No. 20: Café Boulud

60 YORKVILLE AVENUE, TORONTO, ONTARIO
CAFEBOULUD.COM
416-963-6000

THIS DANIEL BOULUD OUTPOST IN TORONTO’S FLAGSHIP FOUR SEASONS HOTEL CONTINUES TO THRIVE ON THE STRENGTH OF ITS TWO-PRONGED MAKEOVER.

The place’s new look, conceived by London-based superstar restaurant designer Martin Brudnizki (The Ivy, J. Sheekey, Miami Soho Beach House, etc.), includes his signature touches of loosely upholstered leather seats and a bar set with small individual lamps, rendering it into a stylish oasis of urban comfort. Boulud, meanwhile, has scaled back the ambition and international reach of his original Café menu in favour of simple bistro comforts. The crux of it comes courtesy of a Rotisol rotisserie, which yields beautiful roast chicken, lamb and other meats and wonderfully textured lobster, as well as vegetables roasted in pan drippings and a fantastic pineapple glazed on a vertical spit.

Boulud’s signature style of a lightened, brightly flavoured French cooking is also applied to such classics as quenelles de brochet, boudin blanc and veal blanquette (with a vivid green sauce of puréed herbs and vegetables in place of the customary cream-thickened stock). There is also an array of classic bistro salads—from niçoise to lyonnaise. The pastry kitchen is extremely strong, executing with commendable finesse everything from imported NYC Boulud classics like his pamplemousse givré to the locally conceived profiteroles beneath a glossy chocolate dome.

HOURS

Breakfast
Monday to Sunday
7:00 AM until11:00 AM

Lunch
Monday to Saturday
12:00 PM until3:00 PM

Dinner
Monday to Sunday
5:30 PM until 10:30 PM

Brunch
Sunday
11:00 AM until 3:00 PM