 t'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. |
96 Tecumseh Street, Toronto, ON
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11 Reader Reviews
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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Amuse Bouche |
96 Tecumseh Street, Toronto, ON
416-913-5830
Queen West
French
Restaurant
Tue. to Sun.: 6:00pm - 10:30pm
$$$ (Within Reach)
Master Card
Visa
American Express |
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MBO Toronto :: Toronto Restaurants & Dining Guide
