Lucie — Restaurant in Toronto

Wow! A most impressive debut! This could conceivably be the BEST French food in town?!

‘LUCIE “, a brand new, downtown fine dining establishment, is the latest brainchild of Yannick Bigourdan - one of Toronto’s most esteemed and successful restaurateurs ( Splendido, Nota-Bene and Carbon Bar fame ). Based on our delightful and highly memorable ‘total package’ dining experience. IMHO, I have no doubt, once the word is out, LUCIE will become THE next hottest table and talk of the town.

The modern, elegant and stylish decor of the main dining area offers a calm and cozy back-drop that encourages guests to relax and enjoy. Spotlight on this new destination for gourmands focuses squarely on the quality and creativity of its ‘very’ French, contemporary biased cuisine. Based on the impressive credentials of the Michelin Star(s) trained, French executive chef and his talented kitchen team, one would expect the standard of the offering to reflect just that……inspired cooking of a high order, visually appealing plate presentation and food that exudes wonderful flavor profile!......all these they managed to achieve deftly!

Dining format adopted a reasonably priced, three course ( appetizer, entree, dessert ) - ‘Table d’Hote ‘ approach. The imaginative and whimsical menu contains a great variety of interesting and tough-to-decide choices. However, on the night of our visit, it also happened to coincide with the chef ushering in an ‘Omakase’ 7 course tasting menu for the first time!

With such a new option available, it is therefore a no-brainer that we decided to go for it and leave our dining fate at the hand of the chef! The ‘nothing short of spectacular‘ dishes delivered for our enjoyment were all outstanding, well conceived with the proper composition of excellent and premium ingredients, spot-on seasoning and perfect balance. The food, richly flavourful but not overly heavy. Too beautiful to eat, but once this initial impediment is overcome, the vivid and delicious taste profile of the food erupts with every mouthful!

Our courses included:

Bread Service: 5 Grain Baguette, Olive Sourdough Bread, 5 Flavour White Bread…..

Amuse-bouche: Red Souffle - Salmon Rillette White Parmesan Crisp - Eggplant Caviar

Les Entrees : Le Foie Gras - Hudson Valley Foie Gras ‘mi-cuit’, Smoked Eel, Ontario Sour Cherry Jelly Le Boeuf - Raw Canadian Grass Fed Beef, Osetra Caviar, Egg Yolk Cream, Herbs

Les Plats : Les Saint Jacque - Jumbo Diver Scallops, Braised Endive, Citrus Emulsion Le Homard - Nova Scotia Lobster, Confit Potato, Comte cheese, Armagnac and Arabica Sauce Le Veau - Quebec Milk-Fed Veal, Roasted Sweet Bread, Carrot Confit, Veal Demi-Glace

Les Desserts : Le Sorbet - Cherry sorbet, Vanilla Custard Cream, Crispy Cocoa Nibs La Framboise - Raspberry Confit, Meringue, Tarragon Cream, Herbaceous Sorbet

Mignardises: Armagnac Dark Chocolate Pineapple Macaroon

Wine: Belaire Syrah Base Rare Rose Mansink Alsace Pinot Gris

Rather than spending a laborious amount of time in reviewing and writing-up each and every single splendid and well executed dish we savored. I will let the aforementioned menu description plus the exquisite, mouth-watering food photos do all the talking. Just use your best foodie imagination, folks!

The flawless service was super friendly, professional and attentive…..a reflection of the owner’s amiable personality and hospitality.

Offering a gratifying, total dining package of “ Food, Wine, Table Setting, Service, Ambience ….”, this is one dining venue that is truly worthy of my making a special long trip from Richmond Hill to downtown for…… ( sounds like a page taken from the ‘ Little Red Book’? Ha! )

In conclusion, to all Michelin inspectors assigned to Toronto. Please take note of this gastronomic, ‘new-kid-on-the-block’ and make space for a ‘ Macaroon ‘ in your upcoming edition to welcome this wondrous and admirable,...

Our first visit to Lucie was incredible!

The atmosphere and décor is modern, clean, beautiful - and most importantly, does not distract from your dining companions, conversation, or the dishes brought to you. It enhances them, creating an elevated experience.

Service was exceptional. Our every need was attended to promptly with kindness and a smile. There is real love in treating those dining as true guests, and no detail was spared in describing the menu, with personal recommendations throughout.

I asked for the Lucie Royale, their take on the Kir Royale cocktail - it was wonderfully sweet without being overpowering. This got me excited for what was to come.

We were given an amuse bouche of choux pastry with shallot and pepper. The flavours were bright, and complemented the light choux very well.

Between courses, we were treated to a variety of fresh bread paired with ginger citrus butter. Delicious, satisfying, and each option with its own unique combination of crunch and chew. It is well worth trying a little of each, if you can.

For the entrée I had le boeuf, a beautifully balanced grass-fed beef tartare with oscietra caviar and oysters, as well as cornichon and caper. The dish surprises with a sumptuous egg cream on the inside and a pleasing aesthetic that draws you into its world. Don't forget to soak your bread in this unforgettable sauce!

For the main, I had le canard, a rich and savoury duck paired with an apicius spiced marinade, and a vibrant tomato tarte tatin. The duck has a wonderful texture, a satisfying little chew that releases the flavour of the dish and makes the mouth water on contact.

Lastly, I enjoyed le caramel for dessert. This felt like an innovative take on combining chocolate with pear. A delicate, airy shortbread enhanced by the salted butter caramel, each bite felt a little different - some rich and buttery, some light and fresh thanks to the pear sorbet.

Our dining experience ended with a gift, including a sweet and creamy strawberry macaron and a gorgeous dark valrhona chocolate counterpart that bursts with sultry depth of flavour on contact.

Finally, I was surprised with a lovely detail: a signed card from the team, wishing me a happy birthday. This was an unexpected and deeply appreciated finishing touch. The sincerity of the team's gesture made for a very special moment. Opening the deep blue envelope was another treat, with its elegant cream wax seal.

In summary, Lucie is an unparalleled experience that envelops you in welcome and warmth from the moment you step in. The team's pride in their work is felt as you relax into an environment that truly allows you to focus completely on each other and let the world wait for just a few hours. We were very excited and happy to meet the owner, Yannick Bigourdan, and to hear some of his story. The entire experience brought me back to my own childhood and the moments spent with my grandmother, who raised me and similarly showed her love much in the same way - taking me to market with her, teaching me about the importance of quality ingredients and complimentary pairings, cooking, creating, experimenting, and sharing the incredible dishes that resulted with those she loved most.

Thank you, Lucie, for your unique approach, exceptional attention, and for creating the opportunity to make...

I'm conflicted here. Our food (we got a paired tasting menu) was delicious, and the wine was fantastic! You can tell that Yannick spared no expense when it came to finding his chef and back of house staff--top notch! Extreme praise for the back!

My conflict comes when talking about the front of house. I chose this place to celebrate my partner's birthday because I had assumed it would have the same pedigree and ambiance as Splendido, his former Italian mainstay on Harbord. It did not.

We were there on a Saturday night at 7--prime time for any respectable eatery in the city, it should've been slammed. It was empty. There were two or three tables with people in them. One looked like a retirement party and the other was a very short lived meal by what looked like people just passing through. The bar was completely empty and it was quiet. Despite all this, our server still took his time to come greet us and our pre dinner cocktails barely arrived before our food did. The server, while friendly (maybe too friendly?) seemed a bit old fashioned in some of his humour and hand holding while explaining the menu. Stuffy is the word that comes to mind when thinking of the service here. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't fluid. I'm pretty sure no one folded my napkin while I went to the washroom, either. It's the little things...

The lighting... well, there was none. You'd expect tables to have a small cute light. Or at the very least small fixtures around tables to make the mood more intimate. Instead, there was a drab darkness to the whole place without much warmth. The place settings were odd--a slippery piece of black leather that kept moving on tables that looked out of place given the food that was being served. Maybe Yannick blew all of his budget on importing the chef and gm?

Maybe the lack of vibe can be explained by the location? The deep financial district on a street usually frequented only by tourists. But just up the street, lenha was full and warm.

I really wanted to love this place. And by the website and food, you'd figure they were gunning for a star, but it seems that the greatness of the food (the saucier here is a magician) was counterbalanced by the lack of attention to details in the dining room and a drab location (something they really can't change, I know). For the same money, I could've had a hell of a time at Prime Seafood Palace, Grey Gardens, or Le Select.

I think this place's main intention was feeding the corporate lunchtime crowd or an older generation more used to bright and quiet dinning rooms and not to host a romantic dinner date.

Edit: Thank you for your heartfelt and genuine reply, Yannick. I’m glad you’re improving and will most certainly let you know when I...