Parts & Labour – Summerlicious

Parts & Labour (@partsnlabour) has been on my radar for quite some time now. And when I found out that they had participated in Summerlicious (@liciousTO) this year- I was quite excited! Parts & Labour – located in the far west end of downtown Toronto, in Parkdale, first opened back in 2010 and is overseen by Chef Matthew Matheso (@mattydeathbro). 

So on a Wednesday night, I managed to drag some foodies: Mary (Eat, Drink, and Be Mary) , Vickie  (kiki’s B.F.F) + Ben & Andrew (@_aneb) – to finally check this place out!

After a very long street car ride… Mary & I finally arrived at the resto!

Parts & Labour is a long, narrow – workshop themed restaurant, communal tables all across the right side of the restaurant. Loving the lights hovering the bar …

Open Kitchen Concept at the back of the resto

Appetizer:

Alaskan salmon crudo

• pickled carrot, black garlic oil, nasturtium
• This was the perfect appetizer! Salmon was fresh & subtly marinated
• Very tasty & light for a starter – loved the flavour & presentation!
• It was easy to eat – Salmon was cut up into bite sized pieces – Mary & I literally fell in love with this dish (lol)

Entrees:

Cornish hen

• kale, carrots, beech mushroom, radish, demi glacé
• This was Mary’s & Vickie’s entree. I had a bit of Mary’s cornish hen and thought it was very tender and juicy. However, the beech mushrooms for her entree were under cooked..
• For Vickie’s entree, she had to send it back to the kitchen because she found hers extremely dry (approx 20 minutes wait)

Tagliatelle

• chili, garlic, mint, pistachio, pecorino (vegetarian)
• Andrew’s entree looks very simple & ordinary – but this dish instilled layers of different flavours!

Flat iron steak

• fries, salsa verde
• Ben & I ordered the flat iron steak. I think they switched up our entrees because I ended up having his rare flat iron & he had my medium rare (lol)
• Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the rare flat iron steak – it was wonderfully pink.
• The fries – were oh so delicious! very tasty – served piping hot. Extremely addicting!

Dessert:

Lemon bar

• vanilla oil, blueberry

Creme brûlée

• served with chocolate cookies
• I always opt for Creme Brulees’ and this one was a disappointing.
• The custard was almost watery and not thick or somewhat firm (like it should be) – it was almost like eating yogurt =S
• The Chocolate cookie – I attempted to eat but couldn’t even  have my first bite because it was hard and burnt. Mary compared the cookie to a piece of charcoal. =s

Overall, I was pleased with my experience at Parts & Labour. Yes, there were a few hiccups here & there throughout the course of our meals – almost forgot to mention the extremely long wait between each course…. But we all agreed that it was overall a good meal and I personally really enjoyed my selection of food for the most part. I really liked what was offered on their summerlicious menu and I do look forward to whats in store on their regular menu!

Price: $35 + tax + gratuity