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| - 4.5 stars
As a fan of culinary shows like Chef's Table, La Banane was the closest restaurant where I have experienced 'fine dining.' My uncle treated my father and I to a last-minute dinner in Toronto and I chose this restaurant due to all the reviews and Toronto blog posts I've seen online.
I booked a reservation for 9:15 PM and we arrived 15-20 late due to traffic. Even though we showed up late, upon my surprise, our table was still ready and reserved for us upon our arrival. As well, since we decided to go here last minute, we weren't really wearing "dressy" attire as I read that was the restaurant's dress code. I was worried that we wouldn't be served for some reason or would get some weird looks, but the staff treated us very nicely and politely
Our party of three split:
- Prezel-type of bread with mustard (house bread)
- King crab
- Raw marinated scallops with garlic buttermilk
- *Foie gras with brioche, raspberry compote and toasted hazelnuts
- *Charred broccolini
- *Duck terrine
- Rib steak
- Complimentary chocolates
Unfortunately, their popular eurobass en croute and steelhead trout were sold out. I know La Banane is known for their seafood and raw bar, but I would forgo the crab and scallops next time I go. They were good, but nothing too spectacular in my opinion.
The duck was cooked wonderfully - shaved and placed back on the bone for ease of eating and wrapped beautifully in a puff pastry that wasn't too thick and didn't overpower the meat. The broccolini was a wonderful addition to go with the meat and I don't usually love eating vegetables, especially when eating out. My favourite by far was the foie gras. On the menu, we received it said it had apricot or some other sauce with it, but our waiter informed us that it was actually raspberry. The meat was smooth, fatty (but not gross fat), and melted in your mouth. I had some of the meat on its own and the other half on my brioche with the compote and hazelnuts. In a way, it reminded me of the fanciest PB&J.
We were one of the last tables there, leaving about 15 minutes before closing. What I love about this place is that we ever felt rushed and were treated so well -- polite + friendly staff, employees cleaning our tables in between meals, our water glasses were always filled, and there was coat check (not at all what I experience elsewhere)! It was lovely and I'll definitely be going back.
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