Loire

This place is apparently CLOSED. the website, facebook page etc all give no indication of this of course, but if you call the number the line has been disconnected. we learned this after, despite emailing in a reservation to their still functioning and presumably active website and making the trek there, that it is in fact closed. we arrived at 6:15 on a saturday to a place that is supposed to be open at 5:30 and it was closed, no one was around. Don’t bother making this same mistake, because this establishment is gone and the management hasn’t bothered to make any such indication through any available medium.

Wow. What a fantastic meal. Very authentic French bistro with great food, a calm and low key atmosphere and good service. The wine list features all the heavy hitters from various regions in France, but also has some great variety from the Loire valley. Overall, a perfect evening.

My boyfriend and I went for a Summerlicious 3 course prix-​fix. The extra appetizers and wine which we ordered on top of the 3 Summerlicious courses were phenomenal. The waiter was a fantastic sommelier and the wine was delicious. However, the rest of the food (prix-​fix courses) was very disappointing. The appetizers and mains were just ok and the desserts were absolutely horrible; oversized and barely edible. The crème brûlée tasted as if it was made two days before. If it weren’t for the fabulous wine, we would have wasted our money. I have a feeling that they put less effort into the Summerlicious deals than they would normally.

I hosted my birthday party at Loire July 26, 2014. We made the reservation a month in advance since was it is bigger party and wanted the restaurant to be properly prepared. The evening was a bust thanks to the worst service I have ever experienced.
Service issues we had during my evening at this restaurant:
1) They failed to properly staff the restaurant for our party. We had 1 young waiter serving us and he was great but there just wasn’t enough staff to serve 33 people. People started arriving at 7:30 and we did not start eating our appetizer until 9.
2) They did not bring out any bread until 9pm AFTER we asked and they only served to the people who asked until we told them it was for the table.
3) My guests wanted to buy drinks at the bar but were asked to sit down as they were serving food and required everyone to be seated — they couldn’t serve the remaining 29 people seated? One of my guests wanted to buy a bottle and he would not allow. He would rather charge a premium per shot for the evening.
4) Most of my guests left before the dessert came out since it was 11:30pm and they could no longer stay out. I did not even get a dessert and I was evidently there until the end of the night!
5) The stunner of the night hasn’t even surfaced at this point. When we got our bill, there was an additional cost for a mystery person. We counted the chairs, the people, and the guest list and it conflicted with his count. The owner would not even entertain the objective facts presented to him and continues to say that because he took the orders, they were what he was charging us. So the last time I checked, customers did not pay for your mistakes. We paid for his mistake and tried to get on with my birthday. But to further the frustration…
6) His lack of professional manner was beyond patronizing. I have been in customer service for 10+ years and never have I met someone so ignorant to customer service. When we disagreed with the bill, he ranted to me about two guests who did not give minimum gratuities (everyone else paid a set prix calculated before dinner started with 18% added). It is standard practice to include 18% with parties greater than 6, so this is really not my problem if you failed to include in their bill. Take it up with those patrons. More so, he had the audacity to sarcastically wish me happy birthday on the way out.
The food, on the other hand was beautifully crafted and the chef was a delight. Our waiter did the best he could to wait on a such a large group on his own. t Evidently the operations of the establishment was less than average and you can most definitely find another restaurant at these price points if you want a good dining experience.

I hosted my company’s Staff Party at Loire on a Sunday evening and I was completely blown away! The canapes were fantastic and everyone loved them. They even went out of their way to make signature cocktails for us during the reception. We then sat down and enjoyed a four course meal. Each plate was better than the last! The Chef came out after each dish was placed to explain what we were eating, as well as explaining why the wine we were being served would pair well with the dishes. I couldn’t have been happier with how things turned out and I only heard fantastic things about the food from the rest of the staff.

Pricey, but quite tasty. Went with coworkers, for some reason we were the only people there, but the food was victory. Victory, I tell you.

I’m from the states but will definitely be going back soon! The food was absolutely delicious! Very intimate and the wait staff was excellent. Our server who also turned out to be the manager answered all of our questions and was super nice. I guess it helped that he was also really cute…

Checked out Loire last night for the first time and am glad to say it was a really nice experience (especially since it’s just around the corner from home).
We had a dealicious voucher, purchased for $ 70, which was a prix fixe with choice between two apps, two mains, and two desserts. It also included one drink (white or red wine, kir royale) each. Seemed reasonably good for $ 35 apiece. We sat outside on the patio, which was about ²⁄₃ full on a Thursday night. Service was very friendly and relaxed.
They also brought out a small amuse bouche which consisted of crostini, fois gras, and a beet sauce (?) of some kind.
Apps: watermelon soup (gazpacho?) spicy and refreshing, especially with this heat
salad with endive and goat cheese — pretty basic
Mains: fried fish with fennel, tomato, salsa verde — pretty basic also but tasty and a good portion
steak frites — the frites weren’t the usual small frites you would think of, but the steak was very good and cooked just as ordered (rare side of medium rare)
both of these are on the main menu as well
Dessert: we both had the lychee crème brûlée. I didn’t detect a lot of lychee but it was good.
Drinks: 1 glass each of kir royale, white wine (viognier, not on the menu but you can ask for it), red wine (syrah-​grenache), calvados, tawny port
Total cost, including voucher, tax, and tip, was $ 140 for two people.
Overall: food was good, if not amazing, service was friendly and pleasant, the patio was nice. Overall a really nice experience. I think I’ll buy a couple more of those vouchers, but I’d also like to return to try the rest of the menu (especially since it’s in the neighbourhood).

Food ⁴⁄₅
Quality ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere ³⁄₅
Comfortability ⁵⁄₅
Presentation ⁵⁄₅
Service ⁵⁄₅
We spent over $ 100 per person because we weren’t holding back. Your probably going to spend at least $ 50 a person for dinner and a drink.
Patio yes, good for dates or groups. Friendly chef and server. Food is great. No one was smoking on the patio, that was nice. I am not sure they allow smoking.
Place could use music on the patio and longer canopy for when it rains but some tables still possible to sit under when it rains.
Lobster bisque is amazing, quite buttery. The sourdough bread comes warm, very good. The sea scallops and ox tail wasen’t really what I was expecting but was very good. Did have quite a pickled taste but one of us doesn’t like pickled and loved the dish all the while. Portions aren’t huge but for 2 — 3 courses you leave very full because dishes are quality and rich.

I took my SO out to Loire for his birthday. We had a WagJag deal coupon for our meal. Loire is located on the ritzy Harbord street avenue with other fancy restaurant. I love the fact that the restaurant stands out with its white painted exterior.
Food
A couple sitting beside us recommended that we order the oysters as an appetizer because they are always fresh and delicious at Loire. Their recommendation was right; 6 oysters for $ 19 was also a pretty great deal. Our second appetizer was their Salmon Salad (I might be incorrect on the name), it was sashmi style salmon with caviar and greens. It was refreshing and light. I could have eaten more.
We both order seafood dishes — my SO got the Mussels dish and I ordered the Catch of the day. When we got our meal, we were taken back by the portions. Most fine dining places give you tiny portions. I really enjoyed my catch of the day, which was trout. It was cooked to perfection and I loved the vegetable medley that accompanied my dish. My SO was engrossed in his meal, he loved the fact that there was rice at the bottom of the mussel broth.
We did not get desserts during this visit.
Service
Great and attentive, we completed our meal in under an hour!
Atmosphere
I was expecting a more romantic setting, it is cozy but the lights are really bright in the restaurant.
Overall
I would recommend this place if you are looking for a more hearty French meal with a fine dining elements.

This place is a joke. With all the other high end restaurants in Toronto, I can’t imagine why anyone would return to this restaurant. Even with a Groupon I feel like I was ripped off. I ordered the fish entrée which literally needed to be three times larger to be a regular sized entrée. My sister ordered the lamb burger, which was slightly better portioned and quite delicious.
The banana bread that we had for dessert was plain and reminded me of something from Starbucks – not bad, but definitely not worth $ 10.
I’m torn on my opinion of the service. Our server was a middle-​aged pompous man who kept calling us «girls». Yeah, we’re not 8. Thanks. He was generally attentive enough, but he also kept trying to pressure us to order off the wine list, which we didn’t want to. There was another server (a young, very attractive man from France). He was very down-​to-​earth and for a few minutes he ironically made us forget that we were in a snooty French restaurant.

Saturday night, great fall evening, a reservation at Loire, what could go wrong ?
Everything. First we were greeted with «How long are you going to be?» by a truly embarrassed Maître D’. When we asked our waiter /​manager why we had been greeted with such an offensive question, we were scolded for being 20 minutes late — we had been courteous and called beforehand — and how difficult it is to manage two seatings …
Needless to say we left, after our drinks.

Arriving at Loire, we were greeted quite quickly and visited by our waiter soon after as well. We were brought 4 thinly sliced portions of french baguette and butter. I looked around… the décor was average. We were seated quite close to other tables… typical fine dining Toronto, not of which I’m a fan. The rectangular room was well lit, with help from the large street front window.
We started with the Rainbow Trout tartare… and it was quite tasty. We were off to a good start.
We were earlier informed of the specials, one of which appealed: the sea bass, atop vegetables and eggplant purée. I ordered the pasta, which was actually recommended to me by my seated neighbour, though I’d already decided on it as it looked incredibly delicious:
Truffle & Honey Glazed Chicken Pasta
Fresh Tagliatelle, Roasted Cashew Pesto
Crisp Spring vegetable & Parmesan Cheese
When the food arrived, it was hot and looked appetizing. Yet, when I poked around, I first thought I would have appreciated more than a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Then I poked further and actually became angry at the lack of ingredients within this $ 25 pasta. There was literally a half of a baby tomato, two tiny pieces of chicken totalling the size of not even a chicken nugget… and all the flavour still to be desired.
The waiter took a while to attend to ask how the food was… the restaurant became busy. I called him over and requested the sea bass special and explained my reasoning. I sat and watched my girlfriend finish her meal and began scarfing mine as soon as she had finished. I think I was hangry. You know, angry because you’re hungry? Anyway… that course was better… but I still question the price of the plate at $ 27. I still smiled and told the staff it was good though.
The waiter later asked if anything on the dessert menu interested us. I
cleverly said that the Warm Banana Bread (which had Candied Pecan, Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream: interested us; cleverly I think, because technically, I didn’t order it. Gladly, it wasn’t on the bill either! The waiter also had asked if we would like some dessert wine, on the house, and we obliged. It was a nice gesture.
I went to Loire because they offered a Groupon deal… I think this actually justified the overall meal and experience… especially the prices of the food. I’m not sure I’d go back with so many other places to try; though, I was grateful that the waiters made good on what could have been a much worse experience.

I was in Toronto, my home away from home, and we decided to walk down to Harbord Street and randomly select a restaurant with a nice terrace.
That led us to Loire. Unfortunately, the terrace was the highlight of the meal. To make a long story short, the food was incredibly average AND extremely expensive.
It would have been OK had our party of five spent $ 200, but it was twice that.
There’s so many nice places on Harbord, but this ain’t one of them.
Beware!

Wha-​happon?!
Went here with a group on a rainy Saturday night. So rainy, in fact that we had to move our group of 6 inside from the covered patio as members were getting soaked from the rain bouncing OFF the sidewalk.
No problem, but then we find out the A/​C isn’t working. These things happen. Everyone is in the same sweaty boat, so no complaints. Cocktails and starters are ordered and everything is quite nice. The Charcuterie board is great with one of the largest lobes of foie gras I’ve seen served. The rainbow trout tartare is amazing and light. Oysters from Rodney’s are fresh and meaty.
Then it all fell apart. 5 of the 6 mains (scallops and frog legs, glazed chicken) were under seasoned if seasoned at all. Two of us ordered the Butcher Block (market price). He ordered medium and I ordered rare. We couldn’t tell the difference between to the two.
The one person that ordered the Lamb burger said it was amazing.
B!tch.
Staff did their best to control a hectic evening, but what was coming out from the kitchen was just not good.

Pretty good food, excellent service.
I came here since I got a deal from Groupon. We arrived early for our reservation, and were the first people in the place, meaning we got our pick of the tables. We decided to sit on their very very awesome patio. The patio is partially obscured from the street with horizontal slats of wood, which manage to make the place feel separated from the busy street, without being obscured from it. It felt very intimate and lovely. It was the perfect spot for a romantic date.
Our server was just amazing the entire time. He was there when we needed him, gone when we didn’t, and did all the fine-​dining stuff right (pouring wine with the label towards you, all that jazz).
The food was good, but didn’t blow our minds. I loved the rainbow trout tartare appetizer, the sugared lemon rinds were particularly fantastic in this dish, as they gave a nice pop of sweet and lemony flavour. The Hubster had the lamb burger and frites, which he enjoyed. The frites were perfectly crisped and salted. I could have eaten a truckload of them. I had the duck, which was pretty good. The slaw under it was a little too vinegary and kind of distracted from the flavour of the duck.
All in all, it was a really pleasant dining experience, but we thought it was a tad overpriced. It was good, but I don’t think we’ll be rushing to return again.
Oh, and although there’s a reservation function on the page, I recommend calling in the off-​hours to make your reservation. That way you get to hear the outgoing messaging which is the owner speaking in an OUTRAGEOUS French accent (much like the French in Monty Python’s Holy Grail). Somehow he manages to make «Loire» a 15-​syllable word, it’s pretty awesome.

Nice and decent place.
The food is good, maybe even great…
Everything is rich in flavor (as you would expect from French), you can see the complexity… but there’s this thing just missing, almost maybe love.
I went with 7 people so i got to try a lot. Their trout tartare was the star of the all appetizers. The goat cheese cheesecake was unique and i’m fully copying this to make at home. The charcuterie platter was ok, not the best i’ve had, but good. Other appetizers didn’t blow me away.
In terms of dinner, the butchers block was veal. Good amazing. I though the duck breast and leg confit was good, and surprisingly, the lamb burger was not too shabby at all. I thought the sweetbread shrimp dish was a little too many flavours clashing, and the taglietelle was bland.
In terms of dessert, the hazlenut crème brûlée was so simple yet unique, i loved it. Again, something i will make in the future.
The warm bread pudding with icecream and dark chocolate caramel was not bad at all.
Overall, i was impressed with the food. The service was slow but ‘french’ and fun (waiter made many arab jokes at my table, but in good faith) and the atmosphere/​ambience of the place is quite nice.
I think Loire is definitely good food (better than Tati across the street) but it feels almost like the ‘cooks’ may just be a little young.

Loire is one of the restaurants on Harbord Street that drew us choose our neighborhood to live in. Before we ever ate there, it seemed like a restaurant I would really enjoy with great food, wine, service, and atmosphere but an unpretentious attitude (what my husband would call a «good vibe»). After two visits now I can say it competes with our favorite restaurants from New York on all of these fronts. Both times we’ve been there the employees have been knowledgeable and attentive, and everything we ate was presented beautifully. In the summer the terrace is fantastic.
Prices are pretty comparable to similar restaurants here and in New York. The dining room is small, which adds to the cozy feel but could make it difficult to get in when the patio, which doubles the size of the restaurant, is not open. The food is fantastically fresh and flavorful and adjusted to use local and seasonal ingredients — which as you’ll see is a huge draw for me. I’d definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone.

Loire’s exactly what it looks like — a little french restaurant on Harbord. The food is done well, the menu rotates regularly, I’ve never been disappointed.
The service is often handled by one of the owners (French, from the Loire valley, hence… quite) and he is clearly just dying for you to engage so that he can tell you more about the menu and help you find the right dish. My advice is to roll with it. He remembered me as a regular on my second visit — clearly he cares.
Great wine list and with all due respect to my co-​reviewer Whiskey L down there, I’ve really enjoyed their charcuterie.
Not 5 stars because the service can struggle when it’s crowded, the tables are sort of packed in (ambiance!), and because I haven’t been blown out of the water there. But I’ve absolutely never been disappointed — this isn’t a 5-​star that sometimes tanks and gets a 2 in my book, averaging down — this is an utterly reliable 4-​star hookup.

The food was delicious, the ambiance was lovely and the service, while not the best I’ve ever had, was acceptable. We were a chaotic group of eight, with people arriving in ones and twos over the course of an hour. The staff took it all in stride.
It was, I believe, an owner who was serving us. I chose a wine from Chinon, mentioning to my friends that I had spent time time there on vacation, and our server mentioned that that is where «we» are from, which I took to mean the proprietors. Chinon is a small town in the Loire Valley, thus the restaurant’s name.
I had chicken liver pâté, which I knew would be rich, but nothing could have prepared me for the melt in your mouth beauty of this particular plate. And it was a massive portion. Two sort of gelato-​scoop curls, which I shared with my companions. Said companions were my husband’s work colleagues, so they were shy about sharing, but the tastiness of the pâté had some of them coming back for second and third tastes, propriety be damned. Even so, some of it went uneaten it was so insanely, devlishly rich.
My main was salmon, which was served on what looked like stir-​fried rice, as in what you’d get in a cardboard container from a Chinese takeout joint. It didn’t look especially appealing but I had high hopes, expecting that a French take on fried rice might be tasty. Alas, it was a bit boring and a bit too salty. The salmon, however, was fabulous.
After my pâté starter I opted out of dessert but my companions raved about theirs.
I would definitely go back, for the interesting wine list (interesting French and non-​French options, interesting and non-​interesting prices), wonderful food, good service and lovely atmosphere.