Cafe Renée — Restaurant in Toronto

I try not to write "negative" reviews when possible but this is more of a factual retelling of my experience that I think should be considered.

They get a star for their awesome service, and how they handled an unexpected storm that caused most of the city to be in disarray. It was also kind of them for letting us stay longer than their normal seating time too, and I'd guess that ties into the storm aspect because the restaurant seemed to be less packed than what I've read about (understandably so because most people don't venture out for dinner when there isn't power/transit service in their areas). One more star for good communication prior to my reservation, and during the meal about how they could only offer a limited menu because of the storm, and its impacts.

That's sort of where I would conclude it in terms of the positives? It's strange but of the five dishes we ordered, 4/5 were underseasoned. Only their dish of "Raviolies au Dauphine" ($24) had all its flavors come through the way they intended (this was AMAZING). I guess if you count their sides of "fries" ($12) as dishes, those were also properly seasoned but everything else was either missing another flavor profile, or salt to help the flavors actually be appreciated.

"Escargot Ravioli" ($21) had basically no flavor to it despite having some of the most fragrant ingredients used in it (onion garlic bacon puree, anchovy lemon brown butter, cremini). "Gruyere Cheese Sticks" ($18) also wasn't strong in how it tasted either? Maybe the cheese they selected wasn't particularly strong, but the breading of the cheese sticks seemed to not be seasoned so that latter aspect highlighted the former. The saving piece to this dish was the Alla Vodka sauce that we actually had to save to salvage the next dish. "Chicken Liver Parfait" ($22) was very dense in texture to a point where it broke our toasted points when trying to spread the chicken liver on it... Now you would usually think dense = potent with the ingredient (aka a good thing) but again, there was a lack of flavor to this dish entirely. The Alla Vodka sauce or one of the pickles is what we ended up having to top our chicken liver with so that it actually tasted like something.

"Escargot & Coquille" ($24) is a dish that had so much potential with its black garlic butter but none of the sauce actually clung to the conchiglioni. On top of that, a little more salt could have helped pull the flavors out but alas, this was not the reality of what we were served. This ended up being a dish we didn't even try to finish, so much so that when our extremely kind server asked if we wanted to pack it up, I immediately declined without a second thought. My friend ended up asking to take it home after that though because she hates wasting food, and I'm in the same boat usually but this dish just wasn't it for us.

I was really hoping this place wasn't only popular just due to the hype because of how difficult it was to make a reservation for two people for the last few months (whom they will only seat at the bar as their booths are for groups of 3-4), but based on what I ate yesterday, seems like I have fallen for this well executed, influencer-based,...

TL;DR: Mostly a great time. Food excellent, food service is attentive and wonderful. Their wine service is amateur. 30mins wait for a bottle of wine to come, each time we ordered it.

Had a nice dinner here last weekend. The atmosphere is great, all of our servers were wonderful and food was incredible. We started with their classic espresso martini for a cocktail which was excellent. Then we shared a bunch of food. The beef tartare and Brie appetizers were tasty. The mains, we shared the ravioli dupahne which was incredible, the crab spaghetti which reminded me of the Joe Beef’s famous lobster spaghetti and the steak au poivre which was cooked to pefection with a delicious peppercorn sauce. The issues the restaurant had was their wine service. The first bottle of Châteauneuf took almost 25mins to come after ordering. I realize, at first, they were being mindful to make sure we had all finished the martinis, but 20mins after finishing and still no wine, was odd. We were having a great time and the food tasted so good we didn’t mind much. Our server, however, brought up the fact the wine took so long and didn’t know why. He felt badly and apologized and said dessert is on the house (which he didn’t need to do but was appreciated). What service, what accountability - everything was smoothed over without us saying anything. We hesitantly ordered a second bottle of the Châteauneuf and thought surely it won’t take as long - we were wrong. It took even longer this time. It was a shame, as it took so long one of the clients at our table had to leave and couldn’t enjoy. I’m really not sure what’s up with their wine service, but if your patrons are paying $100+ for a bottle of wine, your service and attention to detail needs to be much better. One of my guests spoke with the manager about it and they did remove the second bottle form the bill, which again, was appreciated. The food service is excellent and not their fault, but the wine service is amateur and needs to be better. While I appreciate them rectifying and doing what they could to make the situation better, it still left a bit of a bad taste in our mouth at the end of the night. Maybe we’ll try it again some day, but with so many wonderful places in Toronto to try, we won’t be running back to Cafe Renée...

A place to truly EXPERIENCE. I have been to many amazing places around the world and would have never thought that a place so magical could be found right here, in the heart of King & Portland. From the moment we stepped foot into Cafe Renee, the atmosphere was just so flawlessly Parisian chic. To be honest, I felt like I’m at a New York City restaurant. You could have told me we are dining at a french spot in Greenwich Village and I would have believed you, I could totally put Cafe Renee right beside Carbone! Lol. Staff was welcoming, truly outstanding and made us feel like home - a masterclass in hospitality. The place immediately felt cozy and home-like (thanks to both the service and the venue itself).

Now on to the food. 10/10. We ordered the shrimp cocktail, the steak tartare and the rigatoni alla vodka. If the starters lived up to my expectations then the pasta exceeded them. It’s rare to come across a place that really wows you when it comes to pasta. Cafe Renee did that. There’s no way to describe it - you have to try it yourself. Delicious!

To finish the evening, we went upstairs to see the Charlemagne cocktail bar (right upstairs). Now this really felt like a hidden Parisian bar. Not only is it a private, speak-easy part of the venue, it is absolutely beautiful and feels like you’re traveling back in time! The hostess ,after knocking on the door of the upstairs bar, noted that no one’s allowed to simply enter - the door is only opened from the inside by a bartender. This definitely adds a special touch, an elevated feel to the venue.

Super impressed with every last detail. Even the staff has been picked out to really complement the restaurant/bar so well. You’d think some of these servers head home to their Parisian apartments that overlook the Eiffel Tower from a tiny window. So thoughtful and fitting. I knew this place would be great simply from knowing who’s behind it (management team consists of truly some of the best people you’ll ever meet) - yet I was genuinely impressed because it truly exceeds your expectations in the best way. Definitely will return many more times. My new favorite spot in Toronto. A very...