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 ocal foodies were disappointed - and utterly curious - with the seemingly abrupt closure of the King West restaurant, Susur. It had appeared that Toronto, home to this Food and Wine's Top 10 Chef, had lost not just the restaurant, but the titular chef, to a certain other city.
But, with a lightning quick turnaround, the master of Nouvelle Chinoise is at it again, re-inventing the old space with something decidedly more European. After a rather quick re-tooling, the Susur space is released to the masses, as Madeline's.
 And it's not the chef's middle name; the restaurant is named after his mother (or more specifically, the name the British army had given her when they could not pronounce her Chinese name). The irony, Lee informs me, is that she is actually not a very good cook. But between yelling at her son for who knows what, she expressed gratitude for the honour.
The just-opened restaurant is a departure from the cuisine he is responsible for branding, which brings us to yet another change at 601 King Street; Susur is no longer the one in charge (at least theoretically). With Madeline's, Lee hands over the reigns to his longtime second-in-command, former Sous-Chef of Susur, Dominic Armanal.
Now in Madeline's, gone are the whitewashed walls of it's former incarnation, and in their place are demure and lush, (sexy is the world Lee uses, and I would have to agree), velvets in an assortment of colours and French textile patterns, including the roof above the bar, where people can have a cocktail or dine.
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 AT A GLANCE
Susur
601 King Street West, Toronto, ON
416-603-2205
Fusion
King West
Venue:
Restaurant
Hours:
Mon. to Sat.: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Price Range:
$$$$$ (expense account)
Payment:
Master Card, Visa, American Express
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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13 Reader Reviews | Surprisingly unpretentious. I always thought that the earlier rendition (Susur) was a little to haughty for my taste. But, admittedly, this Madeline's re-vamp is very down to earth.
kudos.
1. Anonymous's Review :: July 25, 2008 |
Surprisingly unpretentious. I always thought that the earlier rendition (Susur) was a little to haughty for my taste. But, admittedly, this Madeline's re-vamp is very down to earth.
kudos.
2. Jacqueline Olive's Review :: July 25, 2008 Jacqueline Olive's Rating: 4 Stars |
Gorgeous. We popped in when we saw activity... and the place is completely revamped. Small plates, but looks like tapas style. Table reserved for Saturday.
3. Anonymous's Review :: July 24, 2008 |
Susur is a waste of time and money. I went with a group of friends on May 30th since he was packing up to leave for New York City. What a disappointment. I've been to some nice restaurants where you have a good meal and feel that there is value for money. In this case it was a 6 course dinner tasting menu. I felt hungry afterwards as did most of my friends! You're served small 1x1" cubes of food and it's more like appetizers. The "white asparagus" is ridiculous - it's a big slab of vegetable on a plate, and at the end of the meal you get a large bill for $300+ per person. Don't waste your money here. I've had better meals at the Keg or Green Mango and didn't feel like I got ripped off.
4. Anonymous's Review :: June 05, 2008 |
Susur is a waste of time and money. I went with a group of friends on May 30th since he was packing up to leave for New York City. What a disappointment. I've been to some nice restaurants where you have a good meal and feel that there is value for money. In this case it was a 6 course dinner tasting menu. I felt hungry afterwards as did most of my friends! You're served small 1x1" cubes of food and it's more like appetizers. The "white asparagus" is ridiculous - it's a big slab of vegetable on a plate, and at the end of the meal you get a large bill for $300+ per person. Don't waste your money here. I've had better meals at the Keg or Green Mango and didn't feel like I got ripped off.
5. Rachel's Review :: June 05, 2008 Rachel's Rating: 1 Stars |
Had the tasting menu; very confused at best. Incongruent dishes, with one dish (a medley of three soups) that was practically inedible. The food was pedestrian, and certainly not superb as many would feign to tell you. You could tell that very little care and enthusiasm went into there prepartion. In fact, the composition of the food succinctly reflects the mechanical nature of the service.
....And the service! I have never endured such flagrant arroganct insouciance in my entire culinary life. To put it bluntly, my waiter was a snot-nosed punk. When the service staff prance and strut around like a coterie of headless peacocks, you can't help but feel nauseous. Such a dismmissive attitude can only be indicative of immaturity and a genuine lack of intelligence. With all the pretense and parading they seemed to have forgotten the element of hospitality.
In the end, the Susur dining experience was not only disapointing, it was an experience laden with frustration. It's the kind of place that will really grind your gears. Stay clear if you are currenly a happy person. There's no reason to ruin a good mood.
6. Anonymous's Review :: May 08, 2008 |
Had the tasting menu; very confused at best. Incongruent dishes, with one dish (a medley of three soups) that was practically inedible. The food was pedestrian, and certainly not superb as many would feign to tell you. You could tell that very little care and enthusiasm went into there prepartion. In fact, the composition of the food succinctly reflects the mechanical nature of the service.
....And the service! I have never endured such flagrant arroganct insouciance in my entire culinary life. To put it bluntly, my waiter was a snot-nosed punk. When the service staff prance and strut around like a coterie of headless peacocks, you can't help but feel nauseous. Such a dismmissive attitude can only be indicative of immaturity and a genuine lack of intelligence. With all the pretense and parading they seemed to have forgotten the element of hospitality.
In the end, the Susur dining experience was not only disapointing, it was an experience laden with frustration. It's the kind of place that will really grind your gears. Stay clear if you are currenly a happy person. There's no reason to ruin a good mood.
7. Jack Black's Review :: May 08, 2008 Jack Black's Rating: 1 Stars |
I kept hearing about all the hype of Susur so my boyfriend and I decided to check it out. We had the tasting menu with the wine pairings, and I must say the food is excellent. We had 7 different courses each, which means that we got to try 14 different dishes. Mind you...each dish is pretty small, but towards the end of the night, we were so full. The wine was great and it was paired perfectly with each dish. It brought out the taste of the food even more. I must say the best part of the night was the dessert at the end. It came in a tier with at least 10 different pastries. The service was very prompt as well. I will definitely come to Susur again. It is a bit pricey though as it came to $500 with tax and tip, but it was well worth it.
8. Anonymous's Review :: March 21, 2008 |
I kept hearing about all the hype of Susur so my boyfriend and I decided to check it out. We had the tasting menu with the wine pairings, and I must say the food is excellent. We had 7 different courses each, which means that we got to try 14 different dishes. Mind you...each dish is pretty small, but towards the end of the night, we were so full. The wine was great and it was paired perfectly with each dish. It brought out the taste of the food even more. I must say the best part of the night was the dessert at the end. It came in a tier with at least 10 different pastries. The service was very prompt as well. I will definitely come to Susur again. It is a bit pricey though as it came to $500 with tax and tip, but it was well worth it.
9. Jasmine's Review :: March 21, 2008 Jasmine's Rating: 4 Stars |
I planned an evening at Susur for an anniversary dinner and things started off really well. The wine was excellent and table was good. We both ordered the 6 course tasting menu, one meat and one vegetarian and our first course and the amuse bouche were good. The meat tasting menu was better than the vegetarian but still nothing to rave about. The vegetarian menu started off with lobster in a lobster bisque sauce which was just very bland and the sauce did nothing for the flavour. The 19-ingredient slaw was amazing but that was about it. Then there was shrimp and lobster ravioli that had pieces of lobster shell in it... The night was essentially downhill from there.
The service was okay but the waiters attempted to be quick witted and funny and missed the friendly part... Susur tries too hard to make extravagant dishes instead of making them good, the presentation seems to get more attention than the flavour. Overall, the food was definitely not worth the money and it is easy to see why Susur has not had any international accolades since 2002 or thereabouts. Having eaten at Michelin star resturants, Toronto is still lagging and if Susur is the best it has to offer then there's a long way to go.
10. Anonymous's Review :: March 05, 2007 |
I planned an evening at Susur for an anniversary dinner and things started off really well. The wine was excellent and table was good. We both ordered the 6 course tasting menu, one meat and one vegetarian and our first course and the amuse bouche were good. The meat tasting menu was better than the vegetarian but still nothing to rave about. The vegetarian menu started off with lobster in a lobster bisque sauce which was just very bland and the sauce did nothing for the flavour. The 19-ingredient slaw was amazing but that was about it. Then there was shrimp and lobster ravioli that had pieces of lobster shell in it... The night was essentially downhill from there.
The service was okay but the waiters attempted to be quick witted and funny and missed the friendly part... Susur tries too hard to make extravagant dishes instead of making them good, the presentation seems to get more attention than the flavour. Overall, the food was definitely not worth the money and it is easy to see why Susur has not had any international accolades since 2002 or thereabouts. Having eaten at Michelin star resturants, Toronto is still lagging and if Susur is the best it has to offer then there's a long way to go.
11. Ciara's Review :: March 03, 2007 Ciara's Rating: 2 Stars |
It doesn't matter how good the food is, if the service is terrible it ruins the evening. The wait staff and Greg the GM all have a smug, arrogant behavior that is simply unbearable.
Biting my tongue through the below par service, our final bill totaled $3700, they added $500 gratuities - but what got me was after the horrible service, the GM had the nerve to tell me not once, not twice but three times that he ?only added the standard gratuities? - that I could add whatever I?d like on top of the ?standard? making me feel cheap if I didn?t add anything as he watched me sign off on the bill?
Another great example of their superiority complex is when I contacted them to rent out the restaurant and left three messages for Greg to discuss details but I have yet to receive a return call. I?ve been there several times for their food but I have now accepted that the pretentious attitude is festered between all Susur?s staff and is part of their company culture. Needless to say, my colleagues and I will NEVER be using their venue again.
Bank Event Planner
12. Bank Event Planner's Review :: May 05, 2006 Bank Event Planner's Rating: 1 Stars |
My husband and I dined there last Saturday night. Top notch service and the staff was very knowledgeable and helpful. Our server recommended wines by the class to accompany courses and halves closer to the end when I knew I couldn't enjoy a whole glass. We went with the 5-course tasting menu and I was still stuffed at the end of the evening. The food was exquisite and beautiful, suprising and inspired. The only bad thing I can say is that there was a lack of available parking...I ended up with a ticket, but still an incredible evening.
13. Carolyn's Review :: April 21, 2006 Carolyn's Rating: 4 Stars |
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 601 King Street West, Toronto, ON |
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MBO Toronto :: Toronto Restaurants & Dining Guide
