In an earlier entry, I wrote about – is it worth going up the CN tower, and if you’re going to the CN tower, it’s either to do the tourist thing and see the exhibitions, or to hit the restaurant that sits at the tower’s top.
This post is about that restaurant.
Where to start when discussing the CN Tower’s restaurant?
Firstly, it’s important to know that you’re not just making the journey 500 meters into the air to eat at a fast food joint. The CN tower restaurant is “posh”; a combination of wealthy tourists, and wealthy locals showing their less wealthy touristing friends and relatives the “good life” available in the city. Fortunately I was in the latter category.
If you’re going up the tower, you’re doing so really for one reason. The view. The food at the restaurant is of high quality, and the service pleasant and attentive. Yet these are things you can get from many places in Toronto. A 360 degree rotating view of the entire city and Lake Ontario however from half a kilometer into the air however, is not.
The best time to go for a meal is right at dusk. This way you can enjoy the picture in full light, picking out all the points of interest in all their detail for miles away, and as you dine, watch the setting change as the sun’s light fades and the flourescent lights of the city take it’s place.
As the restaurant turns (ever so slowly, for those concerned about motion sickness) you’ll be treated to views of Toronto Island, just off the shore in the lake, the hidden “other” Toronto airport, watching plane’s landing on the short and narrow strip, and a look over the entire city, well out into the Greater Toronto area.
Oh and not to mention, you can marvel at just how great the great lake is, wondering how even from up so high, you can’t even come close to seeing anything on it’s other side.
To the food.
Actually I greatly enjoyed my meal, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s most memorable feature was it’s price. I (or should I say, my gracious host) paid $58 for my beef medallions which we’re both divinely tender and mouthwateringly tasty.
I’m no stick in the mud when it comes to an expensive meal, but in Canada where fantastic food is reasonably priced, you remember $58 meals. I also went for the sweet potato fries which besides the lemony sauce that didn’t seem to fit, were a nice addition.
After taking in about as much of the view as you can handle, it’s time to head back down to earth, before which you can make a stop in the exhibition area of the tower to pick up any part of the view you might have missed out on during your meal.
Overall, the CN Tower Restaurant is one of those experiences Canada I’m certainly glad I had but that, without good reason, I probably wouldn’t do again… which is probably why most Torontonians do exactly that – one time, then usually rarely ever again.
