Updated – February 14, 2008 – see update below.

During the hunt for the best poutine in town, I found many blogs/reviews referring to Gilead Cafe. Excited to try this highly praised cafe, crazyDiva and I head downtown to see if it lives up to the hype.

Located in the King St East district (4 Gilead Place), the cafe is quietly tucked away in a small ally.

The building on the left with the red bricks is the cafe.  It’s easy to miss for first timers since it doesn’t have a glowing “Gilead Cafe” sign so pay close attention to the street number.

Once you walk in, the first thing you will notice are the bottles of preserved foods displayed on the wall. Although there is nothing fancy about its decor, there is a homey European feel which I find very enjoyable.

Our first dish was obviously their signature Braised Beef Poutine. After devouring the dish, all I can say is WOW! This is a gourmet poutine, and one of the best I have had. Lets start by breaking it down. First was the braised beef. It was very tender, moist, and full of meaty flavor. My only complaint is that there should have been more because it was so good. The second was the fries. It was perfectly crunchy and crispy without being overly greasy. I can finish a whole side order of these fries alone. Third was the artisan cheese. Without trying artisan cheese before, I can’t comment on the quality, but it had an old salty flavor which I liked. Fourth was the gravy. Unlike other poutines which drizzled the gravy on top, this version had the gravy sitting at the bottom of the bowl. There is only enough gravy to lightly coat the fries, and some serious mixing is required. The gravy was flavorful but I am not a big gravy fan, so the amount used in the dish was perfect for me. Combining all whole dish together makes this one of the best poutine dish in Toronto. This dish alone makes me want to keep coming back to the cafe.

For the second dish, we ordered the smoke meat sandwich. The sandwich was fresh and the meat was flavorful. It contained blue cheese which had a strong gamey flavor. Since I personally can’t stand the gamey taste, I would not be ordering this sandwich again. For people who like the flavor, this sandwich would be an average pick.  I found the sandwich to be a little to “average” for it to earn top marks.

To finish our meal off, we picked the chocolate fruit tart. The dish did not look appetizing so I wasn’t expecting much. Fortunately, the taste did not match its appearance as I was pleasantly surprised. The chocolate mousse was silky smooth and the chocolate flavor was strong without being bitter. The mousse was good enough to be its own dessert, but when placed in a fruit tart, it makes for a tasty and interesting dessert.

It seems like Gilead specializes in cheese too as they have many different types on display.  I also saw a few tables ordering what looks to be like a very tasty cheese tasting menu.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gilead Cafe.  With its moderate pricing ($8-$12 per main dish on average), it’s killer poutine, and the homey European feel, this is a place I will definitely be visiting again.

UPDATE – February 14, 2009

Thinking about their yummy poutine, crazyDiva and I went back to Gilead to satisfy our greasy cravings.  Along with the poutine, the waitress recommended us to try the Ploughman’s Lunch.  This was a selection of Charcuterie, artisan cheese, pickles and house-made bun.  It was served on a slice of tree trunk which made the dish as interesting as the ingredients it uses.  CrazyDiva questioned the cleaniess of the tree trunk but a cafe like this uses powerful dishwashers so there should be no worries.

Another excellent dish by Gilead.  The bun had a crispy crust, the meat was high quality, the cheese was excellent and there was a large selection of spreads available.  The fact that you assemble your own sandwich made it fun to eat.  This is one of their more costly dish at $13, but it’s worth the price if you enjoy a high quality sandwich.

crazyPyxo’s rating for Gilead Cafe

9.0/10