Bistro Camina
2750 Danforth Ave. (near Main St.)
Toronto, ON, M4C 1L7
TEL: 416-698-0283

One sunny Sunday afternoon, my family and I decided to drop by a restaurant that I had known about, but had completely forgotten about, for the longest time.

More than a year ago, my dad found an article in the Japanese newspaper, Nikka Times, about a new Japanese-French fusion styled restaurant opening up on the Danforth. Mildly interested, I took note of it but never followed up on whether it ever opened or for that matter, where it would open.

Throughout the year the name Camino, Camina, or whatever, came up as I had always recommended it whenever we were interested in trying a new restaurant out.

Alas, fast forward to today, and while I had initially completely forgotten about this restaurant, my brother reminded me about it. And we were definitely glad he did.

Making the latest possible reservation for the lunch crowd, at 2:30pm (they close at 3pm for lunch service on Sundays), we made it right on time. The restaurant, with a non-descript, and rather boring exterior, is located in what you may think would be the last place you would find a nice, Japanese restaurant.

Located far east on the Danforth, in the Danforth Village, you would hardly think this is a Japanese restaurant from the outside. With no indication of the word “Japanese,” and with the interior looking a little Italian, with its green and red décor, we had to wonder what to expect from a place like this.

The waitress came to our table and kindly asked if all of us spoke/read Japanese. Bringing out the lunch menu, she was quick and attentive to each of our needs.

What we ordered:
Soup of the Day:
Shrimp-based soup with sweet and spicy chili

Dessert of the Day:
Creme caramel with fruit accompaniment

$8.50: 1 Beef stew lunch set – comes with soup of the day, salad, and rice/bread.
$11.00: 1 Salmon Steak with dill butter sauce lunch – comes with soup of the day, salad, potatoes, and rice.
$16.00: 1 Salmon steak with lemon butter sauce lunch set – comes with soup of the day, salad, potatoes, rice, dessert of the day, and tea/coffee.
$16.00: 1 Pork cutlet set – Using only the leanest cuts of pork – comes with soup of the day, salad, potatoes, rice, dessert of the day, and tea/coffee.
$15.00: 1 Beef curry set – comes with soup of the day, salad, potatoes, dessert of the day, and tea/coffee.
$2.00: 1 regular bottomless coffee.

Choice of salad dressing: oil & vinegar, Japanese soy sauce-based dressing, or orange cream dressing.

Once the food had been ordered, it wasn’t long before the dishes came rolling out.

The soup, with its subtle yet flavourful shrimp-base was ever so good with just the right amount of kick of spiciness. With sliced lettuce, carrots, celery and mini shrimps, it was refreshing. It was a little too much on the sweet side, but apart from this, it was great.

The main dishes came shortly thereafter. With our varied order, it was quite surprising to see all of our dishes come out all at once this quickly.

At first glance, each of our plates were so beautifully presented with smart, elegant, and pure white tableware, it just looked right.

The salmon steak was done just right: still retaining the moisture on the inside, full of flavour on the outside, and just the right amount of dill butter sauce so as not to overwhelm you with its taste.

The potatoes? Oh they’re just great as well. Small – but not too small – bite-sized portions were crispy on the outside, and soft and moist on the inside.

The salad? Another great taste. The orange cream dressing was the one to get with its mandarin-like orange flavour, and not too creamy mixture, I loved this one a lot. This made all the difference in making a simple garden salad taste so much more elegant.

The rice? It’s plain, white, Japanese rice, elegantly presented in a cylindrical form with a single (sesame?) seed on top.

The pork cutlet was so tender with its exterior so crispy. While I mainly prefer my cutlets to be thick and juicy, this was still a great alternative.

The beef curry dish was unique, and probably one of the most unusual tasting curries that I have tasted in a while. Still retaining that signature Japanese curry flavour, it had a slight skew in added spices yielding a dish that is a Bsitro Camino original. Not a bad change nonetheless.

The beef stew was magically flavourful too. Much like a hayashi rice based sauce, this stew was chalk full with chunks of soft beef briskets. It was so hot when it first came out that I actually burned the roof of my mouth a little.

I never actually tried the salmon steak with lemon-butter sauce, but I was told that was one of the best dishes on the table with its non over-bearing flavour and moist cut.

And finally, the creme caramel dessert was a beautiful way to end off your dinner. With rabbit-shaped kiwi slices to accompany strawberry and pineapple slices, the dense creme caramel had just the right amount of caramel flavouring in it. The non-peaking whipped cream was a little sad, but otherwise served its purpose.

As a bonus, even the coffee at the end of the meal was so smooth, creamy, and not so bitter. We asked what bean this was and the waitress responded, a blend of Columbia beans.

Overall perception:
At first glance from the decor, I really didn’t know what to expect from this place. But just by looking at the menu, it was evident that there were a myriad of choices, including a fine selection of wine in its separate wine menu. The specials of the day were written on the chalk board next to our table, and the waitress was knowledgeable, very attentive (coming to refill my glass of water as soon as I had finished it), and always friendly.

I have to say, the flavouring of each of our dishes more than likely had a large Japanese influence to them, making them so delicious and matching our palettes well. With this, I would say that even though there are French classics like coque-au-vin, and Italian favourites like veal milanese, these are more likely to be catered to the Japanese palette.

I will definitely come back for another meal, whether it be for lunch or dinner. The lunch prices were a bargain for what you get, and the dinner prices didn’t stray by much more.

The presentation with its clean, white, uniquely-shaped dishes was pleasant to look at, as it showcased the food well.

The service was great – although we were the only table in the restaurant at that time.

Rating: 4.5 / 5
Highly Recommended; expect French styled cuisine catered to the Japanese palette.