Glow Fresh Grill & Wine Bar

The gang and I decided to have a late-night dinner/get-together on the patio at Glow Fresh Grill tonight, and the restaurant was completely packed, both inside and outside. In fact, the entire Shops at Don Mills area was busy until past midnight, so it's kind of a miracle that we found a table for seven people on the patio.

To start, a basket of whole grain flatbread crisps are presented, along with an assortment of fresh house-made spreads — tonight's assortment included butternut squash, spinach and ricotta, garlic and squash, and hummus, among others. No photos, sadly, since they were devoured in approximately two minutes and I didn't get my camera out in time. Upon our friend's recommendation, a bunch of us got the crab cakes, which are offered as an appetizer on the menu. They were surprisingly fresh and airy: Full of tender, meaty crab chunks, lightly battered to a perfectly golden crisp. Most crab cakes are heavy on the batter and light on the actual crab meat, but Glow's version really lets the flavour of the crab, rather than the batter, take centre stage. Though they're not the best crab cakes I've ever had, they are certainly tasty and I would definitely order them again. My other friend ordered the Asian black cod, which was phenomenal — marinated for two days to achieve ultimate flavour, and cooked perfectly so that each bite is tender and buttery and almost melts in your mouth. Glow is over-priced and, frankly, over-hyped, but there's no denying that freshness is their priority and their dishes are designed so that you can taste the flavour of each individual ingredient.

Glow Fresh Grill & Wine Bar

Shops at Don Mills

7 Marie Labatte Road, Unit #E1

Toronto, ON M3C 0J1

(416) 384-1133