Mother Tongue

A spectacular experience from the moment we walked in, both the welcome we received and the beauty of the front bar. Winter’s knowledge and warmth made our experience fun and special. Chef Bermejo’s food will take you on an epic culinary experience that you never saw coming. The cocktails use elaborate ingredients made in house that will leave you wanting more! Highly recommend

I’ll be honest, I walked into the restaurant with a bias. As someone who’s Chinese, paying $16 for a bao and a bowl of chili noodles felt absurd. But… after tasting everything, I had to admit the food was well-executed and delicious. The ribs, in particular, were sweet, tender, and paired perfectly with the garlic rice. I still think the prices are steep, but once in a while, I could be convinced it’s worth it. Service was warm and attentive, and the inside was unique and intimate, perfect for a date night.

Came here for summerlicious 2025 dinner at $55 per person. Immediately loved the cozy dark underground ambiance of the restaurant. Appetizers: Butterfish Escabeche: So simple looking but packed full of flavour. The torched butterfish is so soft and does not taste very fishy at all. As someone who isn't a huge fan of seafood this had me wanting more. 9.1/10 Humba Pork Belly Bao: Super tender pork belly in a a fluffy bao paired with fresh ingridients and an amazing sauce. 8.8/10 Mains Korean Beef Short Rib: Every part of this dish came together so well. Beef is literally fall off the bone, and the sides are great as well. 9/10 Tokyo Miso Black Cod: Super high quality cod in a sauce that I wish there was more of. Although I think the small amount of sauce is intentional to help appreciate the flavour of the fish itself (which is amazing). Dessert This is where the meal falls short though, both desserts were really disappointing. From my knowledge they dont usually have dessert on their regular menu, so I can kinda understand. That being said, I didnt include these desserts when giving 5 stars.

My friends and I had a really disappointing experience at Mother Tongue during our Kamayan Feast reservation last night. We had pre-booked the Classic Kamayan Feast through email (and the restaurant even created our reservation for us), but when we arrived, our server seemed confused and said it wasn’t tied to our booking. She double-checked with the back and later confirmed that while a Kamayan Feast was booked, it somehow wasn’t linked to our reservation. While I understand that mistakes can happen, this mix-up caused our meal to be significantly delayed — our food didn’t arrive until around 8:30 PM, a full hour and a half after our reservation time. During that wait, a few of us used the restrooms near the kitchen and could overhear the staff scrambling and talking about the Kamayan Feast, which confirmed that the kitchen seemed unprepared for it. Our server remained pleasant and even offered us Lychee Martini shots on the house, which we appreciated, but the long wait and lack of organization really dampened the experience. Given that many of us had traveled from different parts of the city and hadn’t eaten all day, it ended up being a frustrating and disappointing night. The food itself was fine once it came out, but the overall experience didn’t live up to the special occasion we were hoping for. I also wish the automatic 18% gratuity for the Kamayan Feast was clearly stated online to help set expectations. I really hope the restaurant improves its process for pre-booked experiences, because the Kamayan Feast should feel special, not stressful.

Came here to celebrate a friends birthday and they did a great job taking our cake in advance and bringing it out to our friend. Service was good and so was food. Nothing outstanding but a good spot out of our friends with some great plates. Shrimp Noodles, sticky ribs and bao were great, dumplings and slaw were average. Their ube milk punch cocktail was delicious, with an unexpected presentation, tho I tasted no ube whatsoever

I’m not sure if we would come here again. The food was good, but the portion sizes were really small, especially considering the price. Also, we had a really weird interaction with the hostess. When we first came in, she didn’t make eye contact or acknowledge us but rather, she was clicking on her iPad. The weird thing is that she was not on the phone with anyone, nor was there anyone around asking her about their reservation. It took her probably 2 to 3 minutes before she greeted us, but then told us we needed to wait another minute while she continued to play with her iPad. Finally, she finished and brought us to our table, we told her that we didn’t drink so we didn’t need the drink menu and she responded with a snarky remark which wasn’t really appreciated. The server was nice, however. Not sure if we would come back here, but the food was tasty

It was my first time coming to this restaurant, it was recommended by a friend of mine. We came to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I can say this is the first time in a VERRYYYY long time that I went to a restaurant and was overly satisfied with EVERYTHING! Our waitress Winta, was the best human I’ve ever came across, she was kind, caring, polite and everything a great person should be! She explained the menu to us from head to toe and was very clear and concise about the options we went for. She made amazing suggestions and kept checking up on us throughout the whole time. We were there past closing as we needed to finish eating, she offered taking pictures even for our group of 5. It felt like having a close friend! I could go on and on, but I hope everyone working there look to her as an example and that she is appreciated. She’s simply the best! I will DEFINITELY COME BACK ASAP! This is officially my new fav spot! 1000000000/10 all across the board. Not a single food option was a missed!

Had dinner at Mother Tongue, the Butterfish was delicious and loved the slaw. The noodles with shrimp and scallops were a tad disappointing. The design inside is great and our waitress was attentive.

Asian influence spot in the downtown core. My favourites were the skewer, Korean beef and the Bao dessert. It was really in

Food literally took 30 minutes. No attention to us was given and we were pretty hungry and a bit upset

The atmosphere surrounding this place oozed a certain level of sophistication. As for the waiters, they were very attentive and asked us if we needed anything multiple times throughout the evening (maybe a bit too much). Be warned that the portions of the dishes are fairly small and come at a higher end price tag. Although the flavour profile was definitely there, I believe that the quantity should be significantly increased given that they are charging top dollar for these items. All-in-all, I would likely only come back for winter or summer-licious (reduced pricing - fixed menu) and/or a very special outting occasion as it is most definitely a bougie establishment

My friends were keen to try Mother Tongue for their Summerlicious promotion, which is still going on as I type this. The dinner menu is $55 prix fixe, which seemed fair at the time. When we actually got down to ordering, the numbers just weren't numbering, meaning there were only a few combinations where the three course meal made sense for the price. We ended up doing a mixture of summerlicious and a la carte to get the best value. For 7 people, we ordered 2 summerlicious 3 course meals and 6 additional dishes. My favourite dishes were definitely the Grilled Liempo Skewer (part of summerlicious, but otherwise $19) and Fried Brussel Sprouts ($17), which were both appetizers. I wasn't the biggest fan of the fried rice, which really lacked flavour for me - but I don't think the rest of the table agreed since we ordered another one. I had a few bites that tasted just like white rice. The short rib was good, but nothing special. I'm not sure if the one on the summerlicious menu is the same as the one on the regular menu ($55), as the ingredients noted below the dish name are a bit different between the two. The service was attentive and the environment was also good. It does seem like they mashed two tables together to accommodate for our group of 7, which looked a bit awkward. Overall, the vibes were there but the food fell a bit flat for me, especially for the price (around $60 each).

Went here while on a ski trip in blue mountain. The food was good, but on the pricier side. We split some dishes. The restaurant did have a cool vibe which I enjoyed and the service was good.

Found by a colleague while in Canada this week, while I was skeptical of the name, I can assure you there is absolutely no skepticism about the taste and their menu options. We are a tight bunch at work and love family style so we orders the Sio Bao and General TSO bao and they lasted all of 30 seconds. We also ordered the fried chicken and the chili Spicy noodles were simply amazing! Great music, great service and super great atmosphere!

Great ambiance, great service, and amazing food! Was in town for work from Chicago and had dinner here my first night - the duck dumplings were absolutely phenomenal. So tasty and flavorful without being too rich. The chicken inasal Bicol express was my main, would have been great to have a side of rice but honestly I'm glad I didn't so that I could eat everything on the plate. The coconut curry and chicken were perfectly cooked and I could have licked the plate clean. Being Filipino myself, I have a high bar for Filipino restaurants but this place did not disappoint! Would definitely come back, maybe even on this same trip

Celebrated a friend's birthday here recently and everything was top notch. In fact the service and speed might have been too good. Not that it is a real complaint or anything, but we'd literally finish our bite of our app or main and the next thing was almost at our table right away. The servers were also right on top of everything and things like my water was almost topped up at all times. I'm always skeptical about pan-asian fusion food, probably because I was traumatized by it's popularity decades ago and poor execution, but this is different. From the pork belly app to short ribs and even ube dessert it had a sense of modern yet familiarity. All in all, like Arney says, I'll be back.

we had a chance to visit mothers tongue during summerlicious. although there is a lot of hype with this restaurant, i found that the food fell short. from their summerlicious menu, we had the steelhead trout crudo, hoisin duck confit, and peach mango pudding. out of the three dishes i had, the crudo was the only thing that really stood out. it was vibrant in flavour and was very unique. i would get it again! 8/10 the hoisin duck confit however, i found that it lacked flavour. the hoisin was the only flavour coming through with this dish, which can get really tiring. additionally, we were excited to try the freshmade scallion pancake, but found this to be extremely dry and also lacking flavour. 4/10 the peach mango pudding was also nothing special. it was also very tart but that is a personal preference of mine. in addition to the meal, i found that the service here was not so great. we had a reservation at 7:30 but did not get seated until 20 minutes later. the food also took extremely long to come out. we did not receive our first dish until 40 minutes after ordering. on top of this, our server was more on the clumsy side as our drinks were spilled over our table. not really something you would expect from a highly rated restaurant. overall my experience here wasn't the best, but this may also be due to summerlicious- how they were busy during this time and used few ingredients as the meals are prix fixed.

I really enjoyed Mother Tongue and had my best meal of my short early Feb '23 Toronto trip there. I enjoyed the vibe, the decor, the friendliness, and most definitely my food and drinks. I'd arrived in Toronto during the winteriest days of winter. I therefore chose places that were generally within 2 blocks of my hotel, or my thin-blooded San Diego body would probably shut down in the sub-zero-F wind-whipped tundra. Fortunately these winter days also coincided with Winterfest, a prix-fixe "restaurant week" (as it's known in SD), where many restaurants had a special 3-course menu, and I was happy to find that Mother Tongue did, as well as having a seat available on a Friday night. I had the crispy mapo tofu, fried sea bass with curry, and a difficult-to-explain but tasty sweet-and-savory Ube ice cream for desert. (Ube is apparently a purple potato that's kind of related to the yam). All were excellent; I think the tofu was the best, and that's saying a lot when I applaud tofu at all. Mother Tongue is oh-so-pretty inside, with a candlelit, almost tiki-vibe. If you bring a date here, you're probably going to be thanked a lot later. I didn't, so I wasn't, but your results may vary. I had two really interesting drinks, a margarita in which the tequila had been infused with peppercorns and other spices, and a Filipino take on a pisco sour (the Pili Sour, I think it was called). Both were excellent. My server was very kind and also very proud to work there. She gave me the backstory regarding the Filipino chef and the various ingredients in the food, as well as advice for other not-so-cold-I-die things to do in the neighborhood later. I don't have any future plans in Toronto, but if I do, I'll definitely be back here!

This review is for the speakeasy - liquid courage only. A very cool speakeasy in the basement of Mother Tongue. We came here on a Saturday night without any issues after learning about the 2-hr wait time at Bar Chef. The cocktail menu had a good selection for everyone. The honeycrisp old fashioned was boozy and flavorful, with a caramelized slice of honeycrisp: the strawberry rum punch was tasty and light; the razor crest was strong and smoky (mezcal). The bar was lively and the bartenders were friendly and attentive. Highly recommended!

Birthday celebration!! My first time!! And I will Go back for sure! Totally enjoyed the atmosphere. Our server and amazing and super friendly. The food was delicious!!! Although I would have liked more rice with the short rib; I didn't realize there was so much meat! Not complaining!!! It was delicious!

I've been here a few times and most recently for their winterlicious dinner with 6 other girls. The staff were friendly while we waited for the table ahead of us to finish. They seemed to be short staffed and only one server really knew what was going on but it didn't impact our dinner. I got the pork belly skewers and beef short rib with the crème brûlée for dessert. All the food was amazing, but I was very disappointed with the drinks. The cocktails were tasty but the glasses we were served were only half full all the time, even with ice.

Really nice spot that's much bigger than it looks from the outside. Our bartender Theo made us some great cocktails. I love beer and I love gin. He made me a Hong Kong Handover which he created for the restaurant. It was a nice balanced drink great for the summer. And boozy. Bonus for it being called Hong Kong Handover and my background is HK ;)

Mother Tongue is an Asian fusion restaurant located along Adelaide near Peter Street. The eatery is a hip spot primarily serving small tapas plates that are meant to be shared. There is also a great cocktail list and happy hour deals as well. Although the chef at Mother Tongue is Filipino, the dishes take influence from the Philippines, China, and Japan. The restaurant has a small front room with more tables in the back. There is also a small patio with about 3-4 tables. My friend and I dined at Mother Tongue on Wed night - we both tried the Summerlicious menu which was priced at $45. I was promptly greeted when I entered the restaurant and taken to my table. As the night went on, the place got more busy. Our server was extremely friendly as she went through the whole menu to explain the concept of the restaurant. She also pointed out some of the highlights and favourites from other customers. Summerlicious is a great way to try some of their dishes but some of the mains are made smaller for the prix-fixed menu. Drinks wise, it was still happy hour so I ordered a Pretty Lodi cocktail. A bit sweet for me but it was made well. My friend got a mocktail. In regards to the items we ordered (off the Summerlicious menu): - Appetizers: B.C. trout ceviche (citrus salsa, calamansi, crab chips) and the crispy mapo tofu (a vegetarian/vegan dish with a mushroom ragu, toban djan, and chili). - Mains: Torched wagyu chow mein (with roast picanha, chef's vegetable selection, and chow mein sauce) as well as the fried sea bass (golden curry, baby bok choy). - For dessert we both opted for the buko pandan custard cake. Overall, food was decent. The golden curry in the fried sea bass dish was delicious. Also, can't go wrong with a wagyu cut of beef. The mapo tofu wasn't spicy and the ceviche was fresh and light. The buko pandan custard cake was not too sweet and a good ending to the meal. Service wise, again, our server was attentive and made sure we were satisfied with everything. The meal was paced well. We also stayed for a little bit to talk and catch up and we never felt rushed or were asked to leave. Overall, a decent Summerlicious experience! The regular menu items looked interesting as well.

I came here on their last day of summerlicious. The place looks small from the outside but it actually is spacious inside with even a lower level seating area. They have high top tables, bar seats, and also regular tables. After asking our server for suggestions, I decided on getting BC Trout Ceviche (citrus salsa, calamansi, and crab chips), Fried sea bass (golden curry, baby bok choy), and Buko pandan custard cake (buko leche flan, pandan chiffon cake, and coconut streusel). I also ordered a side order of garlic rice to go with the fried sea bass since it didn't came with any carbs. This was disappointing since the garlic flavor wasn't there at all, only in smell. Overall the experience was okay, with the Buko pandan custard cake being the most memorable experience. It was sweet and took a little bit of time to finish despite of the size, but the flavors were present, and neither the buko nor pandan flavor overpowered each other.

Early birthday dinner this weekend at Mother Tongue. It was our first time visiting and I loved the decor as soon as I walked in. There's two floors - top floor is the main dining area with a homey feel and the lower floor is more of a vibey intimate speak easy cocktail bar. The menu features share plates with Filipino, Chinese and Japanese influences and a variety of cocktails and other drinks. . . Seafood mountain 4/5 Gai Lan 4.3/5 Garlic rice 1/5 High Noon Cocktail 4.5/5 Passiflora Mocktail 5/5 Cake 3.75/5 . . Overall we had a great time and enjoyed the drinks and most of the food. The seafood mountain had to be preordered 24-48 hours in advance and although the flavours and seafood were all good, I feel that for the price, it's not good. The lobster was pretty small for what it was. The Gai Lan was really good. The garlic rice was borderline edible... it was absolutely dry and hard. I'm not even sure if the kitchen knows how to cook rice.... Drinks on the other hand were all amazing!! Will definitely come back for the drinks next time and check out the lower floor.

Pricey and small portions. Food wasn't that great. There wasn't really that many guests. Service was attentive. Dark candlelight atmosphere.

Went here with girlfriend for Valentine's Day dinner. Amazing atmosphere, food was delicious and for a special night out, was under 150$! Not the greatest if you're looking for a cheap meal, but for a special event and you're willing to spend a little bit it's perfect! Service was amazing, the waitress was super nice and told us about their specials and whatnot. We were a bit early so they seated us at the bar to begin with. All of the employees were all so nice and talkative, I enjoyed not only the food, but the fast service too (and the drinks are pretty good too! Alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

Mother Tongue was an incredible dining experience! I visited with a few co-workers, and loved everything from the ambiance, to food and drink, to service. I'd have to say the cocktails were some of my favorites. They were unique, well-crafted, perfectly boozy, and flavorful. We ordered everything to share and started with the crispy mapo tofu, mango papaya salad, duck dumplings, and calamari. They were all good, though take note that the duck is pâté style, so the texture was different than what you might expect. For entrees, we had scallop and corn fried rice, trout teriyaki baked fried rice, eggplant, and pork belly. I really enjoyed the pork belly and trout teriyaki baked fried rice the most! We visited during a construction period, so we just sat in the back room, which felt intimate and fun. Really good experience overall!

these were what we ordered: - duck pate dumplings: personal fav because i loveeee pate and it's an interesting combo of dumpling skin with super smooth pate inside - trout ceviche: could use more citrus - pad thai: liked that they used pumpkin seeds instead of peanut but it didn't taste like pad thai, felt like something was missing - general tao bao: amazing little fried chicken bun! so simple yet so flavorful. call out here is the hun itself was so nicely made with that subtle sweetness - totally accentuated the flavor profile -humba pork belly wrap: this is kind of like a variation of the classic korean bossam - they used pickled pear instead of the radish, it was a really good combo. the grape seaweed was an added touch. -brisket tataki: it was good and basically what you'd expect from a beef carpaccio type of dish, can do w/o the salty onions tho -drinks: margarita and niwa flores - good and pretty drinks overall i would give it a 4 - our waiter was nice, bartender was friendly, we enjoyed most of the dishes and our overall experience was jus on point! would return again if visiting toronto. it's a nice spot to hang out with friends with decent enough food but it is not really like somewhere that has like amaaazing and impressive food if that's what you're looking for.

Decided to check this place out as I heard some buzz about it...and I like a good buzz - LOL Anyways...this is a cute spot, dimly lit, great for a date night or a nice night out with your friends b/c you can hear the person talk, and they have a bar located downstairs! It's a rather small spot, so reservations are your best bet. We ordered a few items and shared: - Duck dumplings - pretty good, but not sure what all the fuss was about (heard these are the things to get) - Brussels sprouts - oh man - super delicious - definitely get an order of these! Nicely charred and great smoky flavour. I could eat a whole plate of these - Bao - these were good, nothing special - a solid effort - lemongrass chicken rice - this was pretty good. Note that it is supposed to come with a chili jam/sauce mixed in...I happened to mention I don't eat pork and the server mentioned the suace was made with a tiny bit of pork fat. I would have never had known! Thankfully, she knew and checked with the chefs if it could be made without (yes it can) The staff are really friendly - we were pretty early for our reservations and they took us in even though they were pretty full. The servers are clearly knowledgeable about their food which is amazing. We also went downstairs to the bar, the grove is fun, miami club kinda..but I didn't particularly care for the drinks. Overall, I'd love to come back and check out some other items..and get those brussels sprouts again

I really can't say much about the food as I was soooo late joining my friends. Because I couldn't find the location after walking up and down Adelaide Street 3 times and had to go into a hotel to ask. Lo and behold the entrance was beside the hotel. The signage was practically next to invisible. However they do have a happy hour menu. I managed to get there in time for a glass of white wine at $5. There isn't a choice to choose from as it's happy hour. But hey, was just happy with the glass of wine to relax myself after being frustrated at having such a difficult time finding the place.

We had a really nice experience there. The place is not very big but rather small and cozy. The menu options are very limited which is a great thing. They don't have a lot of dishes on the menu but the ones they have they do really well. I ordered a few appetizers, Korean barbecue ribs and a cocktail called High Noon and everything was delicious. The server/bartender Erf was very nice and attentive. I liked that he changed our plates after every course (you will be surprised how many restaurants don't do that). Overall, we spend a really good night there. Definitely would recommend it to my friends!

love the food and drinks here! beautiful decor is a plus. great for girls night out and dates!

Definitely their menu has lots of interesting ideas that i didnt think about. Pretty lodi cocktail was delicious. Pork belly is like a must have. They did the duck dumpling so well that i realized i didnt like duck meat scent. Not being sarcastic at all. The duck meat was well minced and put together that the fragrance, taste, and texture are mostly equally balanced. For people who love duck, might like this dish. Fried sea bass! Taste great. Nothing to complain about the dish. The bao? its ok. It was for my husband. I didnt get to taste it nor I have much passion to have it. The vietnamese coffee affogato... its good and i like it but its a dessert i only need to try once. Save room for new desserts for next time. For sure, i come back for the fried rice that i didnt get to try and the pork belly again!

Came here with a friend for an early dinner on a Thursday. It wasn't very busy, maybe 5 tables tops? We ordered the duck dumplings, short ribs, foie gras fried rice, and two desserts I can't remember... I think one was an apple crumble and the other was a dulce de leche ice cream. We shared everything. The duck dumplings weren't particularly flavourful and it was all kind of just mushy for me. I think my friend enjoyed it though. Not going to lie, I'm not huge on dumplings but I really don't think this was good. It wasn't inedible but it's 12 dollars for 3 dumplings! I feel like I should be wowed or at least it should taste better than if I went to another restaurant and paid 12 dollars for 12 dumplings. Those dumplings would be good and I'd have a meal vs an app. The short ribs dish was good though. The typical words used to describe short ribs would be applicable here: falls off the bone, flavourful, etc. The rice was good too and if I'm remembering correctly, some sort of vinegar or sauce was on the rice because that had flavour just on its own. The dish was just yummy overall but it's pretty small for $24. I'm bad with money though so I would get it again. Foie gras fried rice was not so good... This was another dish my friend liked and I didn't which worked out because I got more of the short rib dish. I feel like I have foie gras decently often so it's not like I don't know what it tastes like or it's new to me, but it was just weird in this dish. Maybe it's not the foie itself and the combination of everything in the dish? There's not much to the dish to begin with and it was kind of bitter. Even though the meat was cooked well, there was still the bitter taste.... no thank you. Apple crumble (or what I believe was apple crumble)... This review is kind of late so I don't even remember if it was an apple crumble but from the pictures, it looks like it could be and apple crumble is definitely a dessert I would order. Honestly, I don't remember much about this dessert so it wasn't very memorable but I do remember liking the ice cream, whichever flavour that was. Tres leche ice cream (I really can't remember if this was what it was). My friend actually didn't hear the server properly and thought this was something completely different. If we're going with the dessert being tres leche, then she thought it was going to be a cake so she was really disappointed when it wasn't. I actually heard the server so it wasn't like the description was misleading or anything. The dish was mediocre. Even though I cannot for the life of me remember what it was, I do recall thinking it was similar to the cereal milk soft serve at Milk Bar. I really don't like that one though and would pick this over that any day. This one isn't salty and weird like Milk Bar's. It has cornflakes like the one at Milk Bar, too! If you really like the cereal milk soft serve, try this but for me, even though it's better than Milk Bar's, it's not something I care to have again. My friend also got a drink and honestly, I can't remember the name of that and it doesn't look like their cocktail menu is on their site so if there's a drink that sounds like the picture below, please don't get it. It wasn't horrible because we've definitely had worse drinks (we're always together when this happens) but let's just say money could be better spent on something else. Server was really nice and knowledgeable of the menu.

I came here for a friends birthday, and got a bunch of shareables between the four of us. The restaurant was great - nice interior, great staff, and delicious food. Everything had a bunch of flavour, but I would rate the following: Duck Dumplings - 4/5 - comes with 3 but we added an extra so we could have 1 each. The dumplings were flavourful and juicy, wish it came with more than 3 for the price, however. Crispy Tofu - 4/5 - I rarely eat tofu, but loved the friend tofu as it was the perfect amount of crispiness. Bistek Tataki - 5/5 - melted in my mouth, very light, and nicely displayed. Short ribs - 5/5 - my favourite part of the meal, the meat was delicious and cooked perfectly. No complaints here besides the portion size, but would highly recommend. Foie Gras Fried Rice - 3/5 - pretty basic fried rice, didn't have much flavour but was recommended by other yelpers, so decided to give it a try. Lemongrass chicken - 4/5 - one of the bigger portions we were served, flavourful noodles, complimented the meal pretty well. For dessert, we had the apple crumble and it was delicious and a great way to finish off our meal!

The service is amazing, drinks and food is alright. We got the duck dumplings, korean beef short ribs served with seaweed rice, trout ceviche with shrimp chips, shrimp and scallops dumplings, and humba pork belly (my fav dish there) .

Im forgetting what we ordered exactly because it was over a month ago, but eggplant and Brussels sprouts and a vietnamese coffee dessert too. All were really good, the brussel sprouts especially. Eggplant was good but I'm not sure if I'd order again. I think for next time their fried rice looks reliable. All in all a very satisfying meal!

The restaurant itself was situated in the Templar Hotel so already, you get that exclusive club members' vibe out of it. Gorgeous interior. I love how there are two levels. We chose to sit downstairs as we were drawn to their shadow floral wallpaper and neon "Get A Room" sign (which was fitting...lol). We really enjoyed the cozy, modern yet slightly speakeasy-ish vibe from Mother Tongue. Since the food were served tapas style, and because of the higher price range, we were expecting high quality food. Food was definitely really good - I especially enjoyed the duck dumplings! However, at $12-$16 per item, I'm not sure if the prices justified for both the portions or the quality. While the food was good, in terms of size, if you're going to justify for that price range, at least make the portions bigger. We ordered the longanissa sandwit and putting the two halves together, the sandwich was smaller than my hand. That's not big at all. I probably wouldn't pay more than $8 for that sandwich. Nonetheless, service was good. Drinks were good. Mother Tongue is perfect for small groups or pairs. I wouldn't advise coming here too often if you enjoy big portions. It is worth considering if you are on a night out and want to try something new - there aren't many Filipino restaurants in Toronto and it is good to enjoy new foods every now and then.

WOW I loved my experience here. Very fun vibe. Nice and dark and I LOVED the playlist. Our server was super sweet, funny and friendly. We started with the cocktails. WOW so yummy! Even the beer list was great. I tried the Pretty Lodi. YUM So much citrus and I love that the menu had so many different citruses that you don't see all the time. We started with the trout ceviche. It had chilli, pomelo and cold pressed oil on it. WOW Such nice flavour and so fresh and vibrate tasting. We then for the dumplings (duck and foie) because I had hard so much about them. I was no disappointed. They are beautiful to look and so rich in flavour. Even the reduced hen stock they were sitting on was wonderful. I wanted to lick the plate. Then we had the angel hair pasta with a spicy sauce and small scallops. Delish! This was followed by the shot rib that was FALLING . OFF . THE . BONE. The sauce was a Korean on which was bursting with flavour and very umami. The bill was large for the amount of food we had but the quality of it was great so I didn't feel bad about that. Highly suggest checking it out AND I found out the downstair is about to get a whole other cocktail menu that you should be checking out in the next few months! I'll be back for sure

This review is mainly for their bottomless brunch. They really mean it when they say bottomless. You can choose between 3-4 drinks and 12 different food items. The drinks were given generous pours, the food came out in a timely manner as we had a 90 minute seating limit. The service was on point, attentive without being overbearing. Never had to look around for more than a few seconds before our server would catch our eye. She was also very diligent in bringing us another round of drinks as soon as our glasses were empty. Have been a few times for drinks and once for dinner, and its been enjoyable every time but nothing special. This bottomless brunch experience was really a standout. Unbeatable value at $40 - definitely a treat and I hope they keep it around.

So good! Was impressed with all the flavours. Came here for a date with my boyfriend and we ordered the duck dumplings (added an extra dumpling to get 4 in total) and the longganisa sanwit to start. Both were ridiculously flavourful and i would highly recommend either one, you wont be disappointed! For our main, we shared the whole fried sea bass, jasmine rice and brussel sprouts which turned out to be a great combo of flavours. The sea bass comes de-boned and in a yummy warm coconut curry sauce with some hearty vegetables in the broth! Overall great! I will be coming back to try other dishes. Service was attentive, our waitress gave us recommendations too which is always helpful when youre trying a new place. Yum!

finally more diversity in the heart of blue mountain! Delicious wagyu burger and Cantonese chow mein! We were pleasantly surprisend to find Asian cuisine in the village of blue mountain and to see the interior...divine! I would recommend to anyone looking for yummy Asian cuisine with a splash of modernism. Connie was our server and she was delightful. Her recommendations were spot on and would love to come back here again and try more of the menu. Diversity is key to any thriving community and Mother Tongue is spot on paving the path to this for Blue mountain! Thank you again Connie for your lovely service!

I had been wanting to try this place for a while, and finally made it over the holidays on a Friday night post New Year's Day While it was probably a little quieter than normal, it was a nice atmosphere and had a cool vibe There are 2 floors , we ate at the bar on top level, and we were able to have some good conversation with the bartender Alexx, who made us some really good cocktails as well as told us about the food and made some great suggestions. So we started with the chicken wings, ( unfortunately they didn't have the regular larger ones, so instead we were served the smaller winglet type ). The batter was light, with a hint of Spice and sweet.. it was a sticky delicious mess. I would however say, that due to the size of the smaller wings, the flavour was also a little smaller than I would have hoped and read about. We then tried the fried chicken bao buns, where the sweet and salty were really well balanced with a slightly sour flavour of the lemon mayo! Delicious!! We debated about getting more smaller bites, but then decided on the Korean Short Rib dish, a larger portion and perfect for sharing. It was served with a nori rice (different than traditional mashed potatoes) and some really fresh and crunchy kimchi.. I'm not the biggest fan of kimchi, but because this one was crunchy and fresh, the flavour was lighter and went nicely with each bite The short rib was totally fall off the bone.. and then just melted! The juice was amazing to soak up with the rice making every bite amazing! I'm really looking forward to coming back to try more.. duck dumplings and the Calamari are definitely on my list to try!! Worth the visit for an intimate and a tasty take on some traditional flavours

It's unnoticeable from the outside, but a nice small space when you come inside. It offers Asian fusion food, very tasty. I particularly like the pork belly wrapped in lettuce with apple and source. The Chicken skewers on the happy hour food menu is super tender

This is such a hip Asian fusion restaurant and bar. The chef is filipino I believe. There are modern twists on filipino dishes like adobo, pan de sal, and pancit. I loved the bar downstairs, the ambiance was great. It was dimly lit with a darker floral wallpaper on one side with a neon sign that said "get a room". The bar was nicely lit up, and they were playing old school rap. I came around 6 PM on a Saturday night and had reservations. The restaurant only had a few tables seated at the time. We were promptly seated at the restaurant upstairs but we asked to be relocated to the bar downstairs. The hostess was very accommodating and happily moved us there by the neon sign. The service was great. Our server always came by to make sure we were okay and checked if we needed anything. He also refilled our water frequently and ensured it was never empty. When we were looking for our server, if he was ever busy, the bartender would come by to assist us which was a really nice gesture. The bar also customized a drink for me as they didn't have any gin based drinks on the menu, and it was good. The bartender also seemed very knowledgable as he recommended for us to try a few different kinds of gin next time based on what we had liked. My boyfriend ordered a gin and tonic and although I really usually don't prefer this drink, it was really smooth and very enjoyable. For food, what really stood out was the duck dumplings and brussels sprouts. The duck dumplings were a bit too salty but there was a lot of good flavour there otherwise. The brussel sprouts were roasted with cheese on top and a somewhat sweet sauce. The combination was perfect and sooo addictive. We also ordered the curry seabass but later realized that they brought us the adobo seabass. The skin was crispy and the fish was good but nothing special about this dish as I didn't really taste much of the adobo rub. The server later realized and apologized for bringing the wrong dish as he usually didn't wait tables at the bar. He did offer to bring the curry seabass but at that point we were already stuffed. Would have loved to try that though as it came highly recommended. We also got the foie gras fried rice. It was tasty but nothing special. Not enough foie gras in each bite to make the flavour that interesting. It seems like they are still changing and revamping their menu, so I will likely be back. Apparently the brussel sprouts were only added to the menu last week!

Story time. Thank you for ruining my birthday dinner. Serving staff was rude, and paranoid. Accused a friend of mine of filming her on his phone when he was just scrolling through Instagram. A dish came with cheese on it. My girlfriend is lactose intolerant and simply asked her if something else was coming. The staff literally said "Don't eat that then". Our original party had 30 people. However a few people bailed and we ended up with only 24. So they reduced our portions. At the end of dinner WHILE we were paying, the manager came up to me and informed us that she'll be charging us for the extra 6 people. Not only did they NOT give us the food for the 6 people, she ambushed us at the END of dinner. She tried to put the entire bill on my girlfriend's credit card. And said to her that she should collect money from our friends for the extra 6 people. She then told us if we wanted the food, she could have it packed up for us saying that it was already prepped and made. When we asked for the food, saying that we'll take it, she literally side tracked and said, "Oh there's no extra portions available". The manager is supposed to come help with the situation. And she only made it worse. No wonder your serving staff is garbage. When management is also that dense, what can you expect. Stay away from this establishment. It's really a shame because the food was decent, however a bit overpriced. But the entire vibe and atmosphere was ruined because of the wait staff.

haven't even eaten yet, but got a big reservation for 16 people and it wasn't even at one table and they didn't even tell us. I'd rather go to subway

Music was way too loud for conversation. The place was small. The food was aesthetically pleasing but barely filling. Seems to be overpriced Chinese food. The wait staff were pleasant though.

It is not often that I have a perfect meal but this was as flawless of a dinning experience as I can remember having in a long time. Mother tongue is an Asian fusion restaurant nestle in the back of the Templar Hotel. It is a small space which makes the feeling seem intimate and exclusive. They have an interesting cocktail menu but I was in a beer mood. The food was excellent from beginning to end. We started with some of the chicken wings which were served whole--always a plus in my book. The wings were crispy and topped with a sweet sauce-perhaps a drizzle of honey. They were fantastic. Had I known they were going to be that good I would have ordered more! We also had the bao buns which should not be missed. My entree was the bay scallop pasta. I had fretted a great deal between ordering the scallop fried rice or the pasta. I was able to taste both and found them to be excellent, but the pasta was better. Everything about the meal was flawless. I can't wait to go back.

This is the standard of food that I use to compare all other foods because this is a true 10/10. At this point, I've tried almost all the dishes on the menu and I can confidently say they are all amazing! LOVE the fish and the foie gras dumplings, a piece of heaven in your mouth! The only downside that this restaurant is super difficult to find! If signage was better, they would definitely have more customers.

This place was super awesome, great finger food with be able to try a bunch or different stuff the vibe was awesome as well!

Wanted to try this place for a while now and finally got to this past week! Atmosphere was great - very cozy and nice. We had to book resos two weeks in advance (maybe cause of the holidays) but good idea if you're not just dropping in. Tuesdays they do half price wine! Food was alright - we ordered: - Chicken Baos - these were the good! We would order more of these if we could but nothing too out of the ordinary - Mango Papaya salad - very refreshing!! - duck dumplings - we heard so much about these so we had to try. Very weird texture - almost tasted like a liver pate with that sort of smooth texture and flavour. We were not a fan of these unfortunately :( - calamari - very light, wish we had a dip though - chicken fried rice - this was not as flavourful as I was hoping this would be. The fried chicken was also pretty tough - we will try the other fried rice next time. Worth coming back to try different items but if you're not a fan of duck or like a pate texture I wouldn't recommend the dumplings!

Hugely disappointing and not sure about all the hype. Now don't get me wrong: The food wasn't bad. But with all the amazing reviews, I was expecting more than just "ok", especially considering what the price was. We got: - Pandesal: really yummy Filipino dinner roll, which was a tad "crispy" on the outside and soft/airy in the inside (the way it should be) - Machego: nice bite to the cheese, but way overpriced at $8 - Duck dumpling: Pretty good foie gras, but got a bit overwhelming with the rest of the duck confit in the dumpling. Also, there were just 3 pieces which was a bit small considering it cost $12. - Crispy pata: Well executed crisp to the skin, good enough fat-to-skin ratio, but small serving size for $19. - Steak and foie fried rice: I didn't get the combo. I've read reviews where people are praising this fusion dish, but I didn't think the fried rice or steak were any different. Also, it was a "high-end restaurant" serving size at $26. - Sans rival (overly buttery and not enough nuts versus other sans rival I've had), and nectarine pie (overly sweet). Maybe my palette isn't refined enough but I either didn't taste or didn't get the fusion and/or fine taste that Mother Tongue was offering. It's a pass for me.

Horrible experience. I booked a reservation over the phone (with a real person!) for Dec 24 for my friends and I, and they gave me an evening reservation because they were busy (so I assume they had other reservations that day too). I showed up the day of (today), a bit early to see if there were seats free, only to find out that they are closed for the holidays??? (there isn't even a sign on the door, I had to check their website again). Completely ruined our Xmas Eve plans. I was originally looking forward to trying out this place but my friends and I have completely lost interest now and for the future. Be careful when you communicate with this establishment.

I've passed by mother tongue several times as it is quite close to my office but I had never gone in until just recently. A few friends from work had birthdays in the same week so we all went for dinner. The restaurant is much smaller than I had anticipated and the group of us (I think about 12), took up about half of the restaurant. Most of us ordered drinks which were apparently very tasty (I stuck with water that day so I don't know first hand). We all ordered food and then waited. I was really quite surprised since several of us ordered off the happy hour features ($7 apps) but one person's fritters came out about 15 minutes before everything else. Soon after the other entrees were being served and they all came out at different times. Of course, not wanting to be rude, some of us ate most of us had been served which lead to eating dishes below the temperatures they should have been served at. Our server was fine. Spent a lot of time talking to certain people and wasn't as attentive to others. Overall, an okay meal but I'm in no rush to return.

Cute asian fusion place with two levels. The main floor is well lit with asian lanterns and jade-like decor. Downstairs cocktail bar looked cool. Limited wine selection. Food was good. We ordered the pan fried dumplings which were quite tasty and came out on a plate with 4-6dumplings. And a noodle with veggies dish which was not bad! I would have preferred more sauce , however it was still yummy. Good place to stop by for a few snacks or for cocktails!