Details
Information
Reviews
Location

Restaurant type

  • Bar,

Cuisine type

  • American Cuisine,
  • Cajun,

Dishes

  • Brunch,
  • Lunch,
  • Dinner,

Features

  • Restaurant With Party Services,
  • Take-out,
  • Restaurant With Bar,

Atmosphere

  • Casual,

Products and Services

  • Southern,

Languages Spoken

  • English,
Location
67 Richmond St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1N9
Useful Information

Opening Hours *Holiday hours

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
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Rates:

  • $10,
  • $11 To $25,

Methods of Payment:

Meet the owner

Margaret Smith was in her twenties, and running a new theatre company at Queen and Tecumseh called Tecumseh Massive, when she wandered into the Irie Food Joint – the Jamaican restaurant next door. Margaret remembers, “I went in and introduced myself to the owner Carl Cassell and asked if he'd be open to lending us his space on an evening to do fundraisers for our theatre project and he was super supportive.”

Himself an artist, Carl always makes supporting artists a top priority. In 2007, he opened Harlem Restaurant on Richmond Street East and rebranded the Irie Food Joint the Harlem Underground to help him do that. “He really wanted to create a space that catered to the fine art of food, drink and music - creating a real soulful and warm environment for people to relax and enjoy high quality food and service,” says Margaret, now the manager of Harlem Restaurant.

It's an environment reminiscent of a French salon, or the salons that popped up during the Harlem Renaissance – both as an exhibition of art and in the fostering of intellectual conversation. “We've got a lot of really cool staff members here who have a really great knowledge of food, drink, music, literature and art," she continues, "so the the kind of conversations that happen here can vary extremely from pure comedy to philosophical, deep discussions."

Plus, attentive audiences watch live jazz, funk, soul or R&B performed every Friday and Saturday nights. On Sundays, you can hear anything from spoken word poetry to stand-up comedy. Margaret notes, “Carl is really adamant about supporting cultural and community events within the two Harlem spaces and has formed some really strong relationships with young Jamaican-Canadians who are trying to make their way in the art world. He supports them unabashedly because he was well supported when he was up-and-coming.”

Ratings & Reviews - Harlem Restaurant

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    Restaurantica12
    By

    I'll definitely go back

    (Harlem on Queen) After a weekend of dining at pretentious good-for-nothing restaurants (re: Spice Route) we decided to settle for Harlem, my bf's idea as the location of this place is easy to miss with so many other eateries surrounding it. We had the brunch/lunch menu. The waitresses were very attentive. Served right away. Food was quite tasty, although the only negative part about it was that it came out a lukewarm. The catfish lafyette was delicious! Yam and yukon hash was good, but would've been better if served hot, as potatoes tend to get rubbery when it gets cold. The ribs were not bad either. There was a lot of food on the menu that I wanted to try today, so I'll definitely go back , maybe during dinner the next time.

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    Restaurantica12
    By

    Overall, this restaurant is disappointing. I ordered the fried chicken, which was OK but had a sweet sauce on it I wasn't expecting. Mac & Cheese on the side was OK, collard greens were carrots with slivers of collard greens mixed in. My friend ordered mussels, which she said were bland. Sweet potato fries were likely frozen and kind of boring. Not terrible, but would not go back again. Bigg Daddy's and King & Simcoe is pricier, but a much better option if you're wanting southern food.

    Are you the owner? Reply or Contact YP

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    Appears in 3 Smart Lists

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