Ordering hot and sour soup is always a bit of a gamble. I’ve had brown hot and sour soup, red hot and sour soup, hot and sour soup with pork or with shrimp, some as viscous as honey. Often too sweet, or too sour, or not hot enough—it seems so rare to find the perfect bowl of hot and sour soup. Spadina Gardens, which is nowhere near Spadina, has been consistently serving perfect bowls of hot and sour soup for the past twenty six years.
Spadina Gardens is a family run restaurant specializing in Szechuan, Hunan, and Peking cuisine. But, don’t come in expecting disposable tablecloths and mystery meat. This hidden gem isn’t a diamond in the rough, but a brilliant diamond without any rough edges (well– sometimes it takes forever to get a bill). For prices comparable to those in Spadina enjoy, perhaps, the city’s best hot and sour soup in an elegant environment. Spadina Gardens is gracefully decorated with dark wood furniture, Chinese lantern inspired lighting, and selective splashes of red.
Not only is the ambience great, but the service is typically spot on. Servers are friendly, willing to answer your questions, and even chat a bit. Orders come quickly, although some times plates aren’t timed well leading to that all too familiar exchange of “o, please start, you can’t let it get cold”. “O, no I couldn’t, not with you drooling like that while I eat, it’s really unappetizing”.
The menu is large with over 200 different dishes. So far I haven’t tried one I didn’t like. Dishes of note are their fantastic general tso, which comes in both chicken ($10.95) and prawn ($13.95) manifestations. Their bean curd in black bean sauce ($8.95) is sure to fly with any vegetarian and most meat eaters will have to acknowledge that it’s pretty freakin’ delicious. Stepping away from the deep fried, the stir-fried chili squid ($11.50) was well cooked to perfection, in a spicy chili, green onion, and green pepper sauce.
In short: go here. Eat & enjoy, but don’t expect an epiphany catalyzing fortune cookie.
SERVICE 4/5
AMBIANCE 4/5
PRESENTATION 3/5
TASTE 4/5
PRICE $$
HOURS Monday to Thursday 11:30am – 9:30pm. Friday 11:30am-10:30pm. Saturday 12pm-10:30pm. Sunday 4pm-9:30pm.
LOCATION, LOCATION 116 Dundas Street West
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