Sauvignon Bistro & Bakery — Restaurant in Toronto

Atmosphere The classic interior is cozy, with an exposed bar, hardwood flooring and an exposed ceiling. The patio was busy, and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves, I noticed a few tables having friendly interactions with each other. Overall the atmosphere is laid back and inviting.

Service We showed up a little before our actual reservation and were welcomed immediately to a table at the front on the front patio. The waitress Tracy was quick to welcome us and provide us with the menu and explain some great options for dinner, everything seemed fairly priced. What I loved most about the restaurant was that their didn’t seem to be any sort of pretentiousness, the servers were dressed nicely, but in their own style. The staff worked together, were quick to refill our wine, clear our plates and provide us with the feeling that we were being taken care of.

The Food The appetizers we ordered were the Fried Calamari with Chilli Lime Aioli, and the Spicy Grilled Shrimp, Black Bean and Avocado Salad, tossed in a Citrus Papaya Dressing. The Calamari was fresh, not oily, which can sometimes happen. The Shrimp were large and juicy and the black bean avocado was fresh and light. It was a great start for a hungry guy like me. I had the Duck Confit, with mushroom risotto and spinach for myself, while my partner enjoyed the Pan-Seared Arctic Char, linguine in a pesto cream sauce with tomato and spinach. I was definitely not disappointed by the Duck Confit, the silkiness of the meat allowed it slid off right off the bone, the risotto was well done, the rice slightly al dente, and just the right amount of creaminess. The Arctic char was cooked to medium rare, flaking easily onto the fork, the skin was crispy and savoury. We did order a the Sautéed Garlic Greens as a side but I believe it was forgotten, which was probably for the best as the amount of food we did end up consuming was more than enough. Plus we needed to leave a bit of space for the desert. We shared the Dark Chocolate Marquise, with Raspberry Coulis & Chantilly Cream, which should be a sin. We also indulged in the Madagascar Vanilla Liqueur Creme Brûlée, with Candied Orange Peel and Ginger Snap Cookies. The flavours melded together quite well with the...

The food here is amazing. However, I’m quite disappointed with the service I received. I chose this restaurant to celebrate my anniversary with my partner and we both noticed that halfway through our dinner we were ignored. Upon arrival there were not too many people and we ordered drinks and food. Shortly after many other guests started arriving. We noticed the server had read out the specials to all the other tables except ours which is disappointing because they also sounded great and we might’ve chosen one of those. When other people came it seemed that they were more important. One of the servers actually said “Oh it seems like you’ve been forgotten”. Even when trying to pay I was given the bill and it took 5 minutes to flag a server to ask if I needed to go inside to pay. This prompted the server to run inside and get the machine.

I’m sure the staff was overwhelmed by having a busy restaurant but still I should not have...

Loved it! A solid 4.5 stars. Offerings and speed of service surely match the Bistro designation.

It was very refreshing for a change to enjoy non-americanized dishes. I could taste all the flavours that only a genuine from-scratch cooking can deliver. Fish and veal dishes were crispy and tender, done just right. Caesar salad had dressing full of punchy flavours, and the calamari appetizer was superb.

The young lads who served the patio area were attentive and were obviously making an effort to please the patrons. Kudos to them.

It would have been nice to enjoy a fresh baguette. The bread that was served was just okay, and the solid chunks of butter straight-from-the-fridge didn't help either.

Nonetheless, overall it was a very pleasing dining experience, and I'm looking forward to...