Taverne Tamblyn — Restaurant in Toronto

Honest review of my experience at Taverne Tamblyn.Went here on a Saturday evening for dinner. The ambience and vibe of the place is very nice, dim and romantic.

Our server did not take the time to explain the menu and had very minimal communication. Didn't even make much conversation with us until it was time to pay the bill.

The Food:

Bread (2/5) - It was cold, not soft and served with cold butter out of the refrigerator. I asked to if they can warm the bread atleast, a gentleman came to our table whom I recognized is the head chef from their IG page and explained he can do it but it would dry out the bread. Then proceeded to explain what kind of dough, that it was baked daily and came out of the oven at 3pm. The team went through much experimentation to get the perfect balance of a crunchy outer shell with good level of rise. I love the passion here chef, I really do! But the bread was not soft, at least serve up some room temp butter especially if you're going to charge and not offer it complimentary.

Steak Tartare (5/5) - Probably one of the best ones I've had, no complaints it was delicious.

Cornish Hen Confit (2/5) - Looked better than it tasted. Not very tender and did not fall off the bone, skin was soggy, would have appreciated some crisp to it. The lemon/rosemary sauce was a broken and a bit watery. I wanted to order their pork chop that was the special that night but was sold out by the time of our 8pm reservation and got this instead. A duck confit would have been much better.

Ratatouille (5/5) - Tasty, hearty and full of umami. Reminded me of a shakshuka. Wish they gave more of it.

Beef Bourguignon - (3/5) Underwhelming, the meat was not tender and juicy as you'd expect it to be. The jus was watery and under-seasoned, a thicker sauce would really lift this dish. The portion was also small.

Beef Fat Fries (3/5) - Like the other reviews said, they do taste like McDonald's fries but better, this is true, it's good but overrated. No garnishes present, not a sprinkle of parm or truffle or anything. If you're a French Bistro and the fries are what get the most praise then there's something wrong here.

Creme Caramel - (2/5) Nice texture but it is way too boozy, I can appreciate alcohol used properly in a dessert but this was too much. Also it did not come with any garnishes (ex berries, a compote, chantilly) and was a rather boring dessert.

Apple Tart w/ Salted Cider Caramel - (4/5) Tasty dessert with good flavour balancing. However it was served cold right out of the fridge along with cold cream. Why is everything coming straight out of the refrigerator? A great part of dessert is the sensation of hot and cold in one dish and this was not it.

Overall Experience: I was excited to eat at one of the highly rated French Bistro's the city has to offer but was left disappointed. Service was subpar and the food is mediocre. Hot menu isn't very exciting, and half of it is beef. Maybe changing one for a different protein might shake things up a bit! The restaurant is known to be more affordable than others but honestly the mains do not come with sides which must be ordered separately. So you really just end up spending as much as you would with other places so I personally did not find much value .

The restaurant is new and less than two years old, there is definitely potential but still has a long way to go to get to the level of other well known bistros (Le Baratin, Maison T, etc). I love the chef's passion for his food and I'm sure he will elevate it to the next level in the future. Perhaps I will visit here again at some point hoping for better...

I have as of late become just in love when French cooking. So I was pleased that this was the spot that my partner took me to for my birthday. The atmosphere is causal and romantic. They have indoor and outdoor seating. The menu is a mixture of both French and English and not super well laid out. It was a bit difficult to go though. My partner and I both speak French so for us it wasn’t a problem but it may be for others. The service was fine like boarding sub par and we really wish the server had taken us through the menu and explained the specials. We were her last table and it showed. As this was our first time to the restaurant we would have appreciated some guidance or excitement about the food. Our sever was friendly but again not super helpful we found the hostess to be much more helpful. We got the bread to start, it was proper in that it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We both got the steak and freits and I must say the freits were amazing. I can’t go back to regular fries. Both our steaks were cooked perfectly and to our request. We shared the ratatouille and it was delightful, a tad spicer then I assumed it would be but nice. We had the apple tart to finish and it was great too, served cold it was nice. However, maybe served warm it would be outstanding. We got cocktails and I had one made specifically with a liquor I wanted. My partner ordered off the menu and this would have been one of the times where we wish the server would have explained the cocktail. My partner said it was fine but did ask for a recommendations and she just didn’t really offer any. He ordered what he thought would be good but found it to be just fine. Overall, we really enjoyed the food and will be back. One thing that was bothersome. We sat next to a two top and they seemed to be regulars, they had the owner visit their table and chat. They drank heavily and were probably were over served. They used some pretty vulgar language and made it a point to ensure everyone on the patio heard them. I wish the server had managed her table better or at least acknowledged that their language was unpleasant. To sum it up we would come again as the food was wonderful. The service we assume was because we were a bit later with our reservation. However, the food here is great we would love to experience a server who is excited about the food and can make helpful suggestions. We will give it another go because this is a charming restaurant and has all the good things...

Granted, I’m a bit biased because this place is less than a 2 minute walk from my home, but this might be my new favourite restaurant in Toronto. The combination of service, simplicity, tastiness, and prices, I think is actually unbeatable right now for a nice night out.

I almost don’t want to write a review, to try to prolong it flying under the radar so I can have more meals there, but I guess BlogTO is already giving it away, so may as well.

Service is friendly and professional. No amateur waitstaff who don’t know the menu like you get post-covid in Yorkville; they all can offer recommendations and if something takes too long or isn’t right, they make it right. It feels like empowered, professional servers like in Europe or you got in restaurants in Toronto pre-covid, except it’s now in 2023. And the evening host Jeff is excellent. Our cocktails took a bit long on our recent visit and without asking, two glasses of French port on the house came out after dessert by way of apology.

The food — it’s basically a good selection of classic French dishes, done really well. As someone who doesn’t like hundred-item menus, it’s perfect. Particular highlights are the steak tartare, the beef-fat frites (anyone remember McDonalds in the 1980s before corporate cost-cutting?), the mussels, and the bouillabaisse (available every night!)

As I said in the above paragraph, the concept is to me what a restaurant ideally should be. Pick one theme, have a modestly-sized menu, and do it really well. Having 25 things on the menu instead of 100 means the servers know every dish intimately, the wait for your food isn’t super long, and you don’t have a Barry Schwartz paradox-of-choice problem. It’s just an amazing pleasant experience.

Cocktail menu and wine list, again, is thoughtfully curated, relatively small, but everything is good. There are some new world wines but all done in French style (oregon pinot in old-world style etc.) And the prices: $12-16 for a cocktail, unheard of in the post-covid hyperinflationary Toronto where downtown, cocktails are $18-24. Wine is $60-120.

Between this place, Wood Owl, and Lake Inez, I might never have to go west of the Don again for fine dining. (Kidding, I can’t give up Bar Isabel.) But seriously, this is a still-relatively-new gem, and if they keep it up like this, I look forward to going here many times...