Spice Route: A Great Place to Spice Up an Evening

February 18, 2009

Spice Route

The creators of the trendy Tattoo Rock Parlour, Nick di Donato (of Rosewater Supper Club) and Charles Khabouth (of Ultra Supper Club) have reunited to build yet another jazzy restaurant to nourish the nightlife of chic Torontonians on King Street West. Spice Route unites the aroma, spice and palette of Asian cuisine with the mystery, magic and charm of Asian culture.

What is it that sets Spice Route apart from all the other Asian restaurants in Toronto and draws the Hollywood crowd? Phenomenal décor, great lighting (everyone looks more glamorous at Spice Route), handrolled and selected music, a first rate cocktails bar and well above average food. Spice Route manages to cover all the bases.

Spice Route

The polite hostesses checked in our coats in an organized and welcoming manner. Once inside, the room was vibrant. The space is enormous with a gorgeous bar in the center, dining tables on the sides, and lounge chairs and tables on the outskirts. On entering one notices an entire wall with multiple square niches in it; each niche held a candle, and illuminated the darkness so everything glowed in gold. The other lights complemented the candle light, and created a comfortable, warm and yet posh atmosphere.

In the building of this exquisite room, an entire wall was knocked down and replaced with glass. The art on the remaining walls is inspired by Asia and appears like backlit pictures giving off warm light or glowing statues. Through the glass wall the chic outdoor seating arrangement can be seen. Some tables remained under star light, while the others were under wooden pergolas. The lighting here flooded spots on the floor, maintaining the candle lit atmosphere of the inside area. Spice Route also offers a glamorous private dining area and a private lounge room, decorated in plush fabrics and illuminated with tastefully placed lights.

My friends and I had arranged for a long lounge style table for our party of thirty. Spice Route was easily able to handle such a large group and still leave us comfortably seated at a single such table. Our waitress served us in an orderly fashion; we did not have to worry about asking for separate checks or leaving credit cards to run tabs. Working alone, she brought our drinks and meals on time, and gave us our designated checks without any hassle. Her smooth performance was especially remarkable as most of us got up and drifted over to the bar towards the end of the meal. There were enough bar tenders to serve all the guests so we never had to struggle or shout to order drinks.

The clientele at Spice Route crosses a wide age gamut but is uniformly chic. Lots of glitz and glam, but tasteful rather than flamboyant. Good manners were on display throughout the restaurants. In brief, the place is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the service is courteous, all without even a hint of pretention or ostentation.

And what of the food? Some designer places distract their guests with their décor and fine crockery only to serve them something that tastes like plastic. At Spice Route, not only is the food here creatively presented, but it is delicious (I can not stop thinking about the dessert menu!). One notices the details and care that went in to both conceiving the dishes and their actual preparation. making the food. Spice Route is well managed, welcoming and the ideal spot for a pleasurable evening.

You might run into your favorite actor or actress is he or she is in town for either a shoot or the film festival. While not absolutely necessary (Spice Route is huge), on a weekend evening for peace of mind, book ahead.

Spice Route
499 King Street West
Tel. 416 849 1808

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