Café Boulud — Restaurant in Toronto

TLDR: there were highs and lows but overall, expected more given the reputation of the chef & restaurant.

Okay strap in, it’s gonna be a long and detailed review. If I could give partial stars, I would give this experience a 3.8 stars because it definitely wasn’t a 4 but better than a 3. We had the “Danielicious” 3 course menu for $80 pp which honestly, compared to the usual menu, is a great deal.

Appetizers: The server brought us fresh bread and a quennelle of perfectly softened butter. Great start but unfortunately the good times didn’t quite continue.

We got the special, the French onion soup which was the first flop :( it was way too over reduced, could only taste the acidic sherry vinegar and salt but no beef broth or onion flavour at all! For $21, it was very disappointing and we only finished half (between 2 people). Moving on, we got the escargot and chicken liver mousse as a part of the first course and both came with bread. The escargot was cooked well with nice fresh herbs throughout but lacked salt and the accompanying sourdough bread seemed like a mismatch as the slices were just too thick and overpowered the flavour of the dish. The liver mousse was great and came with crostini, though given the amount of mousse, it would have been nice to have more crostini. We ended up having it with the rest of the “table bread”. I feel like it should either come with more crostini or less mousse.

Main course: We got the chicken supreme and braised lamb shanks. Starting with the lamb shank, it was SO well cooked, pomme purée was so smooth, vegetables cooked perfectly, lamb was falling apart tender but it was just a bit too gamey for me (though my partner enjoyed it more than me so we switched entrees lol). The chicken supreme was so so delicious but I unfortunately found a foreign object in the sauce as well as some grit likely from the mushrooms and its packaging. The staff were super nice and made me a new serving to go. Honestly this wasn’t a huge deal because the chicken was so tender and the sauce was luscious. The potato pavé was textbook, probably fried in clarified butter because it was divine. Also both were huge portions.

Dessert:

Definitely the best course of the meal. We got the classic crème brûlée which had the perfect texture and was paired with a delicious madeleine. Not too sweet and a perfect dessert to get if you are overwhelmed with choice - you just can’t go wrong with a crème brûlée. And then we also got the pistachio mousse which was so so creamy, smooth and very pistachio-y. Because of the main course mishap, they also comp’d us a basket of mini madeleines that were hot and fresh, dusted with a bit of icing sugar. So delicious.

Overall: I don’t know if I’d go back to be completely honest because for a $200 meal plus additional tip, I just expect a bit more consistency and refined execution. Maybe I’m too picky but I don’t regret going and recommend trying if you’ve never been. Hopefully by that time, they’ll adjust their French onion soup seasoning because I really wanted to...

I had an awful experience at Cafe Boulud.

On January 14th, my friend and I had brunch at Cafe Boulud and we met the server who worn the black eyeglasses. He was unfriendly and unprofessional from the beginning to the end. I can assume he is racist because he was helpful and friendly to others, except us. At first, we were confused about the menus and asked my server, but he barely answered my questions and left. We tried to call him throughout this whole period, and he ignored us. I was glad one server helped us in the meantime. I thought he wouldn’t come to the table anymore, so I just wanted to finish experiencing that bad service and asked for the bills. After a while, he showed up with the bills.

A few days later, Jonathan Chan contacted me with a few messages about the solution. From the messages, he invited me back and honoured a complimentary course to me as the restaurant manager. I could feel he was so polite and professional in handling this bad situation. He confirmed the reservation by email for me. That’s why I came back yesterday.

I drove from the north to downtown and was late by 5mins. I called the restaurant and spoke with the host whose name starts with K. He told me there was no reservation under my name and Jonathan was no longer with the restaurant, and he couldn't help with it. I was wondering why the restaurant did not let me know before I came in. I tried to talk to the manager, but somehow the host said he didn't know who the current manager is. I was so disappointed and pissed off with the way they’ve treated me. I spent my time to drive to downtown and got that ‘fantastic’ service. I need a formal and sincere apology from the restaurant.

Updated, manager Yann called me and apologized for all of that and welcomed me back as well. I appreciated he was professional, nice and polite on the phone. But I just do not have any confidence to come back. Hopefully, the customer service will be improved and you guys won't experience what I’ve suffered.

Overall, weekend brunch set is not meet my standard and over-priced as Michelin guide restaurant. In general, the main course and appetizer are a bit salty to me. The oyster is plain and not flavourful. The only thing I like is Madeleine, and please...

Absolutely shocked and disappointed at the service last night! I have stayed world wide at many Four Seasons - and this was the first disturbing experience ever.

Trying to make a special evening for my mothers Birthday the evening started well in the bar - with a cocktail and outstanding service- only to be completely let down during dinner.

The waitress had a terrible attitude from the onset. We ordered a full meal all courses at the same time. There was over an hour wait between the appetizer and main course…. when I called the waitress over to ask what the problem was… She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, and said not sure. I then asked to speak to the manager who came over who gave a weak apology, and said some thing about the kitchen, got a little busy. Yet people around us have received their meal came and left in the time we were waiting for a main course to come.

I believe the part that made it worse was the lack of explanation and the weak and condescending apology from the manager and the waitress. Then, at one point, the waitress decides to turn and say that it was because we ordered late, and that one of the party went to the washroom, and then went on and on to blame us. Us leaving the table to go to the washroom does not explain why there was over an hour wait between appetizer and main course. Never have I sat in a restaurant only to be chastised by the staff as they tried to defended the undependable.

A new waiter was sent over to us only to have the original waitress walk by several times, shaking her head as if we had did something wrong waiting to eat over two hours.

Now we are more than well aware of the situation’s happen in Restaurant, but it was the lack of respect and validation, for what it happened that threw us into a tailspin of disappointment and discussed with the entire establishment.

Izzy Sharpe will be receiving a formal letter. I taped the entire scenario on my phone and will...