Belle Isle

Delicious shared plates and some of the best cocktails around crafted by the one and only James behind the bar. The perfect east end date night spot, just down the street from their big sister, Lake Inez.

I’m a huge fan of Lake Inez—in fact, it’s my favourite restaurant in Toronto—so when I had the chance to check out their new sister bar, I was excited and had high expectations. Like Lake Inez, the bar is full of personality. The menu is cheeky and clever, filled with small plates described as “not dinner,” which perfectly matches the owners’ signature humour. Just reading it is entertaining and immediately sparks intrigue. The space itself has that same cozy, romantic, hipster vibe that Lake Inez fans will appreciate. Now, on to the food. We started with the hamachi, served with fresh Ontario strawberries, dehydrated strawberries, chili crisp, and umami-rich mayo. The mix of flavours—sweet, spicy, savoury—was a surprise hit. It’s a combination I never knew I wanted, but am so glad I got to try. Each bite felt layered and exciting. Next came the heirloom tomato dish, served with bonito mayo, a sundried tomato sauce, and crispy shallots tossed in BBQ spices. This was an absolute standout: bright, tangy, a little smoky, a little sweet, and packed with texture. It was “lick-the-plate” good—truly memorable. Unfortunately, things took a sharp turn after that. The dry rub jerk chicken wings—served with Louisiana-style hot sauce, blue cheese mayo, and pickled celery—were a total miss. There was no jerk flavour to be found, the hot sauce drenched the wings and took away from their crispiness, the blue cheese mayo added nothing, and the three tiny slices of pickled celery couldn’t save the dish. At $14 for four small wings, it felt both unimaginative and overpriced. We finished with the tartare—a playful take on a drive-thru burger, mixed with mayo, pickles, and onions, and topped with crispy fried potatoes. It was tasty and approachable, but having recently had a similar (and, in my opinion, superior) version at Ricky & Olivia, this one felt a little flat. The heavy mayo masked the flavour of the beef, which is unfortunate for a dish that should celebrate good quality meat. That said, I think those new to this style of tartare would still enjoy it. While I was disappointed by two of the four dishes, the ones we loved were genuinely excellent. That said, I do feel this review is somewhat incomplete without having tried one of their cocktails, which they’re known to truly shine at—so I’d like to return for that and will update this review accordingly. Overall, we had a pleasant evening, but I’ll likely hold off on a return visit until the menu changes.

Bell Isle and Lake Inez never fail to disappoint. This cocktail bar was eclectic and cozy. Music and the crowd were on point! We had the hamachi and tartare, both delicious. The drinks were sooooo good. Our server was oh so friendly and made the experience just that much better. Highly recommend!

Enjoyable little bar spot for socializing. Would recommend this for a fun spot to have small bites and drinks. Would recommend coming either before dinner or after dinner as additional add ons.

Very fun, cool, and hip yet cozy bar. The drinks and staff are amazing making this a great place to start or finish the night. If you have dietary restrictions, this may not be the best place to eat. The food is great but your options are limited if you’re GF or DF. That being said, this should not discourage you from trying Bar Isle as the place is amazing. I cannot recommend coming and trying the cocktails at Belle Isle enough. They are delicious and provide a unique flare on some classics. The service is impeccable and you will be treated like family from the moment you walk in. You will not be disappointed.

Love Belle Isle! Their menu is creative and the food is so good. Great vibe from the servers to the play list.

I really wanted to like this place more because I loved Lake Inez. The vibes were amazing, solid music, lots of people. Food and drinks were all fairly underwhelming which was very disappointing. My favourite meal was the beef jerky, it was unique and the most flavourful. Everything else was lacking and missed the mark unfortunately.

The menu special (like literally the cover of the menu ) chili dog is like a super basic Costco or no frills hot dog. It's literally the light pink type hot dog. The chili doest have beans or spices it's not actually like a chili dog, dog. The staff is cool and vibes are solid but man I was expecting the hotdog would be at a similar level to the other entrees or even just the quality of dogs from the 8 dollar hot dog vendors downtown but this was a 3 dollar Costco hot dog level hot dog. Like I'm not expecting Japadog but this dog was a no frills energy dog my mom makes when I had company over level dog.