Tolo

Wonderful food, great chef, extremely attentive staff. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, but not precious or over the top. Loved it!

When you are able to snag a table at one of Esquire's "Top Restaurants of 2024", you don't say no. Especially on a Friday night, at 7pm. This small and sort of hidden restaurant is a few steps away from the subway (F) at the end, or beginning, of Canal Street. The inside is pretty small, and the tables even smaller. Manipulating the tableware when food arrives is a task for Magnus Carlsen....sort of. They do have a coat rack, but you might be better off using your chair. The hostess was bubbly and our server was quite helpful. On his suggestion we ordered 3 apps, Salt & Pepper Tofu/Hong Kong Prawn Toast/Rice Noodles w/XO sauce, and 2 mains. Typhoon Shelter Style Fried Chicken, which might be better in a hurricane, and Beef & Broccoli (everyone's go-to, Chicken & Broccoli was not an option). Out of the 5, the Rice Noodles was the best. Something that "Xi'an Famous Foods" wish they could make. Their version of Beef & Broccoli used high end meat and was not drenched in thick sauce. Winner !!!!! The least favorite was the Fried Chicken. Extremely close to "Shake & Bake" boxed seasoning kit, without the flavor or seasoning of any kind. We should have ordered the duck. We had two desserts (they only have two). Bread pudding and Sago Pudding. Their version of the Bread Pudding was creative and quite good. While the Sago was extremely bitter, and needs to go back to the drawing board. All in all, I'd go back. The table next to us told us they had been two or three times. A little pricier than I expected. But I guess that's how it is these days

***Small seating, Resy Required, Decent Portions***It's definitely a bit pricier and the portions are decent (wished you got a little bit more). Everything was delicious and shareable across two people. The seating is limited and small; reservations are highly recommended and no more than a party of two.

Service - we had a reservation for 6pm on a Thursday night. The tables outside and inside were almost empty except for about 2-3 tables. There were still plenty of tables open. But yet, they chose to seat us at the bar. Upon request of getting seated on a table instead, he looked at all the open seats and then proceeded to tell me that there were no tables open. Hmmmm ok maybe they're already reserved? But we also had reservations. But ok we didn't argue. A few min later we were offered a table that was in between 2 parties that were already seated despite all the other open tables. We ate and left, the tables were still open. This gave me such a distaste. Any restaurant people have any insight on why they would do this? Ambiance - it's a wine bar with tapas selections. Chic ambience. Outside tables filled up by the time we left. It was a really nice day out. Food - it was ok. The morning glory was my fav out of all the dishes. We had the fish, tofu, and oysters as well. Unfortunately don't have a pic of the morning glory. 6/10. Would not come back.

We arrived at opening without a reservation and were seated as the 2nd party, and soon after the restaurant filled up. I thought the dishes are quite unique compared to other Chinese restaurants in the city - particularly the rice noodles in XO sauce & the sweet and sour crispy fish. The rice noodles were extremely pillowy, and the crispy fish was cut into diamond pieces which made it really easy to eat. The string beans with minced pork were also cooked perfectly.The only thing we really didn't like was the dessert. Of the 2 options we got the milk tea bread pudding that came with grapefruit and black sesame ice cream. As you can imagine, it was not a cohesive dish and was like they plopped 3 random things on a plate. The bread pudding tasted heavily of cheese? Anyways, if you come, come for everything but the dessert.

Came here for dinner with a couple friends and tried several items. I don't know how gluten free friendly they are so did not bring my husband who has an allergy. One of my friends has a nut allergy and we were able to order around her allergy no problem. The service was good, they didn't have something I wanted to drink and the server offered to go across the street and buy it for me. The location isn't really convenient for me so I probably won't come back

I'm posting this review 2 months late and I am still thinking about this meal. Tolo is a hidden gem that is going places! The space is small with limited seating, a small outdoor patio, and an open kitchen with bar seating. A reservation is a must because of the small space but they do have limited walk in bar seating if you are okay with a wait. It's worth it!We started with the duck confit spring rolls, little rice noodles with XO sauce, shake shake fries, cucumber & wood ear, and string beans with minced pork. The spring rolls, XO noodles, and shake shake fries are all a MUST order! The spring rolls are amazing and are served with a sweet, umami sauce that I could bathe in. Perfectly crispy and flavorful. Get them! The rice noodles and XO sauce were also mouthwateringly delightful and let me wishing I had ordered another. The shake shake fries omg. So good! I could have made a meal with just the apps. If I were local I would be here for happy hour every week. The sweet and sour crispy fish was good but I found the breading to be a bit too thick. The sweet and sour sauce was great though maybe too overpowering as the fish is swimming in it. The table next to us got the duck breast and were raving about it giving us the feeling we should've ordered the duck! Next time. Service was great! The food came out quickly as well. The only problem I had was with the size of the tables. They are so small that you have to make sure to course out your meal or you won't fit it all on your table.

The F train dropped me off so close to this little gem on Canal, I was so happy to be out of the cold so quickly and into this intimate teeny tiny restaurant for a dinner reservation. We hung our coats and got right to it, going over each menu item and settled on: salt & pepper tofu with chili aioli, Hong Kong prawn toast, little rice noodles with xo sauce, and for our mains--typhoon shelter style fried chicken and beef & broccoli. Everything was delicious except the fried chicken was a little too shake-and-bake for me. I did enjoy dipping the rice noodles into the crispy crumb bits for a fun crunch but I'll skip the chicken and try the duck next time. The tables are pretty tiny and cramped and after 2 glasses of Meinklang I was orating Greek tragedies about my work week with my hands and knocking things around. We found ourselves moving the little candle all over the table to make room for the next dish but that's nyc dining! I chose a perfectly bright Austrian orange wine to go with all the yummy fried and saucy dishes and found myself not caring to venture into the extensive wine menu to pick something new to try. For dessert we had the sago pudding and the bread pudding. The sago was souuurrrr and was a little weird with a scoop of matcha ice cream. It was too drafty and cold for something so refreshing, it's definitely better suited for a summer menu. On the other hand, the warm sweet bread pudding was perfect and a nice end to the meal. When I do come back I'll try the other half of the menu and I can count on it being a delicious time. Cheers.

Tolo is a wine bar with character and delicious small plates. Vibes were spot on, wine selection was amazing, and attentive service. The chef is from Parcelle and I can definitely see the parallels. If you like Parcelle, you'll love Tolo. Here were the dishes we got as a group of 6: Salt & Pepper Tofu: There were maybe 6 tiny squares of fried tofu in this dish. Was not worth $10. Would not recommend! An entire block of tofu at the supermarket costs $2. Tuna Tartare: Also tiny bite sized portion. The amount of fish could've fit in one soup spoon. Sticky Rice: Loved the Chinese sausage in this, but again, small for the price. Little Rice Noodles: This was my favorite! Fried rice rolls in XO sauce had nice texture and chewiness along with some charred bits. Bean Curd Skin: This is a pretty standard Chinese dish. It was a tad dry. Seaweed Shake Shake Fries: Their take on Hong Kong McD's shake shake fries. Fun for those who know it, but does not compare to the OG! String Beans: Second favorite of the night, you can't go wrong with string beans and minced pork! Duck Breast: The black garlic really made this dish. The duck was cooked well and the endives elevated it. However, it felt a bit out of place with the rest of the dishes we got and the group did not love it. Fried Rice: Standard, solid fried rice. Nothing special. Sweet & Sour Fish: Tender fish fillets and a tart sauce to cut through the deep fried oiliness. No complaints on this one! We loved it. Wine: What I loved about the wines is that after your dinner, they send you an email with the wines you had for the night. I usually always forget or have to take a photo, so this is so smart! Would recommend the Lazio Bianco 'Roscum' 2022. Overall, if you're looking for affordable Chinese food, your best bet is to hit up Chinatown. Tolo will disappoint you. On the other hand, if you're looking for some flavorful bites and vibes, they sure packed the flavor in those small plates. It would make for a good date spot but definitely don't come hungry or expect to leave full without ordering half the menu.

Great vibe, but overpriced. Food is solid but nothing to write home about. Rice noodles were good though!