Originally published on insauga.com.
Here are the 5 hottest restaurants in Mississauga for the week of Nov 26-Dec 2, based on the amount of organic page views and searches these restaurants received on insauga.com.
5) Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro
The Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro is a gem of a find in the small and quaint neighbourhood of Clarkson Village. The Clarkson Mediterranean Bistro is a restaurant that should be on your list of go-to places to dine in Mississauga. I had driven by it many times and had it on my list for months – I just wish I had gone sooner. I was floored by the level of service, the flavours, the quality of the food and the affordable pricing. This resto is a prime example of the benefits of supporting local restaurants over the big chains. We tried the California Chicken Risotto includes roasted tomatoes, zucchini and artichokes in a chardonnay and parmesan rose sauce. Risotto can be a heavy dish; however the flavours were on point and balanced with just enough acidity, resulting in a light, creamy and appetizing dish. The rice to ingredient ratio was perfect with substantial chicken, artichoke and zucchini pieces embedded in the silky risotto.
4) Maharaja
The Maharaja is an incredibly stunning boutique restaurant inspired by the regal beauty of India’s diverse landscape of architecture and flavours. The concept offers a visual and culinary journey through three magnificent palaces of India and a menu featuring cuisine from four different regions in India. The storybook menu is divided into four regional cuisines found in India which have been influenced by various ingredients and flavours of a variety of countries including Greece, West and Central Asia and Persia. There are a number of shareable dishes and entrees highlighting the unique flavours of each region through Awadhi cuisine, classic Hyderabadi cuisine, Punjabi cuisine and Rajputana cuisine. The extensive menu caters to all palates and features distinct regional dishes presented on fine dishes such as copper bowls, slate boards, and copper table top grill.
3) Door FiftyFive
Imagine you’ve been whisked away to a Queen West bar. Ever since it opened, this place has been crazy. Even on weeknights, when other bars in the area are dead, this place is bursting at the seams with people and for good reason. Get ready to be amazed. Every aspect of this place — including the space and menu — has been designed with the utmost thought to detail. Although the food menu is only about five per cent of entire menu (there are only 13 items), you will find interesting takes on southern classics, such as chicken and waffles, Rub Me the Right Way beef brisket, Boars Gone Wild smoked sausage, bison chipotle frank, blackened shrimp and gumbo cheddar grits and the boss platter (BBQ sampler platter). All of meat is smoked with SmokinLicious’ cherry wood and sugar maple wood chips, which “gives a nice sweetness to meat.”
Tacos have never been synonymous with Asian cuisine, but as fusion food gets hotter by the day, it’s not at all surprising—and is in fact quite delightful—to find restaurants that put their own unique cultural spin on traditional dishes from other parts of the world. Mi’Hito Sushi Lab, another creation by the team behind the successful (and growing) Spoon and Fork brand, just opened its doors in the Courtney Park entertainment plaza in Mississauga and it’s serving customers everything from fresh Japanese take away to hearty sushi burritos to—for the first time—beautifully assembled sushi tacos. The resto is the brand’s second foray into the quick-service arena, following closely on the heels of the recently-launched Corner by Spoon and Fork. The restaurant, situated in the former Prince Sushi location, is designed with modern sophistication in mind. The grey walls are artfully decorated with tree images, giving the establishment a vibe that’s both natural and industrial. At Mi’Hito, you can get spicy salmon, spicy tuna, lobster, unagi, beef, chicken, veggie and tempura shrimp tacos and they come with a plethora of toppings, including lettuce, corn, salsa, avocado, cabbage, green onion, tempura bits and coriander. In terms of price, you get a lot of bang for your buck. The spicy salmon taco, for example, is absolutely overflowing with ingredients (and generous bits of tender salmon) and only costs $4.50. The lobster and unagi tacos are the priciest at $5 each, but the pricing is more than fair.
Lissa Genobaga and Damian Kubarski are a husband and wife team who are self-proclaimed foodies and steadfast local supporters who love their community in Clarkson – an undiscovered area of the city that has a number of gems including theirs: a brunch spot called Kravingz. The resto is unique for its made-from-scratch menu that supports local suppliers. They source a number of the ingredients for their dishes from local bakeries and suppliers such as Manila Bakery’s specialty – a Filipino bread roll known as pandesal, produce from A.J. Lanzarotta, and other ingredients from Truscott Bakery and Sheridan Meats. Their signature dish is The Flip Side (house made longanisa which is a Filipino sausage served with crunchy garlic rice and a fried egg), The Polski Benedict (potato placki is a Polish potato pancake served with smoked salmon or peameal bacon, poached eggs and house made hollandaise), Chicken N’ Waffles (crispy fried chicken served with bacon and jalapeno waffles, bacon dressing and coleslaw) and The Islander (jerk corned beef hash, corn and cheddar grits and poached eggs) are so far the most popular.
