Ada L.
Yelp
Linny's, a deli steakhouse, located where the Home Hardware used to be along the Ossington Strip, is David Schwartz's newest restaurant. No stranger to Mimi and Sunny's Chinese, Linny's takes a completely new direction where Schwartz goes back to his culture and roots. The restaurant is named after Schwartz' mother, Linda (aka Linny), as she passed away when Schwartz was young. The menu consists of many Eastern European dishes along with steaks of course.
The space is completely transformed - think NYC old school steakhouse - classic, intimate, and inviting at the same time without feeling too pretentious. The space is also adorned with handwritten pages of Linny's recipe book, which can be found when you enter the space as well as in the washrooms. The space is divided into the bar section when you enter the restaurant where the tables are to the back of the restaurant along with the kitchen.
Reservations are highly recommended as the restaurant will likely not be able to accommodate you if you walk in. Just a tip...reservations often come up a day or two before a date or even the day of so...just keep searching and trying! You do need to put in your credit card to secure the reservation or be fined a certain amount if you cancel late or no show.
My friend and I dined at Linny's on a week day night where we were able to secure a reservation for the bar. We were tucked in the corner of the bar which felt intimate enough as we didn't have customers or staff walking behind us. Upon arrival, we were asked if we wanted our coats/bags checked and shown to our seats. The waiter/bartender greeted us and took us through the menu, often giving us an idea of what we could order between 2 people. They have this neat "Friday Night Special" (priced at $125 per person) as well where the chefs curate a unique dining experience for you.
In terms of drinks, I opted for a glass of a cab sauv from California; my friend had a cocktail called the B.M.P. We opted to get several dishes to share. We had the following items:
- Caesar salad (chicken skin, parmesan, caraway)
- Chicken liver toast (cured egg, fried onion, and pickle on top of Dear Grain sourdough)
- Linny's cut pastrami (hand sliced, served with mustard and pickles from Martin Family Farm)
- Tripe schnitzel (chicken gravy, chive, lemon)
- Pickle plate
- French fries
- Chocolate babka and vanilla ice cream for dessert
We were stuffed after our meal. All the menu items tasted delicious but the highlights for me were the pastrami and the chicken liver toast. That pastrami is definitely a must get if you come to Linny's! Although it is a bit pricey ($49)...the 5-6 pieces of sliced meat you get was so tender where the meat literally melted in my mouth. It also took no effort to cut and you can tell that the chef/owner took time to perfect the recipe of this cut of meat. The spices worked well together where it never overpowered the flavour of the pastrami. I really enjoyed the pastrami here (and I'm not even a fan of pastrami to begin with!) - pssst..the pastrami also goes through a 7 day process before it is served at the restaurant. The liver toast was divine - it wasn't too rich and the cured egg, fried onion, and pickles added a different flavour profile to the entire piece of toast.
In terms of the other dishes, the caesar salad was extremely fresh and the chicken skin worked with this particular dish. Moreover, the tripe was interesting (I'm no stranger to tripe having eaten it at dim sum growing up). The way it was prepared is something we've never seen and the schnitzel was coated well. Although the texture of the tripe is completely different than what I imagined (it was more soft), the subtle taste of the tripe was still present. Lastly, the pickled plate was great (loved the pickled tomatoes!) and the chocolate babka is a must get (perfect with the vanilla ice cream on top).
Service wise, the staff were attentive, friendly, and professional. We never felt rushed during our meal and we appreciated that they checked up on us from time to time. When I made my reservation it stated that we had a 2 hr seating limit but...we actually almost stayed until 3 hours.
Linny's is an experience...a beautiful glimpse into the chef/owner's cultural roots, a tribute to his mother and the food she and his grandparents grew up eating and cooking. Food, service, and vibes were top notch - definitely an experience to celebrate a special occasion with friends or family.
