Next Door Restaurant Review: Canadian Food at its Finest

Markham is one of the most diverse communities in Canada. You can find tasty cuisines and gourmets from all across the world, such as Japanese ramen, Indian curry, Mexican Taco, Chinese dim sum, American ribs…

Now there is one more wonderful restaurant that can be added to the list, which is delicious Canadian food.

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About Next Door Restaurant

Address:  139 Main St Unionville, Markham, ON L3R2G6

Website: http://www.nextdoorrestaurant.com

Phone: (905) 604-6983

So what is Canadian cuisine? There are no solid definitions of Canadian cuisine, and if asked people will probably name maple syrup and poutine as the signature dish. Rather, Canadian foods are a celebration of multiculturalism of this great country.

Next Door restaurant aims to create a modern vision of the Canadian dining experience by creating seasonally inspired, and hand crafted Canadian plates. It is a sister restaurant of Smash Kitchen, another gourmet favourite restaurant in the Unionville area. The menu is very diverse with lots of tapas styled dishes that are perfect for sharing. Chef Isaac created the menu using the seasonal ingredients with bits of Asian fusion incorporated.

Next Door is located in the historic and scenic Main Street Unionville area. It is arguably the most beautiful street in Markham that was founded all the way back in 1794. The restaurant is inside the Unionville Planting Mill building. There is still a large operating mill water wheel outside and is known as the most visited building in Unionville.

Inside the restaurant, the dining room is modernly decorated and elegant with a rustic but classy ambiance. Beside the dining room is a lounge area with more casual setting. The whole restaurant is surrounded by large window, which makes it naturally lighted and perfect for food shots.

There is also a bar where you can get a drink while watching the live sports game on TV. In summer there is also a large patio outside so you can enjoy the sunshine.

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Nibbles

Next Door has a large selection of nibbles, or starters, for everyone to share. Here are some of our favorites!

Oyster

Oysters are always great appetizer and goes well with drinks. They are all freshly delivered from Canadian coasts.

Bread and Butter

Amazingly this is probably one of the best bread and butter we ever had. The butter is warm and rich and perfectly complemented the soft bread.

Roasted Bone Marrow

Roasted Bone Marrow with Vietnamese beef tartare, cashew crumble, fried shallots, coriander, and sourdough. The chili gave the beef tartare a real kick and we really liked the Vietnamese seasoning. There was not too much beef though so everyone will be fighting to get the last pieces of beef.

Duck Wings

Duck Wings with okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, cashews, green onion, chili. This fan favourite is also one of our most loved dishes. The wings are cooked well so the meats are tender and will falls off the bones. The surfaces were crispy and the mayo adds to the creaminess and richness.

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Mains

All the main dishes in Next Door Restaurant taste good. Seriously all of them. Here are some of the best:

Pork + Pancakes

Pork + Pancakes with char siu glaze, ginger scallion sauce, green onion pancake, kewpie mayo. This is an interesting fusion dishes with mixes Chinese BBQ pork with English / American pancakes. You can think of it as the Canadian version of the chicken and waffles.

Grilled Octopus

Grilled Octopus with Nduja, watercress salad, pomme puree, chili, crushed cashews. The octopus has a grilled charcoal taste but was super soft and tender. Watercress salad and potato puree had great texture enhanced the overall flavor.

Hot Fried Chicken

Hot Fried Chicken made with Nashville hot sauce, corn cream, kale. Chicken was fried to perfection with crispy skin but tender meat. There is a real kick of the hot sauce.

Mushroom gyoza

Mushroom gyoza sided with edamame, red cabbage, roasted oyster mushroom, truffle soy. This vegan-friendly dish is Japanese fusion inspired and had a rich mushroom flavor.

Lamb Sirloin

Lamb Sirloin with fried basil, Moroccan rub, whipped hummus, cilantro pistou, pomegranate gastrique, sun dried tomato, varugula, roasted cauliflower. The plating for this dish is absolutely fantastic with all the colorful ingredients to go with the lamb, which was very tender and juicy.

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Drinks

There are also a large variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to complement all the delicious dishes. We tasted the NextDoor Caesar, which is made vodka, clamato juice, worcastershire, tabasco, and topped with pepperoncini and charcuterie.

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Overall we enjoyed Next Door Restaurant very much. All the dishes were delicious and service is excellent. With the casual and elegant setting, it is the perfect spots for date night or celebrations. Highly recommended to everyone looking for the best Canadian food!

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Special thanks to @DKLoEvents for inviting to the tasting!

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