Patois
GO HERE: for Asian-Caribbean hybrid cuisine from chef and owner Craig Wong. While Patois was closed, Wong kept busy with Jackpot Chicken Rice, a raucous room in Toronto’s Chinatown specializing in his interpretation of Hainanese chicken rice: boneless, boiled, amazingly flavorful soft poached chicken served over schmaltzy rice. But Patois is his flagship, and its return means more time for teapots of strong rum punch and bourbon lemonade and Wong’s spicy culinary mashups.
ORDER THE: jerk chicken, either in the chow mein or as a whole bird, where it’s served with a creamy garlic “shawarma” sauce laced with throat-scorching Scotch bonnet peppers. The Jamaican patty double-down seems like a gimmick borrowed from 2010, but the concept is delicious all the same, with two beefy patties sandwiching strips of bacon and oozing Swiss cheese fondue and Sriracha. And the jaw-dropping Prosperity Jerk Lobster, a whole chopped-up lobster tossed around in a wok with more of that sweat-inducing jerk seasoning.
THE VIBE IS: low-key with a solid groove, backed by lots of small groups who come in for the order-the-full-menu option (designed to feed parties of four) and the communal teapot cocktails.
PRACTICAL STUFF: Open Tuesday–Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
