Toronto Ontario
Bonjour mes amis!
Are you a homesick Parisian lost in the metropolis of Canada’s largest and certainly far from prettiest city? Well I have found a little slice of home for you. In the Distillery District you will find Cluny, a sprinkle of Paris right here in Toronto.
It’s a lovely little (well, not really little, actually freaking huge) – brasserie, though they themselves call it a bistro. Bah, tomayto/tomahto. Replete with raw bar and bread buffet.
Not what I’d expect to find in Toronto that’s for sure. It really is a lovely atmosphere here. You can almost hear Edith Piaf singing “la Vie en Rose” in the background.
We were drawn into Cluny by the Lobster Benedict on the menu. Only the French would put lobster on a Benny.
However that’s a weekend brunch menu item, not the Monday lunchtime menu.
So we settled on trying the Duck Confit Monte Cristo, avec frites. With a house made dijon aioli.
It’s an egg dipped croissant stuffed with duck and guyere then fried. Wonderful. The duck was so good. And those fries. Nothing better than small crispy fries. And they were all small crispy fries!
At the front they have a separate Boulangerie with sandwiches and pastries.
We tried the passionfruit tart. Very light and refreshing.
Lastly we tried the praline financier. The financier was very moist, but I found the coating a bit too much. Perhaps it kept the cake from drying out, but it just made it too heavy to really enjoy.
Alas our luncheon has come to an end. I have but a few words… Trés Bon! Magnifique! Formidable! Trying to remember my grade 11 French here…….
Certainly a treat that we weren’t expecting to find in Toronto, that’s for sure. It’s only too bad the servers don’t have french accents to complete the experience.
Au revoir Cluny, but hopefully not Goodbye.
Food 9/10
Atmosphere 9/10
Service 8/10
Overall 9/10