‘LUCIE “, a brand new, downtown fine dining establishment, is the latest brainchild of Yannick Bigourdan - one of Toronto’s most esteemed and successful restaurateurs ( Splendido, Nota-Bene and Carbon Bar fame ). Since its soft opening a few short days ago, it has already managed to amass an amazing 31 out of 31, perfect 5/5 review score rating! Based on our delightful and highly memorable ‘total package’ dining experience. IMHO, I have no doubt, once the word is out, LUCIE will become THE next hottest table and talk of the town.
The modern, elegant and stylish decor of the main dining area offers a calm and cozy back-drop that encourages guests to relax and enjoy. Spotlight on this new destination for gourmands focuses squarely on the quality and creativity of its ‘very’ French, contemporary biased cuisine. Based on the impressive credentials of the Michelin Star(s) trained, French executive chef - Arnaud Bloquel, Pastry chef - Laurence Delmas Farre, Sous chef - Zachary Barnes and their talented kitchen team, one would expect the standard of the offering to reflect just that……inspired cooking of a high order, visually appealing plate presentation and food that exudes wonderful flavor profile!..all these they managed to achieve deftly!
Dining format adopted a reasonably priced, three course ( appetizer, entree, dessert ) - ‘Table d’Hote ‘ approach. The imaginative and whimsical menu contains a great variety of interesting and tough-to-decide choices. However, on the night of our visit, it also happened to coincide with the chef ushering in an ‘Omakase’ 7 course tasting menu for the first time!
With such a new option available, it is therefore a no-brainer that we decided to go for it and leave our dining fate at the hand of the chef! The ‘nothing short of spectacular‘ dishes delivered for our enjoyment were all outstanding, well conceived with the proper composition of excellent and premium ingredients, spot-on seasoning and perfect balance. The food, richly flavourful but not overly heavy. Too beautiful to eat, but once this initial impediment is overcome, the vivid and delicious taste profile of the food erupts with every mouthful!
Our courses included:
Bread Service:
5 Grain Baguette, Olive Sourdough Bread, 5 Flavour White Bread……
Amuse-bouche:
Red Souffle - Salmon Rillette
White Parmesan Crisp - Eggplant Caviar
Les Entrees :
Le Foie Gras - Hudson Valley Foie Gras ‘mi-cuit’, Smoked Eel, Ontario Sour Cherry Jelly
Le Boeuf - Raw Canadian Grass Fed Beef, Osetra Caviar, Egg Yolk Cream, Herbs
Les Plats :
Les Saint Jacque - Jumbo Diver Scallops, Braised Endive, Citrus Emulsion
Le Homard - Nova Scotia Lobster, Confit Potato, Comte cheese, Armagnac and Arabica Sauce
Le Veau - Quebec Milk-Fed Veal, Roasted Sweet Bread, Carrot Confit, Veal Demi-Glace
Les Desserts :
Le Sorbet - Cherry sorbet, Vanilla Custard Cream, Crispy Cocoa Nibs
La Framboise - Raspberry Confit, Meringue, Tarragon Cream, Herbaceous Sorbet
Mignardises:
Armagnac Dark Chocolate
Pineapple Macaroon
Wine:
Belaire Syrah Base Rare Rose
Mansink Alsace Pinot Gris
Rather than spending a laborious amount of time in reviewing and writing-up each and every single splendid and well executed dish we savored. I will let the aforementioned menu description plus the exquisite, mouth-watering food photos do all the talking. Just use your best foodie imagination, folks!
The flawless service was super friendly, professional and attentive……a reflection of the owner’s amiable personality and hospitality.
Offering a gratifying, total dining package of “ Food, Wine, Table Setting, Service, Ambience ….”, this is one dining venue that is truly worthy of my making a special long trip from Richmond Hill to downtown for…… ( sounds like a page taken from the ‘ Little Red Book’? Ha! )
In conclusion, to all Michelin inspectors assigned to Toronto. Please take note of this gastronomic, ‘new-kid-on-the-block’ and make space for a ‘ Macaroon ‘ in your upcoming edition to welcome this wondrous and admirable, well-deserved recipient.L
