Restaurant Review: 5th Element Fine Dining & Lounge

5th Element Fine Dining & Lounge offers an East Indian-Mediterranean Fusion cuisine. It's a good introduction to Indian food (even though it's NOT an Indian restaurant). It sits at the convenient location of Bay & St. Joseph (right between Bloor and Wellesley). The restaurant is one level and offers patio sitting in warmer months. Our group of 10 ordered from the special promotional 4 course dinner menu, and it was DELICIOUS (not to mention the fabulous price!).

We all started off with the 'amuse" which was the English Green Pea Consomme. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but it was a small green pea soup with crispy dough balls floating on top. There was a slight zesty aftertaste to it...which made it very enjoyable. One of my friends loved it and wanted more after finishing.

There were 5 appetizers to choose from...and as you see above, I chose the salmon wrapped scallops. The bay scallop was grilled..and the flavour of it was exquisite! I loved the spices they put on the scallop. I'm a fan of smoked salmon, so I def loved this dish. The Vegetable Samosa au Gratin was a samosa with melted cheese on top and I heard it was excellent as well. Other choices include the FIsh Tempura, Asian Pear & Mango Salad and Chaat Delicacy.
For the main course, the Lobster Risotto was a popular choice. I didn't try it, but everyone cleared their plates. Of course, how can you go wrong with yummy lobster tails and creamy risotto?
I opted for the Nazami Lamb Shank. I totally RECOMMEND this dish. I'm don't eat lamb that much...nor do I always appreciate that strange flavour only lamb gives off...but this is one of the best lamb shanks I've ever had. Part of the reason was because the 'lamb' flavour wasn't too strong, secondly..I just really liked the sauce. It was a little sweet and salty and also had a tang to it. The mashed potatoes go very nicely with the sauce as well.Another entree option was the Tandoor Red Chicken. If you like curry, or spicy/zesty food, you'll probably like this dish. The pilaf rice tastes like curry rice (I never knew what pilaf was). It looked quite yummy actually.
The other 2 entree options include Salmon Rolade and Stuffed Paneer Tikka.
Finally...DESSERT!. I had the creme brulee. Some claim that it was only 'ok' and some didn't like the consistency. I thought it was good...not OUTSTANDING..but still good. My only problem was that there was too much sugar on top. I ha to hit my spoon hardly to break off the first piece. Not bad though.Another choice for dessert was the chocolate mousse. I've heard lots of good things about it...but my friends don't like overly rich or sweet things. It should be a great choice for any chocolate lover though!
The final choice for dessert was Gulab Jamun with Mascarpone cheese.

All in all, I had a wonderful experience there. The servers and the boss were friendly. Service was a teeny bit slow..but that's expected of finer restaurants. At least they weren't trying to rush you out the door to seat other people (like Asian places -_-). For the price, the portions were good. Not teeny like what you would expect at the -licious events. For girls, the portions were more than enough. Unless you're a big guy, you should be satiated. The dinner promo of $39.99 for 2 people ends April 14, but do not fret because I heard there will be another promo soon at the end of the month. Their regular menu prices are also quite affordable for this type of restaurant.

Check out their promo dinner special menu here
Check out the restaurant website here

Thank you to majic on RFD for the pictures (yes I forgot to take pics during my own dinner).

5th Element Fine Dining & Lounge
1033 Bay St. (Bay & St. Joseph, between Bloor and Wellesley)
Downtown Toronto
416-923-8159
Dress code: smart casual
Catering available
TTC Stop: Bay