For some reason I’m on a French food kick lately. It has
something to do with their beautiful restaurants, equally artistic plates and
of course the rich sauces. Having visited Colette Grand Café for brunch,
Winterlicious seemed like an opportune time to return to sample dinner service.
After all, the dining room is stunning – one thing off the list.
Although not the prettiest, Colette’s French onion soup was
richly flavoured and loaded with slivers of sweet caramelized onions on the
bottom. Plenty of cubed croutons floated on top, the corners retaining their
crispiness despite sitting in the soup. There was also a sufficient, but not
overwhelming, amount of gruyere
cheese so it didn’t feel too heavy. If only there was more of the lovely broth
itself; between all the onions and soaked bread, there was little soup to
actually enjoy and made the bowl seem so shallow and sunken.
The heartiness of the beef bourguignon beckoned and despite
being tantalizingly plated, the execution was merely fine. I'll paraphrase my
friend who described the dish best - it's a good take on braised short ribs but
it's not beef bourguignon. Most noticeably the dish lacked the adult flavours
of a robust red wine or hint of brandy. But, it did have tiny pieces of a pickled
vegetable scattered amongst the braising liquid (could be onion or celery) that
provided a shock of freshness that’s unexpected but welcomed. Moreover, the
silky celery root and potato puree was buttery and satisfying.
As with my previous brunch experience, Colette's desserts
have none of the pizazz you'd expect from a country that's synonymous with
swoon worthy pastries. The horchata rice pudding was good, especially when
mixed with the smooth orb of pistachio mascarpone cream in the centre, but
hardly made you want to stop and savour it.
Despite being talked up by our friendly bubbly server, the chocolate
brownie cake fell flat when it became evident it sat in the oven too long, so
much so that a fork could hardly penetrate the cake’s edges. The second serving
they brought out was better, akin to a crunchier Two Bite Brownie. The peanut
butter anglaise, smeared on the plate, was fantastic.
Consider their off-menu dessert – salted caramel ice cream.
It sounds plain but arrived topped with crumbled toffee and the best of the
three. I guess that’s a reminder: sometimes it’s the simple things that can be
the most satisfying.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
Is Winterlicious worth it (based on my meal selection)?
Winterlicious - $45
Regular menu - $47 - soup* ($10), beef* ($29) and dessert* ($12)
Savings - $6 or 12%
* As many dishes weren't part of their regular menu, the soup was based on wild mushroom soup, beef based on braised lamb shank and dessert a wild guess from me
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 550 Wellington Street West
Address: 550 Wellington Street West
Website: http://www.colettetoronto.com/
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
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