Lavelle — Restaurant in Toronto

Edit: 12-27-2024

We were invited to come back and try the new menu. We chose a Friday at 7pm to compare both experiences. I can say the new menu and 2nd time around was much better!

They were well staffed this time around with Akash also present, thus the increase to 5 stars for service.

I'd recommend ordering the Waygu Gyoza, spicy salmon california roll, Ribeye with the Asparagus side, the spicy margarita, pecan pie, and carrot cake. All of these items do not lack in flavour! The gyoza on their own were savoury and unctuous. They're paired with a sauce that helps cut through the fat of the Wagyu. See my notes below for more on the sushi. We ordered a medium cook on the ribeye, which was executed perfectly. It comes with crunchy salt granules, a jus, and a butter sauce. All delicious. The Asparagus side is dressed with lemon, which is nice paired with the steak. The spicy margarita is indeed spicy. It packs a salty, sour punch that my partner loves! You can't go wrong with pecan pie or carrot cake if you have a sweet tooth. My partner normally doesn't like pecan pie (he's not a sweets guy), but he polished off the pie, no problem.

We also ordered the hamachi crudo, and mushroom side dish for the steak. The hamachi was a touch fishy when we ate it one it's own. Eating the fish with all the accoutrememts balanced out the fishy taste. I personally like a more vinegar forward crudo, which this is not. The mushroom side packed a lot of flavour! They were well cooked and had savoury Asian flavours. I just thought it overpowered the steak. We didn't order a carb to go with the steak, so I'd imagine that would help balance out the meal.

They had bottomless wine during our 2nd visit, which was a very nice touch. It was indeed bottomless. For whites, they offered a Voigner and a Reisling/Gewurztraminer blend. I didn't ask about the options for reds but did try the Voigner and Pinot Noir. Both are excellent.

We came here for a Friday dinner at 7pm. There was no bouncer, and we were able to walk right in. You have to walk down 2 flights of stairs to get to the elevator door that will take you up to the venue. The greeter was pleasant and brought us to our table promptly. Akash was our server for the evening. He was attentive and friendly.

The venue has an unobstructed view of the CN tower and financial district, which is great for Instagram photos.

We were seated at a 2-person table initially, but once a more premium booth was available, Akash offered to move us. I greatly appreciate this service!

The music prior to 9pm is very romantic (Michael Bublé and jazz). The DJ played remixes of R&B to start their set.

The washrooms were small with barely any space to turn around. They were clean while we were dining in but could see how they could get messy as the night went on.

You can see what we ordered in the receipt photo.

Overall, the cocktails leaned sweet except the Mojito, which was tart. I liked the Mojito the best as it was served in a high ball glass and wasn't too sweet. The other cocktails didn't fill the glass, which was disappointing. The other 3 cocktails ordered were 80% full.

The food was edible and had interesting fusion flavours. The sushi was surprisingly good. It's fusion style sushi which will please a lot of people. We liked that the ratio of rice to filling was balanced. Most fusion restaurants use too much rice for maki rolls like this. The mushroom Alfredo pasta will please a lot of American palates. We could tell the guacamole wasn't made to order. The jerk chicken tacos were also surprising. The chicken was tender and had essence of jerk. Good to please the North American palate but not actual Jerk.

We stayed 2.5 hours for the dinner and noticed as more people came in, the service slowed down significantly.

Upon exiting the elevator to leave the establishment, there was a crowd of people clamoring to get in. The bouncers had set up for the night. Exiting is quite difficult as you have to push through the crowd to...

If "overrated" could be personified as a restaurant, then this would be it. Visually, Lavelle's rooftop patio is stunning. I ordered the wagyu burger and truffle fries, my friend got the cali kale quinoa bowl, and my other friend got the truffle fries. Like the patio, the food looked great and I had high expectations especially considering the steep price. BUT, the food did not live up to these expectations whatsoever. First off, the fries were EXTREMELY salty. We could not taste any truffle, just salt. My burger was overcooked and very dry, it did not taste fresh at all. I had a bite of my friend's cali bowl and we both found it to be very salty as well. Look, I am not someone who likes wasting food or causing trouble for customer service workers, so I decided to finish my meal and be on my way. HOWEVER, as soon as I finished my meal, my stomach began to hurt really badly. I don't have any food allergies and honestly, what I eat on a day to day basis is far more "adventurous" than a burger and fries. It hurt so badly that I didn't feel like taking any pictures and could not enjoy the rest of my time there. I told one of the waitress' my situation and someone brought me tea. I appreciate the gesture but ultimately it did nothing to help the situation. Further, another worker came and told me something along the lines of "I'm sorry this happened but I hope you'll come back". Like what???? Thanks for absolutely nothing? Aside from the food, a worker who was cleaning spilled a mixture of parmesan cheese, salt, and truffle (probably from the fries) all over my friend and her belongings, including inside her purse which was open. Mind you, my friend is VEGAN and parmesan cheese was spilt on her. I get it, people make mistakes, but come on seriously? To top the evening off, as we were getting on the elevator to leave, a worker in all black clothing sprinted past us and shoved me aside. He didn't stop to see if I was okay and just shouted sorry and kept running. Some other notes: there were several times where I would see waitresses take off their masks to talk with customers. It's frankly extremely disrespectful considering how many people they see and how close in contact they are with food. Honestly, for the degree of how much went wrong tonight (ie. food giving me a stomachache, parmesan cheese spillage, shoving, etc), there was no real accountability from the owners/managers. Overall, this was by far the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant. And for a $27 meal that was mediocre at best, it really is not worth it. I'm sure there are many people who come here and enjoy it, but this was our honest experience tonight. Please take your money elsewhere, this place is NOT as glamorous as it looks. Photos attached are proof that we were there and not just...

What should have been a memorable occasion was instead defined by a series of failures in service, attention to detail, and basic hospitality.

Seating and Reservation Problems Despite making a reservation for a birthday event, we were initially seated next to a glass station. an awkward and noisy location. When we requested to move, we were told no other tables were available, despite multiple empty tables being visible. After insisting, we were relocated to high barstools, which were impractical given our attire (heels) and the nature of our celebration. To add insult to injury, another group that arrived after us was seated at the table we had requested. Staff gave conflicting explanations, first claiming it was "first come, first served," then suggesting the other party had a reservation (which we also had). This inconsistency was both frustrating and unprofessional.

Inattentive Service and Subpar Dining Experience Our waiter was slow to attend to us. We were not informed that our meals did not include sides, leaving us surprised when the dishes arrived incomplete. when asked if everything was satisfactory, we reluctantly said "yes" to avoid further delays—though it clearly was not.

Basic amenities were overlooked: One guest did not receive any napkins at all while others only had the small napkins wrapped around their utensils. We waited excessively long for assistance with even these simple requests.

Billing and Final Interactions

When requesting the bill, I was handed a payment machine without an itemized receipt—a basic expectation at any dining establishment. I had to ask to see what I was being charged for.

The only prompt interaction came when it was time to select a tip. While I left one, it was out of obligation (hoping it might reach the kitchen staff even though the food was salty) rather than merit. For a birthday celebration, there was no acknowledgment—no "happy birthday," no gesture, nothing to make the occasion feel special.

This was not my first visit to LAVELLE @chezlavelle, but it will absolutely be my last—as well as for everyone in my party. The lack of organization, disregard for reservations, inattentive service, and overall indifference to guest experience were unacceptable. I hope this feedback serves as a catalyst for improvement, as no guest should endure such a disappointing experience, let alone during a...