Amuse Bouche, Toronto

Martiniboys
Martiniboys Toronto Toronto Restaurants, Toronto Dining Guide Toronto Clubs and Nightlife Toronto Citystock Toronto Hotels Toronto Hot Tickets Toronto Galleries Toronto Theatre Toronto Movies Toronto Products
MBO Toronto :: Toronto Restaurants & Dining Guide
  • Amuse Bouche

    Review by Rick Levine
    It's hard not to be awestruck by the little eatery at Tecumseth and Whitaker. Jason Inniss and Bertrand Alépée have successfully created an ambitiously cute French bistro.

    The dining space is bright and comfortable, radiating privilege (thanks, elderly moneyed couples). The focused menu spans the globe with dishes like coconut and cashew crusted yellow-fin tuna, ($28) with Dungeness crab and bamboo shoot salad, bonito leek foam. Also, Grilled Alberta beef tenderloin ($29) with a spicy corn flan, tomatillo and hearts of palm salsa and mango ketchup dish. Try the roasted breast of fat duck ($26) with soursop puree, cardamom reduction, or perhaps the Lamb three ways ($27): loin, shank, or merguez.

    This is a midlevel restaurant, not a temple of cuisine, though Inniss’s formidable butter poached lobster ($33) on black ravioli is a remarkable dish. - R.L.
    Looking for more restaurants in the Queen West area?
    Indus JunctionTealishUrbano
    Noto BeneSanUltra Supper Club

    11 Reader Reviews

    1. Kit's Review :: August 25, 2008
    I would have gladdy selected minus 4 star is it was available.

    We heard abou Amuse-Bouche when we moved to downtown To. For my birhtday 6 of us decided to go try their dessert tasting menu. We booked 2 week before, and got a call last minute asking to push our reservation from 9 to 9:30pm. When we arrived at 9:25pm, our table was still not ready. The restaurant did not have any waiting area so we were push in every direction. A very rude hostess came and ask us to wait in the "waiting area". It was at the back of the restaurant where the toilet were. At 9:55pm, we had enough of this non-sense and decide to leave as there was no sign that our table was clearing.

    To make matter worst, not only the hostess did not come to apologize or offered us something to compensate this experience, she told us that she doesn't understand why we are leaving. She claims that theya re simply behind by 5 min. I understand that time varies between's people's watches, but she must have her's set in a different time zone.

    Beware of snubby/pretentious service!

    Kit's Rating: 1 Stars
    2. Pauline Morris's Review :: August 10, 2008
    A trifle, really. Fussy food, too much foam and teeny pools of sauce and sprigs of chive to be really good. I had the lobster/scallop dish, which was bland to the taste in spite of having at least three decorative flavourings....horseradish foam (tasteless fizz), corn reduction (yellow, but flavourless) and fried straws of kale (ditto, an odd crunch but not much else). The seafood itself was rubbery and bland. Everything is presented beautifully. Service was very slow. The restaurant lives up to its name in bringing samples of pate, and mid-meal sorbet, on huge plates with dabs of sauce. Overall, over-priced for little food value and too much food design.

    Pauline Morris's Rating: 2 Stars
    3. Darren Boyd's Review :: July 21, 2008
    Came for Amuse Bouche - thought it was very cute, had great ambiance, but wasn't completely blown away. Escargot was fab, the red snapper was a little overpowering, desserts in general are delicious.

    Darren Boyd's Rating: 2 Stars
    4. Carrie's Review :: May 31, 2008
    My husband and I have eaten at restaurants all over the world--Italy, Australia, Spain, Portugal--among others. I consider myself something of a foodie and in the city really enjoy Le Paradis for good, bistro French cuisine and Auberge de Pommier for more high-end French fare. I expected that Amuse Bouche would land somewhere in between these two rather good French restaurants. Not so.
    We ordered the 5-plate tasting menu, not realizing that all we'd received for our $220 bill was a literal taste of food. I could have fit every course all together, and very comfortably, on a single plate. We have very average appetites, but tonight, we left this over-priced, pretentiously presented meal hungry. Absolutely appalling. If I could give it less than 1 star I would.

    Carrie's Rating: 1 Stars
    5. Chris Sheppard's Review :: April 1, 2008
    Comme ci comme ca,
    A pretty good meal, but the atmosphere is more strip mall than Kensington Market...you can find all the familiar french faves in here, but the wine list was fairly basic, and they didn't have half the bottles on it anyway. But worth the visit nonetheless.


    Chris Sheppard's Rating: 3 Stars
    6. Maria Quinn's Review :: March 15, 2008
    After a wonderful dining experience at Susur's a few weeks earlier, despite some of the reviews, we were hoping to replicate another evening of exquisite dining. No luck at Amuse Bouche. The presentation of each plate was interesting but sadly, the food was not. The appetizer of fois gras was satisfactory but not special; the entre of pork was dry and tasteless. The portions seemed unusually small and the main dish failed to deliver or live up to its mouth-watering description. Service wasn't particularly warm but somewhat efficient--although by the time they remembered the wine, we were almost finished and ready to leave. Overall, an expensive dinner for what it was. There are better restaurants in the city.

    Maria Quinn's Rating: 1 Stars
    7. Maria Quinn's Review :: March 15, 2008
    After a wonderful dining experience at Susur's a few weeks earlier, despite some of the reviews, we were hoping to replicate another evening of exquisite dining. No luck at Amuse Bouche. The presentation of each plate was interesting but sadly, the food was not. The appetizer of fois gras was satisfactory but not special; the entre of pork was dry and tasteless. The portions seemed unusually small and the main dish failed to deliver or live up to its mouth-watering description. Service wasn't particularly warm but somewhat efficient--although by the time they remembered the wine, we were almost finished and ready to leave. Overall, an expensive dinner for what it was. There are better restaurants in the city.

    Maria Quinn's Rating: 1 Stars
    8. V Feket's Review :: March 21, 2007
    My husband and I live in Manhattan and came to Toronto for the weekend. We absolutely loved this restaurant and the neighborhood. It's similar to Soho, but friendlier. Incredible restaurants, galleries, gorgeous shops, very cool and chique!! What an amazing restaurant, what an amazing city! We will tell all of our friends about it!

    V Feket's Rating: 4 Stars
    9. Rico's Review :: February 14, 2007
    We (4) went out to try this place on January 30, 2007. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable.

    All the appetizers were great, 3 of 4 mains were fantastic (pork was a little over done) and desserts were fantastic.

    We'll go again as soon as I save enough pocket money

    Rico's Rating: 3 Stars
    10. Lex's Review :: January 22, 2007
    I TOTALLY disagree! I had dinner there on Friday night and the food was divine. Beautifully prepared and presented and everything melted in our mouths. The dessert was a masterpiece and the wine and champagne was delicious!! The atmosphere was cozy and intimate and the service was excellent! Happy dining!!


    Lex's Rating: 4 Stars
    Click here to view all 11 reviews
    Voice your opinion! Submit a reader review for Amuse Bouche. Click here

    Amuse Bouche

    Address

    96 Tecumseh Street, Toronto, ON

    Phone

    416-913-5830

    Area

    Queen West

    Cuisine

    French

    Venue

    Restaurant

    Hours

    Tue. to Sun.: 6:00pm - 10:30pm

    Price

    $$$ (Within Reach)

    Payment

    Master Card
    Visa
    American Express
    Restaurant

    Related Restaurants

    More in Restaurant

    Toronto Restaurants, Toronto Clubs, Toronto Shopping, Toronto Parties, Toronto Galleries, Toronto Theatre, Toronto Club News