Lucien Restaurant, Toronto

Crystal chandeliers, faux wrought iron flourishes, low lights over the bar and a beautiful view onto Berzcy Park with a fully illuminated fountain set the stage for Lucien, an offbeat nouveau bistro in downtown Toronto with aspirations of epicurean greatness.  It won’t be hard for them to reach that with what’s coming out of their kitchen.  But let’s get things straight, first.  If you lived in Toronto, Lucien would be your nightly hang out.  Not only does it have the goods in terms of food, it also has a special ambience that is getting rarer and rarer in the hospitality business. Set in a 19^th century building, its Beaux Art feel and a chummy staff that knows their stuff create that kind of personalized DNA that regulars love. Add a soundtrack of old R&B favorites and a menu that takes bistro food to a new level and you’ve got your clientele.

Opened in 2007, this intimate eatery has garnered way too many accolades to even begin to list and it’s obvious it has formed an identity. Executive Chef Scott Woods’ formula is a powerful mélange of blending inventive culinary expertise with classic dishes using local meats, fish and produce.  Start with a couple of their ingenious cocktails if it’s a weekend night or even if it isn’t. A subtly sweet French Martini made with vodka, Chambord and a whisper of pineapple juice and the signature of the house, The Lucien, with vodka, Chambord, cassis, cranberry juice and lime mix (an international take on the classic Cosmopolitan), set things up beautifully. We fell in love with their knack for mixing with Chambord, that sexy French liqueur from the fairy tale Chateau in France’s Loire Valley that can easily overpower a drink turning it candy sweet. Here on our second round it was dead-on fantastic with a duck liver amuse and The Lucien Plate, Chef Scott’s exceptional bite sized hors d’oeuvres and in-house organic cured charcuterie.

We quickly settled into first courses with the help of our gregarious server, Kristin Simon, a true Toronto bon vivant who gave us loads of nightlife recommendations (see what I mean?).  An albacore tuna crudo with a sweet and sour sauce and venison tartare with green mache and beech mushrooms played off each other’s rawness; talk about polar opposites. I’m crazy for anything so fresh it practically has a pulse, and these were wonderfully satisfying. Should we skip the entrée, have more drinks and dessert? Nah!

Our buddy Kristin guided us towards one of Chef Scott’s specials, Chicken Galantine, the name practically ringing in my ears as well as the Arctic Char.  This classic stuffed chicken preparation is a refined French creation that doesn’t appear very often on menus as it’s quite a lot of work. Here the chef took a flying leap into the rare air of the epicure and served it with the flavors of hazelnut and sage along with a squash risotto.  Char, always easy on the palate and the tummy, was delicately grilled and full of flavor thanks to a piquant mustard sauce (oh, so French but done completely original and a la nouvelle). Poached daikon and roasted shallots toned down the exciting combo.

Dessert reminded us how simply the French treat the course. A pecan butter tart served with elderflower sorbet had us planning how to make the same subtle changes to the Thanksgiving meal staple when the leaden pecan pie usually puts everyone to sleep.  Not so here at Lucien, in fact, you’ll be wide awake after this one and wanting to try some artisanal cheeses and head to the bar to sample the array of vintages.

It isn’t hard to understand why Lucien has garnered all the raves. They know that making guests want to come back again the next day is an art that’s truly worth finessing.