Didier Restaurant & Catering

One of the best dining experiences I’ve had in years!!!
A high school friend coming into town for a few days gave reason for 5 of us to get together, and Didier was a suggestion as none of us had ever been and since it participated in Summerlicious, we could afford to eat there.
The ambiance was great! It was a Thursday evening, 8pm, so we were seated in a section that we had to ourselves (we hadn’t seen each other for some time — we were loud, lots of talking and laughing).
Our waiter, Thomas, was charming, funny and attentive. He definitely added to our dining experience — he was slick though, as he managed to talk us into $ 15 apple martini’s and a rose that was «the chef’s recommended wine for the meals» — which was excellent — but also expensive. As I said we ordered from the Summerlicious menu, each ordering something different so we could sample each others — the final bill still managed to exceed $ 500 for the 5 of us.

This restaurant closed down as of Aug. 31^st 2013. In its place is a swanky new dim sum restaurant.

Had a very solid dinner at Didier recently. Started with the escargot (the sauce is super buttery and amazing), and had the tartare as the main. Very well seasoned, but if you prefer your tartare unseasoned or not dijon-​y you should probably order something else. Steak and frites were also ordered, and while I’m not a big fan of heavily sauced steaks, Didier does this great onion garnish that goes well with their steak.
Lastly, the soufflé. Smells and tastes amazing, if you like soufflé you have to order this here. I think the flavours change (not sure how frequently) but luckily I got the salted caramel night. Delicious.

Absolutely marvelous. The service was great and the food was to die for. I particularly appreciated the fact that the chef came out to speak with all the patrons and thank them for their business. It added a personal touch to what was already a delicious meal. My only wish was that they had a better beer selection.

To update my review, please don’t come here if the chef (Didier) is not likely to be in the kitchen.
That means avoid coming here on weekday nights, and come for lunch for Thursdays, possibly Fridays. Saturdays would be the best days to come here and eat (especially Saturday night), as he is sure to be in the kitchen cooking.
If he isn’t, the escargots tend to be over salted by the sous chef, the soufflé was slightly cooked (I tasted scrambled eggs on one side of the soufflé), and the meal is just «okay». I mean, it’s still better than your average restaurant, don’t get me wrong… but at the prices I am paying, it is not EXCELLENT like the first time I came here to eat.
Just a heads up.

My boyfriend made reservations a month in advance for Valentine’s Day weekend at Didier. I was so excited and surprised as I had been hinting that I wanted to try this place for months and raved about how many good things I heard about it. I wanted to love it but our experience there was not nearly at the level I would expect.
The service was appalling. As someone who served for 7 years I couldn’t believe that it took 15 minutes to be properly greeted only after I flagged someone down. The tables around us were serviced several times within that period. No one apologized for any delay or over-​looking us. Once we were greeted the maitre’d was passive aggressive not only toward us but to the staff, right in front of us! She was showing the server how to place the napkins on our lap but while making a mockery of it. It was awkward and uncomfortable for my boyfriend and I. I felt embarrassed for our server.
Sub-​par service does not bother me if the food makes up for it but this was not the case for us. We ordered the terrine appetizer which I felt was lacking in flavour however the portion was a good size to share. I also expected terrine to be served with crostini and it was not. For mains, my boyfriend ordered the duck confit with a side of veg which turned out to be bok choy. The duck was delicious and exquisitely prepared however the portion was was small comparing to a lunch portion of duck confit. I ordered the saffron risotto with shrimp. The risotto and shrimp were perfectly cooked but unfortunately the salt level prevented me from eating more than half of my dish. The side salad I ordered never arrived and we were not attended to once during our meal. The maitre’d informed us to order dessert along with our appetizer and mains because it can take some time to prepare. Soufflé takes time to prepare and yes it is a good idea to order that well in advance but the other items do not need to be ordered well ahead of time. That bothered me tremendously for some reason. For dessert we ordered a crème brûlée and tarte tatin. The tarte was the best memory of our meal arriving semi-​warm. The crème brûlée was average. Good, but very average.
I love French food and I am very sad to say we had a bad experience. It seems from the other reviews that patrons either found their experience amazing or awful. I will keep searching for an amazing French restaurant where I can get my fix.

Winterlicious 2013: One of the best experiences, period.
Exceptional Food (everything we ordered was delectable):
Entrée — Salade Havanese & Terrine de Campagne
Main — Braised Beef Crecy & Confit de Canard
Dessert — Valrhona Chocolate Surprise & Poire Confit et son Sabayon
(dessert was especially heavenly — both are fantastic choices!)
Have to second Mochi’s review (12/​30/​2012).
We were prolly the youngest, most casually-​dressed (oops) patrons for the evening and despite that… service was courteous and on-​point!
If you want to have French food done right at a reasonable price point, Didier is it. This is one of the few restos I’d return to (maybe for their year-​round prix fixe?) after having sampled them at Winterlicious.
Definitely worth it!

Food was good, but I really didn’t like the fact that the restaurant didn’t have the wine list and had a snooty attitude about it.
I don’t know about you, but when we go out for dinner at a restaurant, we like to order a bottle of wine, food, and have a great night out. We also like to know how much a bottle of wine costs. The somellier was not helpful, and his English was poor. Didn’t appreciate him sticking his ass in my face when he was talking to the people at the table next to ours — it really wasn’t necessary, as he could have approached them from another side!
I don’t know what it’s like in France, but here in North America, a wine list is expected at restaurants, high end and low end.

Our first visit was a pleasant one. It was a Monday evening and a bit busier then they expected, so initial service was slow. Their wine selection is amazing for such a small neighbourhood restaurant. The waiter/​sommelier in training was a great surprise and he found us the perfect choices with our food — not exactly a wine paring but great for such an intimate place. The escargot in a red wine reduction is not to be missed if it is on the menu. THeir menus change seasonally. Extremely well priced for the neighbourhood. Mains under $ 20 which was a pleasant surprise. We’ll stop in again just to see what the chef as created

Took a friend to Didier a few weeks ago for lunch. We were seated by the open windows and truly enjoyed the ambience and the attentive wait staff. We shared a Croque Monsieur and melon & prosciutto… Yummy! We also shared an amazing Lemon Soufflé (it had to be ordered at the same time as our other course). It was tart, light in texture and it melted in our mouths as we devoured it! I would definitely return in order to try other items on their menu. The waiter was very helpful with choosing a delicious wine to accompany our meal.

Unexpected, delicious cuisine. This unassuming place combines pleasant, relaxing, and intimate atmosphere with fresh, interesting cuisine. The fish (everyone at our table had fish) was outstanding with savory, delicate flavors. The service was friendly, helpful and generally outstanding. The only downside was the garbanzo spread accompanying dinner — it was ok, but a little bland.

The restaurant is lovely. It was a Saturday night but it was only half full. Which suited us just fine as we had a little alcove to ourselves.
I’d read some reviews stating really bad service but for us it was impeccable. From Didier himself greeting us at the door to All the wait staff, friendly, prompt & knowledgeable.
We started off with 2 glasses of Cuvée Catherine which I highly recommend.
We each had escargot to start which was the best dish of the night; rich and delicious and surprisingly plentiful.
‘A’ had the arctic char and I had the steak frites. Both were good. My steak was done perfectly but it was just good. A said the same thing about the fish; good but we weren’t blown away by either. We finished with the soufflé and coffee/​tea.
At this price point, my expectations are very high and the food just didn’t do it for us. It was a special occasion for us and we were in a great mood and had a fantastic night but the food was not near the top of the list of reasons.
Wonderful service and atmosphere but ultimately not worth the price.

Hands down the best French restaurant in the city. The service is excellent and for the quality of food you’re receiving the price is fantastic. Make sure and try the oeufs en cocotte Diane, it’s a special treat you won’t find anywhere else.

Finest traditional French in Toronto. Chef Didier is classically trained. The upside: you get French food as envisioned by their creators. The downside: Didier will not compromise; if you don’t want it his way, go elsewhere!
Had dinner last night and dine there regularly. The new menu is a welcome upgrade.
I had the oeff cocottes to start, beef Rossini main course and soufflé. As usual a wonderful meal. Our party also ordered the loupe, and don’t miss the boule de neige as another dessert option. An absolute party in your mouth!
With cocktails and wine it’s not an inexpensive restaurant. However, if it’s great, I mean the best, French food that you want, you’ll be hard pressed to do better than Didier.

So… maybe I am of the ignorant masses, but I HATE a runny omelet. It makes my tongue and throat itch. It feels nasty in my mouth. It looks nasty on the plate. Is that authentic French preparation? If it is, I don’t like it. I like my eggs puffy.
I like veggies. I do not like, however, raw green beans in my omelet, whether runny, fluffy, or otherwise.
The service is stuffy but impeccable. Our waiter’s French accent was TOTALLY fake and exaggerated… Just kidding. It was thick and Parisian. But I bet they have to go through some sort of French accent authenticity training as part of their application process! I could barely understand the guy! But that’s authentic, isn’t it? ;)
Atmosphere is FANTASTIC. It could *almost* be a Paris Bistro… almost. The feel is wrong, but the look is right.
There were also halved new potatoes IN my omelet. weird. Everything instantly fell apart — very messy. NOT the thing to order at a business lunch.
Anyhow, I was so grossed out by/​busy trying to eat my omelet that I didn’t even notice what anyone else ordered.
Sorry… but I love me some Biff’s omelet action, if we’re talking upscale lunch styles. And if we’re talking NOT upscale lunch/​brunch egg dishes, I’m gonna go to a local diner instead. Sorry, all you snobby Frenchies.
Didier is probably better at dinner… I would give it a chance!

This restaurant is terrible and I would never recommend it. They have really unethical billing practices. My husband booked the restaurant for our anniversary dinner. When making the reservation, he asked them to do something special like a candle in the dessert or champagne for the occasion. When we got there, they brought us champagne which we naturally thought were complements on the house. When we got the bill, we were charged $ 52 for two glasses of champagne! The problem is not with the champagne but that they never informed us of the charges and never asked for consent before bringing it to the table. We talked to the supposed «Manager/​Hostess» and she was downright rude about it and implied we should have known that it would not be free. I’ve never seen any restaurant managed so poorly. Bottom line, the food was mediocre, the service was subpar and the manager was rude and arrogant. NEVER AGAIN!

Major Food Comma
amazing food…
I had escargot= melts in ur mouth, it’s also make with bone marrow
rack of lamb in pastry which was beyond perfect.
tried little steak tartar and fritz… was great.
love the space, very warm and cozy.
service was good, wasn’t top notch, but was good enough and besides, food made up for any mistakes or imperfection they have
warning! if u have liver condition or have hard time digesting heavy food, go easy… i wish i didn’t eat so much as i’m sitting here and writing this 4 hours later

Didier Restaurant is one of my very-​favorites. Oooh-​lala! Gorgeous French food, carefully, lovingly prepared by super-​accomplished Chef Didier Leroy, for a low price. It’s neither intimidating the way French food can be, nor is the resto itself pretentious. Quite the opposite.
My first visit this past summer, I enjoyed the super-​great value of Didier’s prix fixe. My appetizer was a seasonal Salade de Betterace, Orange, Fromage De Chevre, a delicately-​flavoured beet salad with tiny medallions of snowy goat cheese and orange segments, and topped with Ontario greens. The beets were sliced paper-​thin and were tender but not floppy, the fork prongs easily impaling their moist, sweet flesh. The goat cheese was, thankfully, not fridge-​cold, but just the right temperature for swirling along the beets & greens, or spreading onto the beautifully crusty baguette side with the succulent, juicy citrus fruit. I could’ve downed another plate of this luscious, jewel-​like salad, really, but I was happy the first course –along with the others –were proportioned accordingly, with absolutely no weird food architecture.
Second course was a luscious Duck Confit. It came with a gorgeously-​charred sweet potato taht was half tucked beneath the meat. Duck confit is one of those dishes I have once a year (if that), owing to its extreme caloric content. But… goodness me, Chef’s handling made me want it every day! It was, quite simply, the best duck confit I’ve ever had. Moist, amazingly un-​greasy morsels of tender, flavorfull meat, in a beautiful, rich-​but-​thin sauce that encircled the plate (with a just-​so tender side of greens), and with perfectly crackling skin. Each bite provided a pure, real connection to the bird and to the skill that so lovingly prepared it this way. Swoooon.
Dessert was Trilogie De Chocolat Valrhona –or a chocolate trilogy, which consisted of layers of moist, ebullient bittersweet darkness. Valrhona is a posh sort of chocolate that, if you know how to use it, makes for a very heavenly finish to a meal. Well… durr. Runny, solid, soft –all the textures and flavours of this special, luscious treat were nestled together in one gorgeously posh, small portion. The level of detail was truly impresssive, with a lovely, subtle presentation and again, a just-​right portion.
The dessert –with a full-​mouth flavour of rich cocoa, but without any cloying sugary qualities –paired beautifully with the 2005 Penfolds Grange wine I enjoyed that visit. Didier has a truly impressive wine list, and sommelier Tory is only too happy to help find what’s right for you.
Between friendly, prompt, informative service, top-​notch ingredients, and loving, poetic cooking, Didier is a fantastic food experience, one I can’t recommend highly enough. ALLEZ!

We went as a group of four for summerlicious last month. It had never participated before and it was only my list as a must try. The space is romantic and dark, wear your best shoes.
This was the best prix fixe I have ever had. The service was courteous (despite our being the youngest patrons and the only ones drinking the 5 dollar bottles of beer) and well paced. Usually for summerlicious you are rushed out quickly but we spent more than two and a half hours from start to desert.
The tartar is the house specialty and well worth the distinction. I wasn’t sure I could handle a whole plate of raw meat but it was delicious and perfectly seasoned. I started with a duck and foie salad and to finish we shared each of their desert offerings. I usually find this a low point, but all were excellent, despite the unending jokes that the snowball meringues elicited.
The hostess told us they have a 58 dollar prix fixe on the menu year-​round. Worth a splurge if you love french food done right.