Spoon & Fork (this instance of the expanding chain) is located at 2345 Trafalgar Road in Oakville, the municipality bordering Toronto two to the west (west of Mississauga) midway between Hwy. 403 and 407. Spoon & Fork has a modern interior which was somewhat noisy when we were there. Pop is $2.50 and is not AYCD, even when fountain. iPad menus are used. Ginger is not dyed pink. And as with all Spoon & Fork locations, a neatly-wrapped spoon and fork and reusable chopsticks are provided, which is always a nice touch. And there is sashimi on the lunch menu! This is always very welcome...
Miso soup was excellent rich and savoury, and not watery/dilute. Tonkatsu pork cutlet was very good with a flavourful, tangy sauce. Spring rolls were very good, fresh, and not too oily with a sweet sauce but not overly, and were quite enjoyable. Satay beef skewers were excellent with satay peanut sauce. Sweet and sour chicken was very good and the sauce strong and tangy. General Tao chicken also was very good, with a very expressive and delicious sauce. Beef gyoza dumplings were quite good, not oily and the sauce was nice and tangy. Agedashi tofu was tasty in a mildly tangy sauce. Hot and sour soup was fresh, and a little hotter than sour but still alright, although it started to taste burnt as I got through it and the heat was annoyingly persistent.
Chicken teriyaki was good although we both agreed that it lacked something in the sauce that the beef teriyaki had. We both enjoyed the green curry chicken, and it did have some heat, although not excessively; it was somewhat balanced by the sweetness. Yam tempura was somewhat oily, but not bad, and at least the sauce was good. Shrimp tempura was less oily and more light and flaky but had a slightly fishy flavor although it was not bad. Interestingly, butter chicken is available and it is served in a tiny pot with two tiny pieces of triangular naan bread... the butter chicken’s sauce was excellent, as good as any at a dedicated Indian restaurant.
We both thought the Philadelphia roll was good, although it wasn't exceptional but still quite acceptable. Spicy salmon maki was pureed but still tasty enough although it's difficult to judge the quality of the salmon in the situation. Salmon, red snapper aka tilapia, oil fish aka butterfish and surimi crab sashimi were all served on ice and very fresh and good; worth the visit I would say!
For dessert, chocolate soft-serve ice cream is delicious and full of rich bitter chocolate notes whereas most soft-serve is usually more bland chocolate; this was much better and more flavourful. Vanilla soft-serve was also delicious. Vanilla/plain pudding was delicious all on its own, and there is also chocolate, strawberry and mango with strong flavour and sweetness. Weekend lunch is $30 and this is pretty much standard these days and for this area. The somewhat more expensive pop is certainly more than compensated for by the sashimi, and there were some excellent items and nothing bad. We certainly enjoyed it.
Rating: 8.5 – 9 / 10
