Restaurants are going viral for serving ‘girl dinner’ prix fixe menus in Toronto

You’ve seen it everywhere by now: so-called “girl dinner” has been taking over social media feeds across all platforms, and while it’s a major trend of the moment, there are some signs that it may be here to stay.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the concept of #girldinner essentially boils down to eating a convenient and fun meal that involves very little prep or cooking, basically like a snack plate of all your favourites that may or may not go together.

It’s possible this fad has staying power, as restaurants are now embracing it and serving special girl dinner menus.

At Nikkei-inspired restaurant Chotto Matte in Toronto, a special “girl dinner” menu is available Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m., and there’s even a resident DJ in attendance to bring the vibes for a proper girls’ night out. It includes your choice of martini, a salad, fries and sushi for $44.

For your cocktail, you can choose from a Dirty Nikkei Martini with vodka and olive brine, the Lychee Lover Martini with vodka, lychee liqueur, and lychee essence, or a classic espresso martini with vodka, coffee liqueur, and freshly pulled espresso.

The salad is a Caesar with baby gem lettuce, red radicchio, cashew and lemon queso dressing, and the fries are truffled Peruvian cassava fries with an ají panca dip and yuzu. The sushi is a dragon roll with shrimp tempura, salmon, avocado and unagi sauce.

Mademoiselle in Toronto has also introduced a girl dinner of its own, but priced at just $25 for a drink, your choice of truffle fries or Caesar salad, your choice of sushi or pomodoro pasta, and a dessert.

Executive Chef Evan Dickinson tells YourCityWithIN.com that when it came to designing a “girl dinner,” he was going for “approachable, shareable items but still offering a variety.”

“The response has been incredible. We are doing over 2,000 covers a week just on girl dinner. We still do 400-plus on Friday and Saturday without the girl dinner,” Dickinson says.

“We will continue until the demand runs out. Then we plan on switching the menu and continuing. So far, it shows no signs of slowing down.”

So if you want to take your girl dinner to the next level and not even enter a kitchen, consider going out to a local restaurant the next time you’re feeling snacky.