Linny's: What's the deal
Ossington is an area that's become synonymous with the trendy wine bars, small-plate restaurants and of-the-moment eateries that line its avenue. However, Linny's — a deli-inspired steakhouse and a relatively new Toronto restaurant on the strip — isn't overly concerned with ticking off the hipster checklist. There's nary a chalkboard or Edison lightbulb in sight. Yet, despite its traditional velvet booths and white tablecloths, it manages to feel like one of the freshest restaurants on the scene today.
You could easily miss the tiny sign at 176 Ossington Avenue, but once inside, there's no mistaking Linny's unique brand of old-school charm. The hostess station, framed by handwritten recipes hanging on the wall, will be your first port of call, but linger a while before heading to your seat.
Daniel Neuhaus
Bartenders decked out in crisp white shirts and bow ties buzz industriously around the stunning 1950s-style bar, adding to the general sense that you've just stepped into a Wes Anderson movie.
Daniel Neuhaus
The dining room is a dark and moody den that will make you feel like ordering a martini, even if you've never touched gin in your life. There's no bad seat, but I have a great window spot beside the kitchen, which offers a unique vantage point into the inner workings at Linny's. Once settled in, servers arrive to take my drink order and whisk the table through the menu.
Daniel Neuhaus
What's on the menu
Named after David Schwartz's late mother, Linda, Linny's takes inspiration from the chef's childhood and personal heritage. Though the dining room's mid-century modern touches feel grand, the concept is in many ways an ode to Schwartz's fond recollections of family meals around the kitchen table.
Unlike his previous establishments, MIMI Chinese and Sunnys Chinese, Michelin Guide recommended spots that explore regional Chinese cuisine, Linny's combines the classic steakhouse cuts with the comfort of a Jewish delicatessen.
Daniel Neuhaus
Dinner starts with challah service, a delightful change-up from the typical dinner rolls to kick off a steakhouse meal. It's served with a blueberry cream cheese and house pickles, which we dip into heartily, along with other first-course grazing delights like Linny's smoky, hand-sliced pastrami, and chicken liver mousse with cured eggs and fried onions.
It just wouldn't be a steakhouse without a caesar salad, but Linny's keeps things fresh with the addition of crispy chicken skin and caraway, a seed that's central to European cooking. For the main event, we opt for a Speckle Park Farm hanger steak, smothered in garlic and cooked perfectly. All of Linny's steaks are seared in an overfired broiler and brushed with pastrami tallow butter, and it results in crispy charcoaled edges, a beautifully pink interior, and plenty of bite to our medium rare-cooked meat.
If you have any room left for dessert, Babka is an excellent choice. The sweet, braided bread is filled with chocolate and topped with a giant dollop of vanilla ice cream that will have you rolling out of the restaurant.
Daniel Neuhaus
What to drink
Purists will enjoy the selection of classic, spirit-forward cocktails, from vespers to sidecars. Frank’s Gibson, poured tableside, is a modern take on the traditional martini cocktail, which usually favours a pickled onion, but at Linny's adds horseradish to the mix.
By no means does the cocktail menu play it safe. The B.M.P., or the Borsht Milk Punch, adds aquavit, vodka and earl grey tea to a beetroot base for an earthy and vivacious red cocktail that head bartender Blaise Couturier created to help rid Schwartz of his bad soup memories.
Daniel Neuhaus
With Eastern Europe inspiring the rest of the menu, it stands to reason that flavours like dill should feature prominently. The Dilly Dally is a sour mocktail which blends pickle brine with cucumber juice before topping with a vegan foam.
Of course, no steakhouse would be complete without a wine program. Linny's has a deep cellar, with beefy wine from Spain and Italy all the way through to juicy, local expressions from Niagara. Or, let your servers take the wheel with expert recommendations, so you can let your evening mature like a fine wine.
Dinner and drinks for two: around $250 before tax and tip.
