Lee — Restaurant in Toronto

Came to Lee for a private dining event and was greeted with an 8-course sharing-style menu priced at $135. Although on paper, this sounds like a reasonably priced experience, this was far from the truth.

One of the biggest issues I had with my was the format of the meal. Differing from a traditional tasting menu where you're served an individual portion, this was instead a "sharing-style" format in which large communal plates were served amongst the guests (generally 1 plate to share amongst 4 people) and you were left to decide portioning. For the most part this wasn't an issue as 4/8 courses were already portioned out at one piece per person. However, when it came to the mains, this became much more difficult, as the option that we opted for consisted of meat/fish that you had to awkwardly portion amongst four people. Given that the portions served was more in line with fine-dining rather than a large heaping portions expected at typical Asian restaurants, this combined with the pricing felt like we were getting a lot less than if we were to opt for either a traditional Asian restaurant, or a traditional French inspired tasting menu.

Beyond issues with the overall format of the meal, the food itself also left a bit to be desired. Dishes were often either devoid of any immediately clear Asian influence, or related only in name. To comment on a few dishes: the Cheeseburger spring rolls were a prime example of this. Credit where its due, clear influences from spring rolls and lettuce wraps in Chinese cuisine, but beyond technically being a spring roll/lettuce wrap, the dish itself completely lacked any Asian flavors and just presented as a confusing mess which can only be summarized as "but ... why?". Cheese tart and beef dish just felt out of place, completely devoid of any clear Asian influence. Shrimp Cheung Fun was one of better dishes, drawing clear inspiration from traditional Cheung Fun (maintaining key elements and flavors of the dish), while being elevated and feeling new. I can see why Chef Lee is famous for his Singaporean style slaw, although I can't comment on the authenticity of the dish, it definitely is by far one of the best salads I've had in my life. Only issue here was that I'm pretty sure due to the dining format, we were served a serving intended for 2 to share amongst 4 people.

Beyond the food, service itself also left a bit to be desired. Whether it was a fault with the kitchen staff or servers, our meal took a little over three hours. This definitely did not have the volume of courses or intricacy that warranted a 3-hour experience. Often times I was left waiting what felt like 15-20 minutes between each dish. Format of the meal also meant that our plates were replaced once throughout the meal (before the main dishes were served). Overall with the exception of one or two dishes, the meal failed to strike any balance between traditional French fine dining while maintaining Asian influences. For the price of meal (especially if I were to order each item a la carte), I expected a lot more.

To give credit where its due, atmosphere of the restaurant was great. Surprisingly upbeat/lively with tasteful decor.

To summarize, although the food itself was not by any means objectively bad, definitely not worth what...

For my 24th birthday, my mom, her friend, & I had an amazing time having dinner at Chef Susur Lee’s restaurant, Lee! The best part? Not only does Chef Lee & I share the same last name & the restaurant has the same last name as us; but Chef Lee himself came to visit the 3 of us after our meal after I consistently kept asking my mom & her friend when on earth he was coming! I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves good food on both a domestic & a global scale! Foodwise, I highly recommend trying Chef Lee's Signature Singapore Slaw, which was absolutely delicious & it's so vibrant that it could punch you in the face & make you lost for words! I know, I know! It seems like I'm trying to be that guy who's playing devil's advocate right now, but hey! To all of you reading this review; seriously, guys. What on earth do you all expect? That Singapore Slaw is of course the one dish that made Chef Lee exceedingly famous! Also, don't get me wrong! I loved his other dishes, but it's that Signature Singapore Slaw that's arguably the best dish at Lee! I can also say that the Singapore Slaw definitely matches Chef Lee's exceedingly vibrant personality! Once I ate it, I felt like I stepped into a boxing ring & I am being pitted against this dish. Throughout the match, the Singapore Slaw has repeatedly punched me in the face using nothing but its pure vibrancy because I'll be honest! Prior to me eating Chef Lee's Singapore Slaw, the world was exceedingly grey & so were my salads! In fact, all of the salads I previously at were nothing but just dull, drab, dreary & frankly, they were all just so insanely.....blegh! But thanks to me eating Chef Lee's Signature Singapore Slaw, I can confidently say that I got punched in the face & I am happy to report that all the colours are back & my salads, my world & I are exceedingly vibrant again! I must also admit it! It's exceedingly wonderful that my vibrancy has been restored again because of this Signature Signapore Slaw! Chef Lee even gave me his autograph, which made the night even more special & vibrant! He looks so young, that I honestly thought he was in his late 30s! But to think, he's in his late 60's! Talk about pure vibrancy in spite of his age! I was exceedingly close to passing out because of this revelation! I was also so starstruck that I almost wanted to bow down to him, worship him like a deity & ask him to accept me as a member of his crew when I got older! To Chef Lee & staff, I can't thank you all enough for making my 24th birthday unforgettable; especially with that exceedingly vibrant Singapore Slaw! The restaurant is super quiet too, which I love! It’s way better & far quieter than any noisy Vegas style all you can eat buffet, actually everything is! Also, thanks to this experience; I can finally cross off meeting Chef Susur Lee & dining at his restaurant of my massive culinary bucket list! Talk about a win win situation! P.S To Chef Lee & staff, let me just say this! I can't wait to come back to Lee's & eat more of your vibrant food that leaves such an awesome aftertaste in my mouth! Also, Chef Lee! You are an absolute inspiration for all current chefs & future generations of chefs...

I went to Lee on a Saturday night with friends who were visiting from out of town. The quality and presentation of the food was above average but the service was abysmal. The waitress recommended to order 7 dishes for a group of 6 and the portions were small but we had leftovers due to the negative experience. After taking our order, the main server forgot to include the king salmon sashimi add-on with the slaw and offered to serve the salmon after we already finished the slaw. When filling our water, a different server dripped water on two phones with two different cups. A large spill occurred in the middle of the meal. When trying to remove one of the finished plates from the table, the main server knocked over a lamp, which fell and knocked over a full cup of water. Water spilled onto the couch, my phone, my purse, my clothes (coat, skirt, socks, shoes), my husband’s pants, and the floor. Our clothes were wet and there were pieces of ice in my shoes. These lamps should not be used as they were wobbly and unstable on the table. The servers did not do much to help us clean up besides providing us with additional napkins, and even after we were able to wipe the couch and table, the floor was still wet so we had to leave a napkin on the floor. While we were trying to clean up, other servers continued to serve and describe the remaining dishes, ignoring the mess and leaving us to clean the spill by ourselves. No one mopped the floor so that we didn't have to step in puddles of water and no one offered to dry my clothes, including my wool coat that can be water damaged. One server said that the cheeseburger springrolls was the best dish in Canada and he mentioned that Lee told him not to say that but he did anyways. At the end of the meal, the main server removed the mandatory tip for a group of 6 but still requested for a tip. She apologized to me but not to my husband when he was sitting the entire meal with soaking wet pants even though they had wiped his seat under him. At the end of the night, I couldn’t charge my phone due to liquid being detected in it. Thankfully the general manager Mike Walinga came by and gave me his business card but we quickly realized that the servers had not been honest with him about the whole situation. He offered compensation if my phone needed to be repaired or replaced from the...