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| - Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Cleanliness: 4.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Price: $$$
Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud has numerous restaurants around the world, and Canada's lucky to have two in Toronto and Montreal. We visited Toronto's Café Boulud back in January 2016 for brunch, finally crossing off all the Canadian locations! Voted Canada's top #14 restaurant, the newly renovated restaurant is truly a great place for weekend brunches.
Café Boulud officially has three locations across North America: New York City, Palm Beach, and Toronto. In Canada, the café is located on the second floor of Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel while they also have a d|bar by Daniel Boulud on the first floor. You can see the menus of both the bar and the café above.
The café actually only offers brunch on Sundays, and we visited on a Saturday afternoon. We didn't make a separate reservation for our brunch but we did arrive earlier to check for space. We ended up arriving after their breakfast and before lunch times, so we had some time to kill. Because we arrived early for lunch, the host took note of us. Reservations can be made by phone, in person, or online through Café Boulud's website.
We were one of the first few to enter Café Boulud for lunch and I was really impressed with them! Café Boulud recently went under a big renovation in terms of its menu and they also added a beautiful bar. The French bistro-esque café made me feel like I was in Europe more than Canada, and I loved it.
The menu at Café Boulud was not that big, as it was a café after all, but it had enough choices in each category that it had me stuck for awhile as to what to order. I decided to try the Frenchie Burger ($24.00) while my husband opted for pasta. We also decided to order an appetizer to share, though I don't fully remember what we ordered :(. No extra drinks other than sparkling water were ordered as I was pregnant.
Because we ordered so early on during its lunch hours, we also received our orders quite quickly. The croquettes were delicious and I really liked how the lemon on the side was also grilled. The food was soft and tender on the inside and we could really taste the cod fish.
Our entrées arrived shortly after, and I was so eager to try my burger! I think I might've been a little more excited to try the big bowl of fries that came with the burger more so than the burger itself... I'm one of the biggest lovers of french fries you'd ever know. Anyway, my burger was good but it didn't exactly satisfy me. Perhaps it was just because I could only get the patty grilled well-done as I was pregnant (I prefer medium-medium well). My husband really enjoyed the burger and couldn't fully understand why I didn't like it as much as he did. I loved the fresh arugula in the burger, quite different from the regular lettuce you get, and the tomato-onion compote was great. I still don't know why I didn't fully enjoy the burger and I really wish I knew.
Hubby's pasta dish was delicious, especially because of the lamb ragu! The pasta dishes at Café Boulud were available in half and full portions. I quite liked the pasta as well, more than my Frenchie burger, and I wished I had ordered the pasta instead. We both liked how the pasta was perfectly al dente because the texture of the pasta really enhanced the dish. Definite re-order.
By the time we were done with our brunch, Café Boulud was packed with customers! I definitely recommend making a reservation in advance as the café is quite popular. Our brunch experience was satisfactory and we would love to return for a nice romantic dinner later on when we are in town. Their dinner menu is similar but has more options, and I would really love to return to Café Boulud for their prix-fixe Sunday brunch!
Service at Café Boulud was great (as it should be) and we were consistently checked upon throughout our lunch. As the restaurant became busier throughout the lunch hours, we couldn't get a hold of our server as easily as we did which was slightly disappointing. Nevertheless, other servers still took care of us.
If you've ever wanted to try Daniel Boulud's French cuisine and you're in Toronto, we highly recommend that you try Café Boulud. It's a great French bistro to enjoy time with your loved ones at any given time.
Valet parking is available through Four Seasons Hotel Toronto.
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