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| - Quite an intriguing find - a French-Italian restaurant that's nestled in a very old house reflective of how this bustling area used to be a sleepy suburban ages ago. Its really charming like in the animated movie "Up" and one could only imagine how an old man would have pulled out his shotgun to the black suit developers. But this venue will never be torn down, to my opinion, and is a landmark amidst the metropolitan & business sophistication of the area not because of its probable Heritage status but because of the love of the people who keep coming back.
My first visit to this place brought forth a river of prose & poetry with the unexpected yet soothing simplicity of the place. The feel, the aroma, the quaint architecture - filled with cottage coziness. With a log burning with real fire in the fireplace (these things still exist? cool!!!) the laced window table overlooking the street where we were escorted to became a bit more romantic. This is not a fancy, sophisticated, nor contemporary place, shabby for some, but Chez Laurent is a quiet authority on experience.
Great for family dining, social or group get-together, and romantic dates. I was surprised and amused that one of their patrons held a Labrador Retriever as guide dog and was welcomed by the staff who apparently knows him (or them) too well. My husband has been here on several occasions with his co-workers and they would usually reserve one of the inner rooms of the house. Tells me this place really gets PACKED so calling ahead for RESERVATIONS is a must. And you cannot stay too long because they're fully booked by the hour. It's a wonderful place for a quiet dinner before a show at the nearby Toronto Center for the Arts or to see an event at the Mel Lastman Square. Mature crowd, probably in their thirties until retirement years
The service is one of the best. Greeted warmly at the door with old school warmth and hospitality, led to our seat with sweet politeness, thorough, unimposing, no-rush accommodation on the menu and service, and we didn't have to call them for anything during the meal. Always good timing and its lovely. They have Specials for the day which were articulated to us in luscious detail. Enough to whet our appetite, listening and making the choice were pretty tough.
The food is great, not spectacular but utterly satisfying. If I had a third thumb I would raise it. No ego, no sophistication but real home style cooking filled with luscious and wholesome goodness served on traditional gold lined flower painted and scalloped rim plates and bowls. Main dishes range from $9.95-$21.95.
We had Escargots for starters. Sweet balls of snail meat served hot, delicately buttered and generously garnished with herbs. It was like the seafood French truffles. Then the first sip of the "soup of the day" I had, that's carrot based sans meat, I was swirled into my childhood in my old gramma's kitchen - the all too familiar sweet aroma and rich flavor, oh-my-gawwwd! - too nostalgic. Kinda freaky but... "amazing" is an understatement. My husband had the freshest French onion soup he ever had with croutons and cheese and he was filled almost instantly. No, he didn't have that back to the future episode. That's just me. We shared it and it was so delish.
For the main course, I had Villetto alla Marsala (veal scaloppine in a sweet marsala wine sauce) and this dish pushed a mute button on my chatty mouth for a full minute (kinda made me nervous) as I chewed on the delectable juicy meat with this really mouthwatering sauce. I chose the vegetables for the siding instead of the pasta and those were nicely buttered & herbed. And this other sweet mashed siding - I can't remember exactly what it was called but it was rich with flavor and meltingly enjoyable (mute button again). My husband had this chicken dish with rose sauce and black olives, bathing in mushrooms too. I had a couple of slice from his plate and it was good. But my veal was better to my bias.
The meal for the two of us came to about $58 plus tax. Serving portions are just right for a very satisfying dinner giving us a bit more room for coffee and desserts. But we preferred to go somewhere else that night to explore the area a bit more. Its seldom that we come to this part of town. But in our next visit, we would definitely have some of their crème brule and cakes. Their wine menu was really tempting but we were too fickle so, yeah, next time. They open from 5pm from Monday to Saturday only.
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