Bijou Restaurant — Restaurant in Stratford

Had an excellent evening at Bijou last Friday - Sam and Adele took great care of us throughout the whole evening - both attentive and fun. Sam did a great job of the margarita's (even though he claimed this was his first attempt). The wines were fabulous and paired really well with our choices. The starters were very tasty and inventive and the Lemon Curd cake with plum topping was to die for, as was the 10year old tawny port. Again, Sam's skills with the Moka coffee pot were to be envied (again with professions of newly acquired coffee making skills!) The only reason for the 4 stars is the fact that both of mains were a little disappointing - the duck was a fairly tough (not sure if it was an old gander or the heat treatment that was at fault here) and the Pickerel/veggies were devoid of salt - almost remedied (but not quite) by the post-sprinkling of said sodium chloride. Of course, I don't doubt that both Sam and Adele would have gladly replaced both dishes (after some stern words with the hard working guys in the kitchen), but we felt it best left un-remarked and not spoil the otherwise positive and friendly atmosphere in the room. All in all, Bijou left us feeling like we had just had dinner with friends and that we looked forward to our next trip back to Stratford and a...

This was our first time at Bijou. Upon arrival we were greeted by a friendly host who took us to our table. There are two areas for seating in this restaurant the front and the back, unfortunately we were seated in the back room. Not the nicest atmosphere, next to the kitchen and service area, with a back “utility” door, a much better experience would have been in the front area. Our server was pleasant, gracious and responsive. Overall the menu is pricey for the experience. We started with the bread service which was nice but not worth 6$. It would be beneficial for this restaurant to just serve the bread as part of the meal. We enjoyed the peas and parm, flavourful broth, perfectly cooked soft egg, well prepared fresh peas. This was a hit but a little high of a price at 19$. Following the appetizers we ordered duck confit. This plate was slightly problematic. The smoked breast was served just above room temperature and the flavour of duck was lost in the smoke. There was no real confit of duck leg, as there was a minuscule amount of meat within the dumplings. The kohlrabi was an interesting addition to the plate and provided a nice texture contrast. The plate itself was presented nicely, but again the price point of 42$ does not match the quality of the...

Was so excited to go back here after a year of my partner insisting on getting the duck confit again. We went here this past weekend for his 30th birthday and to say we were disappointed is an understatement. His vegetables were RAW. When asking the waitress she told us we were the second table that night (mind you there were only max 4 tables that entire evening) who said the vegetables were raw. She said she would go ask the chef. Upon returning she explained the chef tried cooking the vegetables a new way that night and the feedback was “noted”. No option to bring new vegetables, no option to take the food back and cook it properly. I got the sirloin which was drenched in this mushroom sauce. Tasted good at the time, except I was paying for it all night while getting violently sick. No it wasn’t from alcohol, I barely drink and I had eaten the same food I normally do that day. With all this being said, I am sad to say we will not be returning and it was a complete...