by Taylor Berry

Foodies rejoice! Summerlicious has returned to Toronto with even more participating restaurants than last year. If you’re not familiar, Summerlicious is chance for you to check out the best restaurants in the city for reasonable prices: restaurants serve prix fixe menus that range from $15-$30 per person for lunch, or $25-$45 per person for dinner. The tasting menus come with appetizers and dessert so it’s an incredible steal.

With 150 restaurants to choose from, it’s a bit intimidating to decide where to make your reservation, but we’ve perused the menus to make your decision a bit easier. Here is SheDoesTheCity’s guide to some Summerlicious hotspots.

Amaya the Indian Room (1701 Bayview Ave.): This restaurant is simply gorgeous, with a casual but elegant ambiance. More importantly, the Summerlicious menu looks mouth-watering. Meat-eaters can choose between masala lime lamb, seafood biryani, or butter chicken, and the vegetarian option, sage-infused vegetable dumplings in korma sauce, sounds divine. The carrot samosa with vanilla ice cream really caught my eye for dessert. Amaya is only $25 for dinner, and if you want lunch you can go to the Amaya Bread Bar on Yonge St.

The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. W): Most of us have at least had some drinks at the Drake, but now is the perfect time to try out the Dining Room. Executive Chef Anthony Rose has cooked up a perfect summer menu for Summerlicious, including a nod to the south with BBQ shrimp and “soft and sexy grits” and Miami beef ribs with cheddar potato and coleslaw. After dinner, you can head to the rooftop patio for drinks. $35 for dinner.

Conviction Restaurant (609 King St. W): Chef Marc Thuet has staffed his new restaurant with ex-convicts, describing the venture as “a social experiment designed to empower some of the most disadvantaged members of society whilst providing customers with the most unforgettable eating experience of their lives.” There’s a new reality show about the restaurant airing on CityTV this fall. But what matters is the food: salad and gazpacho are garnished with fresh cheese made by the chef, and entrees include gnocchi with braised oxtail, Mennonite-farmed pork tenderloin with potato gratin, and BC salmon with a ragout of octopus, chorizo and summer vegetables. See if the food lives up to the hype before this place blows up come fall. It’s $30 for lunch and $45 for dinner.

Trevor Kitchen & Bar (38 Wellington St. E): In my opinion, this is one of the most impressive Summerlicious menus, with a lot of difficult choices to make. Appetizers include Ricotta gnocchi with wild leek butter and chevre (I’m salivating) and fresh tomato soup with aged cheddar crostini. For dinner, offerings include a ricotta gnocchi entrée, crispy duck confit with sweet corn and sage risotto, steak frites with dry aged Alberta sirloin, roast chicken with cheddar and ham hock pierogi and pork and beans made with suckling pig and truffled navy beans. It’s $35 for dinner, and I think the menu sells itself.

MoRoCo Chocolat (99 Yorkville Ave.): For chocolate lovers out there, Summerlicious is an opportunity to indulge in fancy Yorkville fare at MoRoCo Chocolat. Appetizers are either lamb bites or goat cheese bites (with raspberry balsamic and onion confit, mm) and entrees include strawberry salad with goat cheese, butternut squash agnalotti or stuffed chicken. Obviously, you need to save room for dessert, which is really the star of the show at this restaurant. Choose between a banana split éclair with caramelized banana, dark chocolate brownie with whipped cream, and a trio of vanilla bean, dark chocolate and sweet chili and caramel ginger crème brulees. $35 for dinner.

Go here for full restaurant listings, and be sure to book reservations as early as possible! Some fancy-pants restaurants like Canoe are already booked up entirely.