La Maquette

Discovered La Maquette through Winterlicious and were accomodated with a lovely window seat in the upstairs solarium overlooking the sculpture garden — this without making a reservation — although it was a Wednesday lunch. Beautiful ambience with white tablecloths,
art, French bistro and jazz music playing. An air of casual elegance. For dinner you would need to book in advance for this table. Our server was pleasant and aware we had only one hour or else our car parked below would be towed (no kidding here) so we dined from 2−3pm.
Enjoyed the flavourful lamb chops, mashed potatoes and root vegetables. No Gluten Free pasta or Crème Brulee but my beau enjoyed his carrot cake and we took mine to go (for him). Lovely mid-​week dining experience. Would like to come back in the summer and try the patio.

Terrible! There are so many good restaurants in Toronto and this is not one of them. We went for lunch with a customer and it just went from bad to worse. Our waiter only took half of our table’s drink order and then he disappeared. I ordered an old fashioned and got scotch and water. I ordered veal and got fish which I sent back because it was not cooked. Really slow and the food was mediocre at best.

I’m actually pretty happy with this place. Liked the duck I got, was well cooked. My lychee martini was kind of weak but I actually don’t drink that much so that’s ok. The space is beautiful and the live music is great. Our waitor was very attentive and our bills were separated, no peoblem. I dont get why some reviewers are so harsh on this place.

The reviews here have been accurate. Really nice patio with the sound of a water fountain and shade. Nice place to sit and relax but the food is mediocre for a restaurant that’s aiming to be upscale/​bistro-​like. Went here for Summerlicious and my meal came out to $ 23 + tip.
I ordered the curry chowder (really it’s a vegetable broth), trout on rice with steamed vegetables, and lemon-​coconut cake. It was decent and simple but I swear I can make the same soup and entrée myself at home without paying to have it plated at a nice restaurant.
A coworker sent back a soggy pasta and received half off the price of the Summerlicious menu. Slow service.

We stopped by as part of Summerlicious and even with the those prices it didn’t really meet the value equation. My lamb was over cooked (for what I asked for) and my date’s lobster was undercooked. Everything was tasty and the veggies were fresh and well cooked (nice and crisp). Staff were excellent and the ambiance is very nice. Wine list was fine. All in all I wouldn’t rush back unless they get a new chef.

Is it just me or do a lot of places like this don’t care much about serving the less wealthy people properly for summer/​winterlicious? My husband and I was here on Sat night for a summerlicious dinner, and I really wanted to like this place. We got there, and were seated on the patio as we requested. We sat down and noticed even though the tables were all nicely lined with white tablecloth, a little real flower in a mini vase, and candle — the chairs were the cheap forest green plastic chairs you can find from crappy tire. To start, we had complimentary cold bread and hard butter to ‘spread’ — clever… Then, I had the gazpacheo, and my husband had, what was described as ‘seafood chowder’. The waiter were suppose to provide us with spoons for the soup before or at the same time it arrived, but he didn’t. We had to get the food runner to provide us with spoons. My soup wasn’t bad, but his «chowder» was nothing at all what it should’ve been. It was a clear broth, with one nickle size shrimp, and a bunch of cubes of what we thought was potato, but wasn’t. The entrees were pretty good, although it took a while to arrive. We got the entrees at 8:11pm, and probably finished eating it around 8:30. By the time we got our dessert, which we ordered cake, and crème brûlée — it was quarter after 9! Forty-​five minutes to get desserts to us?!! SERIOUSLY??? And the waiter didn’t even apologize for the long wait or anything. It took over 2 hours from start to finish for dinner, for the 2 of us, thanks to the slowass service. Never again will we come back — save your money, people, unless you have money to wipe your ass with, and all the time in the world.

Attended an intimate wedding ceremony and reception here, the restaurant’s appearance is charming and classy. The ceremony took place on the first floor, the bride walked down the elegant staircase from the second floor and onto the altar. The ceremony was short and sweet.
The reception took place on the second floor, and the sun deck area served as a small dance floor. We had some champagne and hor d’oeuvres there before dinner. I noticed a lot of fuzz on the champagne glasses, maybe from the drying towel they used.
The dinner was delicious — we had some bread, salad, roast chicken breast, baked salmon, cheesecake, and chocolate truffle cake. The plating was simple, but the food was satisfactory. The service was a little slow, dinner was served an hour past the scheduled time, but that was to be expected at any weddings.
The restaurant was beautiful, and it was very convenient for everyone to attend the wedding ceremony and then eat and party all in one place. We all had a great time and it was a memorable evening.

Slow service, average food. 5 stars for the amazing acoustic guitar player, but
0 stars for the slow service. I went here tonight for the first and last time. You can have a great location, ambiance, and a clean restaurant, but when you walk into a place at 6pm and leave at 9pm and only had one appetizer, a main course and desert, you know the service is SLOW… If you have to catch a game, music event or party right after your dinner do not come here, because you will be late for your event. If you are retired or rich and have time to burn, then you may want to consider coming here. Like many Unilocaler’s it pains me to give out one and two star reviews, but for me I write and rate my reviews based on the complete dining experience. With a focus on faster service and adding a little more ‘wow factor’ to the appetizers and main courses, this restaurant could easily hit 4 or 5 stars consistently in customer reviews.

2 stars is the a fair rating I can give. The first star is the ambiance-​it is a romantic place for a date. There was a live guitarist playing songs ranging from spanish music to love story by Taylor Swift. The 2^nd star goes to the waiter who was with us (don’t know his name but he was an older kind gentleman). He was very courteous and accommodating.
Food: I ate during summerlicious and the food was not up to par compared to other establishments in terms of taste. Three of us ordered lobster. the luckiest person had a portion of lobster with generous sides, while me and another friend had a really small serving.
Interfering, rude staff: When reserving our table we indicated that we preferred to pay separate bills. On explaining this to our waiter, another waiter overheard our conversation and stepped in and told us flat out ‘No’. He said it wasn’t the establishments policy to accommodate the option of paying separately unless we indicated it in the beginning of the reservation. He than turned to one of my friends who chuckled and informed him that this wasn’t a laughing matter and it was very serious. The way he spoke to us was rude, as though we did something something bad. In the end our original waiter came back and we settled the one bill but split into different payments.
Maybe it was one of those nights where things got screwed up and maybe the rude waiter had a bad day; however, I still expect professionalism coming from the staff and also uniformity when it comes to the food.

Price fix menu was well prepared and generous in portion size. Good selection of wine and well priced. Service was attentive and not overbearing. Satisfied on all levels. Ambience and décor spot on. There were no misses on this night and all the boxes ticked nicely.

Was here a few weeks ago with an old friend who I haven’t seen for many years. Overall the atmosphere very relaxing and the meal were delicious, while the service was on par as well. Since it was a little cool outside that night we decided to eat inside rather than on the outdoor patio, but I kept looking out enviously at that patio and will have to go back sometime to have a meal there.

I went here for summerlicious 2014 and this place had way better food and Summerlicious options than other «fancy» restaurants. First of the restaurant décor is very class and romantic, mainly a black and white theme. The reason I wanted to try this place is because of its beautiful and quaint patio. Among the concrete giants on king street this patio with a water fountain looks very pleasant! I had the seafood crêpe, veg risotto and mango torte from Summerlicious lunch menu. The seafood crêpe with rose sauce was very delicious! The rose sauce was well prepared, the risotto was a little bland in my opinion but you could tell it was freshly prepared because I could see the steam from my plate! The mango torte was essentially a mango mousse cake, which was the ideal summer dessert and a fair size slice! I wanted to give this place a four star because of its ambiance, portion and taste… But because my main was good but a little bland I am opting for a three.

Décor is amazing. Scallop is huge and cook perfectly. Fois gras is great (sorry duck, I just want to give it a try). Seafood risotto was disappointing. It’ boring in term of taste and presentation. Service is a bit slow, considering that there were only a few tables at the time. Over all, I enjoy it.

Melodious guitar playing gentle classical soft-​rock/​soft-​pop, white table cloths and lots of cutlery — sounds like a romantic French restaurant! Great, except partway through the meal, the guitar music turned into a increasingly loud and painfully deafening experience. I can’t comment much on the food, it was pretty good, but difficult to enjoy with hands over your ears.

Disclaimer: This was a tough choice between 2 and 3 stars for me, but because the food WAS actually delicious; I opted for the 3.
La Maquette is a place I’ve been wanting to go to since I started at GBC, since it’s just a short walk from the college and has so many awards for «most romantic restaurant in the city» on display. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to go when a Groupon-​like deal came up in 2010…
Fast forward to 2014 when I found the deal I had printed, noted that there was no expiry and made a reservation ASAP.
When I made the reservation I noted that we wouldn’t be ordering off of the Winterlicious menu because we had the deal; they assured us it would be no problem. When we arrived, I again mentioned that we would like the full menu; the staff were very concerned and had to speak to the kitchen about what was actually available. It turns out the thing I wanted (quail) was not, but with a heavy heart I searched the menu for an alternative. We ended up with an appetizer (which of course I can’t remember), and mains of salmon and bacon-​wrapped scallops.
All the food was absolutely delicious; though it did take absolutely forever to come out. I wish they had told us it would be hard to accommodate orders off the regular menu; we could have easily come another time.
So keeping our delicious food in mind; here are the drawbacks (some are nit-​picky, I can’t help it):
— Décor: this place looks like it was probably the most romantic spot ever in the early 90s, and the décor hasn’t been updated since. It’s so olllllllld. Why are there so many china cabinets? It’s weird. Your table cloths are yellow. Update.
— Service: certainly sub-​par. It was slow, they never came by refill water unless we flagged them down; and they all had an annoyed look on their face
— Set-​up: we happened to be sitting in the sweet-​spot downstairs where you can hear the main floor live musician AND the upstairs musician — an acoustically strange experience
— Water jug: I already mentioned that they didn’t come by to fill up water; but when they did, the water was in one of those plastic beer pitchers. It just doesn’t fit!
So overall, what do I think? I think if I wanted to go somewhere nice with my grandparents I would suggest La Maquette. But otherwise, there is too much else to experience in the city for me to come back any time soon.

We went early on a Saturday evening. Service was attentive and knowledgeable. The food was quite good, not quite excellent. We sat under the glass ovelrooking the courtyard. THe classical guitar was a bit loud but a very nice touch. We will definitely repeat.

Hubby and I came here with a Travelzoo coupon that we got as a gift, can’t tell if the service was bad in general or if it’s because we’re using a coupon. The older waiter had no smile and didn’t say much, but I saw him holding a jacket for a lady on her way out, perhaps he received a huge tip from that couple?
Décor is an older style, candle lit and ‘old’ elegant, almost thought we were underdressed when we first walked in. There was a guitarist playing by the front entrance, but he soon went upstairs and was never seen again for the remainder of our meal.
The food was surprisingly good though and price is not over the top, I would consider giving it a second chance someday.

4.9
I went during Summerlicious. Perhaps they did major efforts because of that, which would even be more commendable as compared to other places in which they downgrade their offered menu during such popular events.
From A to Y, everything was perfect. On Friday and Saturday nights, there is a piano and 2 jazzy very good singers. Cocktails are good. Dinner menu was really good and every thing was tasty, well prepared, well cooked, almost fabulous! I really enjoyed my dinner. Waiters and staff were really nice and always with a smile.
Why not 5… because I have to go back outside Sumerlicious to see whether quality is constant and whether I can have even more in my plate.

So… after my bad experience with the whole voucher expiry issue… I did end up going in the end because the owner Ange was kind enough to extend my voucher for a month. And to make up for this bad experience, she increased the amount of the voucher from $ 60 to $ 100. I do want to thank her for making this accommodation…
Now onto the food…
Speciality wild mushroom strudel ($ 16) with leek and spinach cream sauce– the presentation was beautiful! But unfortunately, the plate didn’t arrive hot enough. The sauce, although very tasty, was already cold and seemingly congealed. The pastry was also lukewarm, but the flavours of the mushrooms were admittedly bold and delicious. Sadly, the temperature ruined what could’ve been a great appetizer.
Pan-​seared scallops ($ 34) with creamy roasted asparagus risotto, red caviar, and cream sauce. In general, this was well-​executed, and I was reasonably pleased with my plate of food. My only real complaint was that the scallops were slightly overcooked. The seafood cream sauce was delectable, but it also made the risotto exceedingly rich. I became very full from all the cream after a short while.
Roasted Muscovy duck breast ($ 36) with blackberry and apple reduction and sweet potato– now this was a complete disaster! The duck was extremely undercooked, to the point where we couldn’t cut through the meat with our knife. And worse of all, it tasted like rubbery, raw beef! The sweet potato fries were blackened and charred, resulting in an unpleasant bitterness. In the end, we packed most of it home. The duck became more edible after my mom rinsed off all the spices and cooked it some more.
For desserts, I figured that it was hard to go wrong with a traditional crème brûlée ($ 12), which was supposedly garnished with fresh fruit and a cookie (the cookie was nowhere in sight). However, I was wrong! The brûlée top was so incredibly thick that I had difficulty breaking through the top with my spoon! It was actually hurting my teeth to chew through that thick layer of sugar crust, so in the end I just ate all the custard underneath.
In summary, the food was underwhelming, to say the least. I don’t think my mom will order duck breast ever again at a restaurant after this experience. However, the restaurant itself was quite lovely, and the service was generally good, albeit a little slow. That said, I probably won’t be returning any time soon, if ever again.

I really really really want to love La Maquette. The restaurant is so pretty and the wait staff are lovely but the food is just good, not great.
I came here with a group of coworkers today for a holiday lunch.
I ordered the mushroom strudel as an appetizer and really enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away. The presentation was very nice. We ordered a calamari to share and it was very good. My coworkers had the romaine salad (good), the avocado and tomato salad (also good) and the soup of the day (very good).
As my main I had the sirloin. A little heavy for lunch I know but I really felt like steak. I asked for it medium and it definitely was not medium. It was closer to medium well and while it was decent and it was not great or even very good. I left over half of it but ate all the veggies and mini potatoes on my plate. My coworkers ordered the tilapia (which I tried) and it was quite tasty. I was also told that the duck confit risotto was good as was the ravioli. However, no one raved about their food.
For dessert the waiter recommended the poached pear. It was beautifully presented and came warm, covered in dough and served with chocolate sauce and caramel ice cream. Quite sweet and good. My coworkers had the crème brule which they seemed to enjoy and one of them ordered the citrus cheesecake. It was light and tasty.
I have been to this restaurant at least 4 – 5 times over the last 5 – 6 years but I was a little disappointed with the food this time around. The competition in the neighbourhood is quite fierce. The restaurant, even at this busy time of year, was almost empty. That speaks volumes.