High on the list of ‘Good Things About the Summertime’ is the fact that many workplaces around here follow summer-hours, in that people get Friday afternoons off. This meant that my friend Julie C and I could have a late lunch together last Friday.
And another thing that is high on that same list of good things, is that many restaurants have an outdoor patio open. Of course, outdoor eating spaces are not all equal, and I’m not always a huge fan of dining outside; if their patio is jammed up next to a busy street or sidewalk, or if there is no shade spot, I’ll usually ask for a table inside. But if their patio is a little hidden gem, away from dust and street noise, that is where I’ll want to be.
It was such a spot that we had lunch, at The Queen Mother Cafe. In fact, their patio is so well hidden that I’d been going there for years (we used to live very close by) and didn’t even know they had one. To get there you have to go down a set of stairs, walk along a hallway below their kitchen and then climb another set of stairs, to get to their backyard. My pictures will described much better than can my words, how pretty the outdoor dining area at The Queen Mother is.
↑ The biggest Rosemary plant I’ve ever seen! ↑
As for the food? It is safe to say that a restaurant that had remained open and very popular for a continuous 36 years, serves delicious food. There are all kinds of interesting sounding things on their menu, although I choose the same thing pretty well every time I’ve been. That is a grain, nuts, herbs and mushroom patty, served in a pita pocket, called the QM Burger. Ok, I vary it up by sometimes having it with French fries instead of with a salad, but I am a creature of habit when it comes to ordering this because I love it so much.
Julie went with a Spicy Chicken Sandwich, topped with papaya ‘slaw, spicy mayonnaise and arugula. It looked really good and she said that it was.
And since it was Friday afternoon, we treated ourselves to some nice cold white wine to drink.
While tempted by their dessert menu, we decided we didn’t have room, but I think we should go back sometime soon and skip the entree, moving right onto dessert.
If you live in or are visiting Toronto, check out The Queen Mother Cafe, located at 208 Queen Street West (a short walk west of the Queen’s Park Subway Station). As I’ve been going on, the patio is wonderful, but the indoor area is very nice too, so this is a great year-round choice. One bit of advice though, is to try to pick a time that is beyond the typical lunch and dinner hours, because this is one restaurant that gets very busy. A late lunch or early or late dinner is a better choice, if you want to relax and enjoy. They’re open from 11:30 am right through to 1 in the morning (midnight on Sundays).
Thanks for checking out my post, and thank you to Julie for the very nice lunch together.
xo loulou