I’ve been procrastinating and this post (regretfully) has been over a month in the making! I blame it on the pregnancy grogginess cuz I’m definitely more tired than my regular self, but hey we’re at 36 weeks now and in the home stretch (woohoo)! 😀
Last month we celebrated Mother’s Day in the Distrillery District at Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie. My friend Karen recommended it, and knowing that they serve modern French food we thought it would be a nice change of pace. Decor-wise I’ve already seen beautiful pics of their dining room interior and their fabulous bakery so I knew I could expect some eye-candy. I swear we had full intentions to pick up some pastries afterwards, but it got too late and we were far too full. What a shame – look at those gorgeous tarts!
Love locks on display at The Distillery District, a Toronto tourist destination
The restaurant has a very relaxed and casual atmosphere, with an outdoor patio for those beautiful summer nights. You can seat yourself at the bar, or grab a snack at the bakery. However, once you’re in the dining room we found it uncomfortably loud during our meal and had to shout across our table for two… then again we came on a Saturday night during prime time. Perhaps it had to do with the acoustics in the ceiling, as pretty as it may be?
Framed drop ceiling
The bar to the right of the entrance…
The bakery to the left…
To start off our meal I ordered a refreshing real fruit juice blend of berries, while Joseph ordered a glass of wine. Like any good French meal, we had an assortment of bread although I’m not sure what savoury/sweet variations there were because our waitress didn’t mention them by name. Nonetheless fresh bread and butter is always good!
Bread station
For starters we had an Asian fusion of Ginger-Chili Fried Frog’s Legs with pickled celery and a ginger-chili sauce. The frog legs were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. We recommend this appetizer!
Afterwards we ordered some baked figs with a cheese that I can’t remember the name of. Anyway, I just checked the Cluny website and they’ve revised their menu (thankfully) without this dish. The cheese overpowered the sweet figs in a distinctly smelly and salty way, but that’s irrelevant now. 😀
Compliments of the chef, we enjoyed the Lime and Chili Marinated Black King Fish with salsa verde, avocado, jalapeño, and crispy shallots. The fish was very fresh and the lime and chili added that nice ‘lil kick to it. This was a much appreciated appetizer, and I love that it included chunks of creamy avocado! Sooooo good.
For my main, I had the Veal Meatball with a side of gnocchi and veggies. The meatball was saturated with the wonderful flavours of braised tomato sauce. It was fall-off-the-bone delicious and I highly recommend it! It’s too bad I wasn’t a fan of the Parisian gnocchi, but then again I’ve never enjoyed gnocchi because I find the essence of it too “doughy.” Joseph ordered the 6 oz filet mignon, rare, with lemon & garlic aioli and frites. We appreciate that they only serve natural, hormone and antibiotic free meat. However, we’re sorry we were too busy eating and forgot to take pics of the steak but you can see it more or less in the background. 😛
Delicious and mouth-watering!
Decaf latte to cap off the night
Last but not least, we ordered the Passion Fruit Soufflé topped with vanilla creme anglaise. WE LOVE SOUFFLES! This was our absolute fav dish of the night. It was hot and spongy and everything a soufflé should be. I seriously hope they make different flavoured soufflés to come. 😀
Cheers,
Melissa
Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie
35 Tank House Lane
Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4
(416) 203-2632
