Asian Fusion, Japanese, Sushi, Italian/​Asian Fusion??? … did I mention Asian? About 7 or 8 times ;p
Anyway, this place intrigued me with all the fab reviews and interesting menu.
They have an ultra modern groovy décor which makes me feel trendier than I am. We were greeted by a poor gal that had to wear a parka out front in the gale force winds of June? We actually walked right by her (the parka threw us off ;)
Anyway, the staff was friendly and attentive, we never had to search them out. The food AMAZING! There were enough options to make any taste happy. Between the 4 of us: 3 appetizers, 2 sushi entrees, 1 stir fry, 1 pad Thai, 2 bottles of wine $ 151… very cool, Parking on King Street (once we figured out HOW to use the meter) $ 10. The experience of singing happy birthday to a colleague, laughing and bonding with work friends I never see (because we live in different cities)… PRICELESS! … For every thing else, there’s credit cards.
Thanks Dazzling modern restaurant + bar for providing us a great atmosphere for fun.
Thanks Toronto Unilocalers for your reviews… it made my job easy to find some very cool places!

Also, um das gleich mal klar zu stellen: Ich liebe Toronto.
Aber trotzdem wäre es mir lieber, wenn das Dazzling modern restaurant + bar nicht in Toronto sondern mehr in der Gegend, in der ich mich normaler Weise aufhalte, angesiedelt wäre.
Das Restaurant habe ich eigentlich nur durch Zufall gefunden. Mit Freunden bin ich durch Toronto geschlendert und wir haben langsam angefangen uns nach etwas passendem zum Abendessen umzusehen. In einer Gegend, in der ein Italiener neben dem nächsten steht, hat uns der schicke Asiate sofort neugierig gemacht.
Wir haben Fisch probiert und zwei verschiedene Curries, davon gibt es vier auf der Karte: Mild, mittel, scharf und mit Kokosmilch. Eigentlich wollten wir mild und scharf bestellen, der Kellner hat uns dann aber auf mild und mittel heruntergehandelt und das war auch gut so! Selbst relativ schärferesistente Europäer können auch vom mittelscharfen Curry in rauschähnliche Zustände versetzt werden: D
Geschmeckt hat das Essen jedenfalls klasse und frisch und reichlich war es auch. Eigentlich hätte ich gern noch eine Nachspeise gegessen, aber dafür war kein Platz mehr.
Der Service war schnell und freundlich, die Musik war angenehm und nicht zu laut und die Amosphäre war auch sehr angenehm. Super ist, dass die Glasfront an Sommerabenden offen bleibt und man an den vorderen Tischen zwar unterdacht aber trotzdem direkt an der frischen Luft sitzt.