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Review by Ellen Jakobsmeier |
 his entry to the Hutchinson block - Toronto’s white-hot dining destination (thanks to the presence of neighbouring Colborne Lane and Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar) - joins the ranks of its peers and has begun to garner an equally impressive following with its upscale yet unpretentious eating environment. So far, the restaurant from partners Simon Bower (YYZ) and executive chef, Scot Woods (Habitat, YYZ), has attracted a dining audience that ranges from Bay street suits to local condo dwellers.
Located across from the historic Flat-Iron building, the 1862 structure that houses Lucien has quite the history. Bower painstakingly restored it to its original glory, and exterior and interior accents reflect his work. What may be some of the oldest original glass in the city frames the resto’s moniker, glowing just below the antique windows (appropriately, Lucien means light). It’s a fair assumption that this elegant illumination will act as a beacon to draw wearied cubicle workers in for a beautiful evening meal.
Designed solely by Bower, the interior, including whimsical flourishes to conceal an otherwise boring ceiling and a specially rigged lighting system to gently dim during the dusk hours (mimicking a sunset), is just as classy. An Oro Napoleon granite bar with rich walnut accents and the same curly patterns from the ceiling are reflected in the base of the bar that largely anchors the space. Chandeliers, intimate dining nooks, tiled leather “wallpaper” and textured raspberry drapery add a touch of elegance and romance, but Bower’s own personal treasures (like the ornate Egyptian apartment doors framing the kitchen’s peek-a-boo window) complete the look.
While Bower is keenly aware of the impact of décor and atmosphere on a dining experience, he doesn’t hesitate to note that the real stars of the space come from the kitchen. The executive chef, fresh from expanding his culinary horizons with a gourmet excursion to France, a brief stint slicing and dicing at Toronto’s Healthy Butcher, and a three week, eye-opening experience at Chicago’s famed Alinea Restaurant, is very excited about showcasing his menu to eager diners.
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36 Wellington East, Toronto, ON
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6 Reader Reviews
The following is taken from a column I wrote on retro trends especially with reference to the TV show Mad Men. I didn't name the restaurant but it's fair to name it here. It was Lucien. Bad as the food was, the service was appallingly unfriendly. Retro is one thing, rude and bad is another.
"In this awful restaurant, where my girlfriend and I dined, the pork belly tasted like the eight ounces of flavourless slippery white fat it was.
The Arctic char sat in a plate-filling circle of mint gel — a failed Martha Stewart colour wash — a puzzlingly wet aspic that anchored other things, an egg yolk surrounded by albumen, a potato that turned out to be another white foam creation, its bubbles vanishing into the fish, five tiny orange egglets forming a glutinous curve the size of a cocktail ring.
Nothing on the plate was just there; it all gave the impression of having been secreted.
And so pastel, all of it. It is possible to produce slimy food in clear strong colours: You should taste my peaches microwaved with brown sugar. I call it my Pêche à l'Erreur; small children clamour for it.
But you really have to work to produce mucilaginous food the colour of Eastern Airlines upholstery circa 1962. And the restaurant did. But why?
I have never sent back a meal in my life; it's still food even if it's bad. But the single green glass noodle clinging to the char was the end. So we didn't eat and waited to be asked why.
Why, the waitress asked.
She got adjectives. "There's an emulsion theme here throughout the entree," my girlfriend said. She is very sophisticated. Earlier, she had been more brusque. "Heather, we've ordered the pro-life platter," she said.
"It's … viscous," I offered.
"Jellied," my friend said.
"Lubricious."
"Shiny."
And then I broke down. "Mucus. It was like mucus. I'm sorry."
The service was brisk and hostile from then on. The entrees were taken off the bill and the meal still cost $150.
Heather Mallick's Rating: 1 Stars |
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While the entire experience was superb, out parting experience was terrible. We were given a gift certificate, less than a month old for $500. Our bill came to $420. We wanted to leave the balance as a tip to our server the owner said that gift certificates could not include gratuities. So he was basically pocketing $80 that should have gone to the server. When asked why his policy was what it was, his excuse was that he had been in the restaurant business for 23 years. Apparently that gave him license to steal from his staff.
Marion Chan's Rating: 3 Stars |
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5 of us went to Lucien for a friend's birthday on a Friday night for a 6.30 pm reservation. We all had appetizers, mains, shared desserts and had plenty of wine so spent close to $125 / person. Right from the start, we were not impressed with the host / person who welcomed us. He was leading us to our seats when we ran into someone we knew seated at the bar, and we stopped to have a quick chat with our friend before sitting. The host was thoroughly unimpressed that we hadn't followed him obediently to our table (keep in mind that the restaurant was not busy and we weren't blocking traffic in the restaurant). Following that, our server was incredibly condescending to at least 2 people in our party who were asking about menu items. The food was delicious, although the beef tataki was a bit too oily. After a mostly uneventful meal (except for the fact that the white wine was not put in a chiller between refills!) we were summarily asked to leave because apparently there was a party waiting for our table. The only problem was there was no one waiting at the bar, or near the entrance and there was an empty table right next to us that could have seated the same amount of people as ours. Overall, the restaurant is nice and the food is mostly delicious, but the service was very unimpressive.
Jill's Rating: 2 Stars |
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At the end of my meal yesterday, I called the owner, Simon, over to say, "Absolutely every bite was joy". And I meant it. I've eaten at a lot of Toronto restaurants over my past 4 years in the city, and this by far was the best. Service was a wee bit sloppy at times, but staff was apologetic and attentive enough. I would have loved a second bottle of the Alsatian Gewurz that we enjoyed so much, but they were out and didn't have an alternative that we cared for. But those were minor hiccups compared to the exquisite creations that came out of the kitchen. Congratulations - I know I'll be back!
Jessica's Rating: 4 Stars |
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After reading some decent reviews on this restaurant, I was excited to try out this restaurant. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed. The portions were incredibly tiny - I am a small woman but I had to go and eat another dinner afterwards or my stomach would've been growling for the rest of the night. To give you an idea of the portions, I ordered the lamb as the main course. The price was something around the range of $40. Touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb on one hand. The $40 dish consisted of 2 pieces of lamb of this size (the thickness was approximately 1") and a little bit of tasteless veggies. In addition, the service was terrible and the wait was ridiculous. It took about 30 minutes for us to get our appetizers and another 30-40 minutes to get our main course. Save yourself the money and the sanity, don't go to Lucien!
Jessica's Rating: 1 Stars |
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Well, I recently visited Lucien and I must say I was immensely unimpressed. The server forgot to mention that the portions at Lucien are "supermodel sized", even after we talked about sharing appetizers. Really! A dish with 3-4 cherry sized tomatoes does not constitute a salad, I mean what was on the plate was good, but the portion was ridiculous! After leaving Lucien, I felt abused and worst of all HUNGRY!! I would think that after spending over $100 per person, and having had an app, main and desert there would be no need to eat a bowl of cereal once I got home.
Sara's Rating: 2 Stars |
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Lucien |
36 Wellington East, Toronto, ON
416-504-9990
Downtown
Contemporary
Restaurant
$$$
Master Card
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American Express |
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