Toulouse Cafe and Bar — Restaurant in Dallas

Not entirely satisfied...YET. Our waiter seemed to have a good attitude and was concerned about us, but seemed a bit new, so I rated the service Good. I sensed a lot of stress among the staff, but it was a Monday.

The food seemed to me to be "under-executed"....by that I mean, if you are going to "Keep It Simple Stupid" with "basics" like Pomme Frites, Steak au Poivre, Mussels Meuniere, Duck Confit, etc., then DO IT BETTER than anybody. We had all these, as well as Seared Sea Scallops on Risotto, plus desserts and it was all GOOD, but we we're not "WOWed" either.

I'm an accomplished cook who KNOWS these simple dishes can be done better and I feel like this place could do better...the answer is NOT to change the menu and try to get more adventurous or innovative. INSTEAD, I hope the owner will look into things like ...WHY our mussels were so watery. The mollusks were fresh and tasty, but the cook messed them up somehow. The Confit was pretty good (TWO leg quarters were served) and the purple-husked peas/beans had some sort of pancetta or speck that gave them a very nice smoky flavor. And the prunes were excellent. But the "sauce", (which I presume was made by deglazing with Brandy and some sweetener like honey plus some grainy French mustard) did nothing for the duck and was a let down. All I tasted was alcohol, as if it should have been flamed and was not. They need to Keep everything on the Duck the same, but develop a new sauce or improve the old one.

The Seared Scallops were cooked properly and tasted very good, but the risotto seemed "rushed" (as if the broth was dumped in all at once, instead of gradually). The Europeans I know would have sent it back, but I'm not THAT picky. The grape tomato and basil in the risotto were fresh. The texture of the risotto is too important and needs to be looked into by the owner.

The creme brulee was really really good (yes you CAN screw up creme brulee and no they did not) and the fondant ("lava" cake) was good too. Oh yeah, and the Pomme Frite (supposedly their signature dish)?....the ones at Hopdaddy's are better. If I were the owner, I'd find out what they do there and copy them.

I kept wondered what was up in the kitchen. If I had to guess, I'd say there'd been some recent turnover or something, Or maybe the main cook doesn't have enough help, so he's rushed, The manager or owner is not being attentive enough and needs to see what's going on.....but I WILL be going back. It's MY KIND of place.... I like the kind of dishes that you'd find in a brasserie or a "better" bistro...but I expect them to be as well exeuted as possible. I want to see how their bouillabaisse...

ood evening,

This email is in regards to my recent experience at Toulouse Cafe. My girlfriends and I decided to visit Toulouse Cafe Dallas for Sunday brunch on August 22, 2021. We had a reservation for 4:00pm for a party of 3, however one person in our party was going to be arriving a bit later. My friend and I were seated in the corner at a table on the patio. We both ordered appetizers and a Chanel No.9. When our third friend arrived, she sat at the table and we continued to have conversation. Not even 5 minutes after our friend arrived, the server came to ask if the manager had spoken to us. We were completely confused and told him, No. He then proceeds to tell us that we needed to order "right away". We questioned the reasoning behind this and the server stated that he was unsure, he was only told by his manager that we needed to order meals because they had another reservation at 6pm, and that there is a time limit on tables. Not only were there several empty tables available, there were also several tables that were seated before we were there and no one harassed them, like we were. At this point, we were being targeted and being racially profiled. We asked to speak to the manager so the server went to the manager to inform him that we would like to speak with him. We physically saw the manager motion "NO" with both of his hands, as if he was refusing to speak with us. The server came back and said the manager said he was not coming over to talk to us, and that he said the specific table we were seated at was reserved for 6pm and we wouldn't be able to move to another table because all the other tables around us were reserved as well. As if being publicly humiliated wasn't enough, the manager finally comes over and he is irate and extremely rude without reason. His voice was elevated, causing other patrons to look at us. So embarrassing! We asked the manager why we were being targeted and he wasn't able to answer. We mentioned the other tables that were already there before us, and not being asked to rush or leave and his only response was that the table we were sitting at is reserved for another customer at 6pm. He continued to yell and spew distaste for us being there. I knew it was only because we were Black, and the only Black people in the establishment. We obviously decided to leave, which is what the manager wanted anyway. To add more insult, we were presented with checks. We paid, and left.

This situation was beyond embarrassing! We were publicly humiliated, and verbally abused by the manager. We were racially profiled and targeted....

Not real sure what happened. I have always heard good things about this place, but our experience was not pleasant. We had a reservation at 7. The server seemed like he was in a big rush to get us out the door. We were out by 7:45. That's after two appetizers and an entree.

The tartar was pretty bland. It needs a lot of salt, some kind of acid, and the onions need to be chopped smaller so you can integrate them into the bite. Also, the menu says it comes with baguette, but the bread it came with tasted like grocery store white bread that had been toasted.

The petite gougeres were lovely. Warm, buttery, truffley, and lighter than air. That's where the second star comes from.

I had the lobster risotto and my husband had the special salad of the night.

My risotto was a mess. The rice was very under cooked. Risotto should be al dente, and the grains should be firm, but they shouldn't be gritty and raw in the middle. The lobster was, conversely, over cooked. It was tough and grainy. I ate the lobster because I needed some solid protein, as we were going drinking afterwards, but I left the rice alone. They did take it off the bill after seeing that I didn't eat it, and I appreciate that.

My husband's salad was okay. He said the blackened salmon was a dry, and the cooked Brussels sprouts were chilled, which he said wasn't very nice. The cheese balls rolled in nuts were... interesting...

All in all, for $130, and for our anniversary, we were expecting to sit there for a while and enjoy ourselves. But I guess they needed the table.

Our original thought was to go to Taverna, the Italian place next door, because it's always amazing. I think we will do...