Chartroom is the spacious dining/lounge area that sprawls across the back portion of The Westin Harbour Castle’s bustling lobby.
It’s a bright and airy space outfitted with picture windows overlooking Harbour Square, beyond which lie the Toronto Islands.
Inspiring the menu was chef Corbin Tomaszeski, who, in 2014, joined the hotel’s culinary team as Chef Corbin at The Westin Harbour Castle. For Chartroom’s menu, Chef Corbin used Westin Superfoods (part of the brand’s well-being promise to ensure guests eat well on the road) to create signature dishes.
Chef Corbin has done a terrific job; his dishes are creative and sing with flavour.
A puree of black beans (one of the more delicious superfoods) and lentils is silky smooth and jazzed with avocado and lime. Chilled leek and potato soup tastes wonderfully of leek, and is a perfect summer refresher.
The kitchen sends out superior babaganoush eggplant dip that’s chunky and scented with garlic and cumin. Scoop onto grilled flatbread. Inhale. Repeat.
Ultra-crisp romaine leaves anchor a Caesar salad wearing a garlicky vinaigrette, while fattoush salad highlights crunchy toasted bread, quinoa, mint, basil, red onion and cucumber moistened by a balanced sumac vinaigrette.
But it’s with main courses that Chef Corbin’s keen culinary sensibility, and the kitchen’s skilled hand, become most apparent. Sea salt brick chicken is crisp of skin and juicy of flesh, and accessorized by potato puree, heirloom carrots and green beans.
Tiramisu.
And then the meal’s high point: Fat filet of Atlantic whitefish, possessing the custardy, melt-in-the-mouth texture of black cod, is accessorized with thick, sweet miso and sits in burnt-onion dashi broth loaded with soba noodles, bok choy, mushrooms and edamame. Like the entire meal, it’s delicious proof that food can be healthy and still taste sensational.
Sides, too, are fit for a king, and include heirloom carrots complemented by honey yogurt, and crisp, fresh-tasting coleslaw animated by maple lime dressing.
Ending the feast is classic tiramisu garnished with vanilla ice cream, fresh berries and chocolate curls.
Group dining options at The Westin Harbour Castle include Savoury, Chef Corbin’s intimate private room and chef’s table seating 14.
— Don Douloff has been a restaurant critic for over 30 years and, during that time, has critiqued more than 1,400 eateries. In 1988, he studied the fundamentals of French cuisine at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris, France. During his time in France, he furthered his gastronomic education by visiting the country’s bistros, brasseries and Michelin-starred temples of haute cuisine. He relishes exploring the edible universe in his native Toronto and on his travels throughout Canada and abroad.
