Lyla Toronto

Came here for a cousin night out on a Monday evening and had a great experience overall. We were the first group to arrive for dinner service and decided to order a variety of dishes to share, along with two bottles of wine. Our server, Ovie, was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. He gave solid recommendations on shareable plates and helped us choose a wine that paired well with our food selections. My sister is a chef, so we let her take the lead on ordering — and it did not disappoint. We had the duck duo, hummus, beef tartare, beef short rib pasta, branzino, broccolini, mashed potatoes, hamachi crudo, and grilled octopus. Every dish was beautifully presented and tasted impeccable. We asked Ovie to choose our second bottle of wine, and while we later realized it was the pricier option, it was excellent and paired perfectly with our spread — no regrets there. The vibe was dark, intimate, and fairly quiet — we were probably the loudest table that night 😅. While the ambiance was nice, it didn’t feel especially memorable. The restaurant is tucked away at the corner of Dovercourt and Sudbury, closer to a residential area, with very accessible parking right out front, which was a plus. Overall, great food, great service, and a solid spot for a relaxed night out, especially if you’re going for the menu rather than the scene.

Came here for a date night and was not disappointed! We had a late night reservation but didn’t end up getting seated until about half an hour after our seating time, however the staff were very quick to offer us a seat at the bar to at least drink and order food if we wanted. The bartender was very knowledgeable and offered up good recommendations on both drink and food options. Once we finally got seated, we were offered complimentary champagne as a thank you for waiting which was very nice. From there, our server Ovie took great care of us. The food came quickly once we ordered and all the staff waiting on us between clearing plates, cleaning the table and providing new cutlery were so efficient. What I also appreciated was the DJ and the type of music being played. It felt like I was at a club but there wasn’t any dancing and some tables had bottle service. I’m not sure if this place turns into a club or something afterwards as people were arriving at like midnight and there was a bouncer at the door, which I thought was odd. The food was very delicious and well portioned. You can tell a lot of care was put into the food and curating the menu. All in all, I would definitely come back again, but probably not for a while as it is a bit pricey. But you’re paying for the service, ambiance and quality of food.

Food here in my experience was phenomenal. Me and my fiancée visited as a date night ritual to try the spot out. Our server was Ovie, amazing individual. Had a warm encoding energy and helped us navigate the menu. We ended up doing the seasonal date night which we initially thought would not have been much food but portions were good, taste of the dishes matched the vibe. We tried a few cocktails as well, all were quite delicious if you're thinking cocktail hour instead of just dinner this spot is also good for that. As the menus are curated, expect a slightly higher price point in some areas compared to other competitors. Parking was a bit difficult at night as well came a bit later jn the evening so I can only imagine parking would be near impossible during the day. It is paid street parking for the most part.

Came here for my friend’s birthday, and the service and food were amazing as always. I’ll definitely be back! Ovie was an excellent server and really elevated our experience. Michael, the head chef, personally came and explained the dishes and every one of them was outstanding. Highly recommend the branzino and rigatoni for mains, as well as the Spanish croquettes and scallops for appetizers. This is hands down one of the BEST restaurants in Toronto. Shoutout to the bartender—the drinks and presentation were top-notch, and the kitchen delivered an exceptional meal from start to finish.

Had such an amazing experience at Lyla Restaurant. We made a last minute bar reservation for three and were kindly upgraded to a table, which immediately set the tone for the night. From the moment we walked in, the hospitality was exceptional. Huge shoutout to Amen, who went out of his way to help move us to a table and made us feel genuinely welcomed, and to Ovie, our server, who was absolutely fantastic, attentive, warm, and just a great vibe overall. The food was delicious, service was seamless, and the surprise shots on the house at the end were such a thoughtful touch. You can really tell this is a place that cares about the guest experience. We left feeling taken care of and can’t wait to come back. Highly recommend!

10/10! Our server Walter was super kind and helpful! And the food here is on another level. I had the best Crispy Prawns in Toronto here!! Also highly recommend the Rigatoni Al Brasato Di Manzo and the Duck Duo 😍 Everything was so yummy, thank you…

We visited with family and had an exceptional dining experience from start to finish. We ordered the Lyla Table (served family style), and every dish was outstanding. The service was great, the atmosphere was vibrant, the drinks were beautifully crafted, and the food was truly spectacular!!! A perfect restaurant for a memorable and intimate celebration. Thank you chef Mike!

Really great night tonight at Lyla, food was incredible. The wine selection was awesome! I love the portion sizes. You definitely get good value for the money you spend here. The staff was incredibly friendly and professional. We will be coming here again.

We came to celebrate a milestone and initially thought the restaurant was closed because they had their curtains drawn, so don't be almost fooled like we were! Inside the space is dark and intimate, with soft lighting and is the perfect atmosphere for a romantic date. We had the tuna credo, pawn stuff farfalle, and the grilled octopus. All of them were excellent choices, as each dish was well prepared and quite delightful. We were surprised by the generous portion of the octopus, as there were four large tentacles for us to share. I particularly like the pasta dish, as each bow tie was stuffed full and plump with prawn. I've never seen this before, so it was a new dish for me. Even the tuna credo deserves a shout out, as the fatty tuna paired so well with the fresh citrus and shaved fennel. Would definitely recommend for a romantic night out.

OK wow! I came here as part of a business group, and we had a fixed menu in a separate room. I had never heard of this restaurant before - not sure why I missed it! We started with a small caviar tasting (taken like a vodka shot), and then I had the beef tartare (outstanding), octopus, and closed with the Basque cheesecake. They were all really fantastic! Service was also very helpful, attentive and professional. We had a team of waiters, with one in charge. It's a really great place for a group business dinner. The only disadvantage was the 2-hour seating time. Felt a bit short. But I understand that's fairly standard. Highly recommended! Lyla is now on my list of Toronto favourites!

I don't have a bad thing to say about Lyla. Group of 8 booked in advance with a pre-set menu. We opted for Family style dishes consisting of crispy cauliflower, beef tartar, greek salad, lamb chops, striploin, pasta, branzino and finished with chocolate mousse and basque cheesecake dessert. I have no idea where to start because it was all phenomenal. To start: we did mention we had a tight timeline and the services were amazing rolling out the dishes and asking us if we wanted to speed up or slow down service. Crispy cauliflower dish was surprisingly my favourite app and the lamb chops were done SO well but would go for the striploin also as a close second. The basque cheesecake was a great finish with it being not too sweet and very light after a spectacular array of dishes all cooked and presented so well at a larger scale. Will absolutely recommend and come back

I went to Lyla to celebrate my friend's birthday with a group of 15 people, and I had a pretty good experience overall. Our server was attentive throughout the meal, always refilling our water glasses when they were getting low. For my meal, I ordered the Paccheri Alla Gin, a simple yet flavourful pasta dish with guanciale and San Marzano tomatoes. It was rich in flavour but not too heavy, I really liked the meaty tomato flavour. I also had the chance to try a bit of my friend's Gnocchi Alla Romana, which was an interesting take on gnocchi. They were large, soft sheets that had the texture of mashed potatoes. It was a bit heavier, but I enjoyed it as well. I also liked that everyone's food came out at the same time, so no one had to wait for others to dig in. When it came time to pay, our server was able to split the bill for the group, which was really convenient, especially since some restaurants don't accommodate large parties. Since we had a big group, there was an automatic 20% gratuity added to each of our bills.

Beautiful new restaurant in the Liberty Village area. Buzzing with action the service here was spot on. Our waiter was amazing firat class fun and professional. He took care of business. Got the chef and owners to come by and say hello for that extra special. The food here was spot on with everything we had. We enjoyed the tasting menu which had a 4 courses to choose from. The steak tartar was so yummy, was one of the best I have had in a while. The fish was perfectly cooked with excellent flavors. The bar had some great drinks including some nice wines and the espresso martini was worth a mention. Overall I would recommend Lyla for almost any occasion. Birthdays, celebrations and more. Average price per person was $200

More of a 3.5 rating. The service is lovely and the venue is dark and gorgeous, the menus are very heavy (lol). We decided to give it a try for dinner since we live a building away and were excited to see something new take over this spot. Do I think this is what this location needs - sadly probably not, being so hidden and within a residential street although a nice restaurant is welcomed it's almost too much for a spot I would want to come back to regularly. The drinks are delicious!! I definitely recommend coming by and grabbing a drink at the bar- the food, unfortunately non memorable- it all just seemed "too much." It wasn't bad but sometimes you just want what you ordered to be what it usually is- not completely done up. Especially for a neighbourhood spot- The menu is a little too elevated for something I would want to come back to especially with all the other options in this city.

Decided to try this new "local" restaurant run by experienced restaurateurs. This is a "real time" review orchestrated by Ovie, our friendly and fantastic server. First impression. Dark restaurant. Perfect date night for a Friday night (it's Saturday though). Can't comment on neighborhood because not from Toronto. Also can't comment on parking. Took Uber. Drinks at bar while waiting were expertly made. Please refer to photo of espresso martini made with tequila. A. Appetizer. Steak Tartare. Wasn't expecting much. This isn't a steak place. But it was very very nice. Fresh. Nicely chilled. Great bite of mustard and Parmesan cheese. A. Hummus. Surprisingly nice. Smooth consistency with fried chick peas. A. Cauliflower. A little bland. Maybe a bit more tahini would help. Fresh tasting though and love the pomegranates. B. Off to main course. Branzino. Beautiful roasted and prepared. On a yummy roasted bed of seasoned tomatoes. A. Rib eye. Nicely prepared. But nothing special. B. Risotto and Pasta. Surprisingly good. Al dente. Pasta sauce is spicy. A. Carrots. Ridiculous. A+. Roasted potatoes. Look plain but strong Mediterranean taste. B. Overall, great food in a great environment! Excellent friendly service. Done with this review and gonna finish up this killer dinner. Final grade. A.

We were in Town for the night Saturday for drinks and decided on Dinner as well. On a recommendation from my daughter she said to try Lyla but we may need reservations. We were greeted by a great Host Aman who asked if we had a reservation and I said that we didn't and we were in from Out of town and Lyla was the one place recommended we try for dinner. Aman asked us to wait a minute and in a very short time he had us sitting in beautiful booth. We were greeted by our server whom I unfortunately forgot his name but said he was from Vancouver. His service was amazing and recommendations led us to have a delicious meal and an overall exceptional experience. The restaurant Vibe from the music, decor and menu options were all on point. We love our food and the Chefs menu was absolutely delicious full of flavour and beautifully presented

Great service. Delicious food. When we were there at 12 on a Thanksgiving weekend, we were the only ones in the restaurant, but it was good because we got all the attention!