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Ryan Storm
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Paralía

  • September 14, 2014
  • 2 minute read
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Paralia is at Ashbridges Bay in east Toronto, on the Lakeshore, overlooking Lake Ontario. If the weather is nice, they have a GREAT patio, outfitted with heaters, to take the chill of the lake breeze away. I loved this restaurant, and not just because I got to be there with my great-grandfather this summer, which is a treat in itself, but the service, food and the atmosphere was uniquely fun and delicious. You cannot imagine how large this Mediterranean restaurant is – it’s bright, with the blue colour in their decor popping against their stark white interior. The ceiling is made up of twigs, which is very cool.

Not everything is organic, unfortunately, but a lot is, which is great, and you can tell by reading the menu that they do care about ingredients – and they don’t even have ketchup -just housemade tomato sauce! My great-grandfather, who you may know from other posts on my blog, is more discerning than I am (he has 101 years of practice eating dwarfing my 14 years!), but we have very different criteria to have it be a good dinner! So, if we both really like a meal, that means you probably will too!

Paralia was great dealing with allergies, and although the focus seems to be on meat and fish, my mother and sister were MORE than happy with their many vegetable dishes including lots of beans, which means there was plant-based protein! Their feta cheese is truly authentic, and is a blend of sheep and goat milk, which gives a honed edge to its flavour.

I do suggest that you share dishes, even just a bunch of appetizers and sides would make for a great and very filling meal, as their portions are very large. Their menu does change with what is in season and fresh, so don’t expect for them to have everything all year-round – this is a good thing!

It’s worth the trip to Paralia and if you are planning on dining with a large group or having a party, this spot can definitely accommodate you and make everyone happy!

Enjoy my pictures below!

 

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If he’s happy, everyone’s happy. He doesn’t eat meat for the most part, but did enjoy the organic roasted chicken.
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Our server was absolutely awesmazing, both helpful and funny. She answered all of my questions, and I usually have many, and if she didn’t know, she found out the answer without hesitation.
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I know it’s hard to see but this is my sister with my great-grandfather, but I wanted to show off their big windows, making this restaurant very bright. Lake Ontario is just past those trees you can see.
photo 4 (2)
Outside Paralia at Ashbridges Bay, it’s a beautiful restaurant with a heated patio and a quite nice view of the beach and Lake Ontario.
photo 3 (2)
Whitefish – the whole thing. It was simple and delicious.
photo 2 (2)
Roasted beets and arugula with a goat/sheep feta cheese (it normally comes with pistachios, which we didn’t have since my sister has a severe nut allergy).
photo 5 (1)
This is my 101 year old great-grandfather, and he’s REALLY great. He ordered the lamb chops, which were pretty huge. He was on his own with this dish, and ate almost all of it, and then took the rest home for the next day. When I spoke to him the next day, he was still raving about how good the lamb chops were and the entire dinner was with us. That made me very happy.
photo 4 (1)
Paralia is a beautiful place – and it’s HUGE!
photo 3 (1)
This is their meatball appetizer – warning! size is as large as it does appear in the photograph!
photo 1 (1)
My parents love when restaurants have organic and biodynamic wines on the menu – and Paralia does!
photo 2 (1)
These dumplings are very rich – if you don’t eat dairy, do not try these!
photo 5
Organic whole wheat pita – served warm
photo 4
This picture barely does this salad justice! It’s a big pile of tomato, onion and cucumber with a little olive tapenade, fresh herbs and great oilve oil with a huge slab of sesame crusted sheep and goat milk feta! GET THIS! I’m not sure whose hand this is eagerly trying to snag some, but it’s likely my little brother’s, he does not like waiting for me to take pictures of the food before eating it!
photo 3
If you eat fish, this is a place to eat it fresh. You can go up and choose your fish – my great-grandfather explained that this is how they all used to do it when he was younger. He was lucky to grow up eating organic since they didn’t have pesticides and GMOs back then, and had to eat locally and fresher because transportation and technology hadn’t developed yet.
photo 2
Look how comfortable this banquette looks! With a pond! (no swimming allowed!)
photo 1
My #awesmazing great-grandfather with my mom going to our table.
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ABOUT ME!
I started reviewing food on my blog at 8 years old. Now I have applied my passion for real food to public speaking, product demos, and convincing people to eat more organic hummus!
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Part of Taste Is Feeling Good About What You Eat

I started reviewing food on my blog at 8 years old. Now I have applied my passion for real food to public speaking, product demos, and convincing people to eat more organic hummus!
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