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- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
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$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
2 reviews for Le Pain Quotidien
2 reviews in English
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Review from Justin C.
10/21/2008 6 photos
***** 4.5 stars *****
I had the fortunate experience of stumbling into Le Pain Quotidien on their "friends & family" soft opening, and being treated to a complimentary lunch on a day when it seemed like everywhere else in the entire area was closed. It turned out to be a fantastic surprise, and the only reason I can't give them a full 5 stars is because I ate there under a very non-traditional setting, and so my service was much more direct than what I could possibly expect them to deliver on a regular basis.
I was walking through the "mall" trying desperately to find something to eat before taking a long tour through the Distillery District on a Saturday, and to my dismay every restaurant and food stand I came upon was closed. I'm not sure if this was due to the Notti Bianchi (huge art festival) going on later that night, or if this portion of Toronto is just that dead on Saturdays. Either way I wasn't finding food any quicker. As fate would have it I turned the last corner before I was about to give up and ran into LPQ, with its staff standing at the door waiting to greet me, and most important its lights on and the smell of a kitchen in action. I was told by the little girl at the door that it was a Friends & Family invite only luncheon, in order to prepare the staff for their actual opening on Monday. I thought "figures" to myself, and thanked her and walked out. The manager came running after me, asked if I was hungry, and after my obvious reply of "yes" he gave me a card with some food items written on it and showed me to a table.
The cards were to make it easier on the waitstaff, so there were pre-selected items from the menu already made up on them. I wasn't exactly crazy about the 2 things on mine, but I thought since it was free and my luck hadn't been so great prior that I best not test it now. I accepted my 2 "choices" and had a glass of lemonade while I waited.
First up was an arugala and goat cheese salad, with tomato and pine nuts. The cheese pieces were huge, and the tomato surprisingly ripe tasting. I'm not a big salad fan, but it was quite nice, and definitely better than I expected. Next was a type of "cold pizza" with shrimp, avocada and salsa. I know it sounds odd (it looks odd as well, check out the picture), but it was damn good, and not just because it was free. I finished the meal off by sampling the three spreads they provide on the table with some of the bread they gave me. The 2 fruit spreads were good, especially the 3 red fruit blend, but the star by far is the "Noisella" spread. It's a knock-off of Nutella with Belgian chocolate and hazelnut, and it's amazing. I wanted to take jars of it home to give to everyone I know, but the gift shop stuff wasn't set up for selling purposes yet.
They offered me one of any of their pastries for free as well as I left, but I was so full already at lunch time that I didn't want to add a great big tart to a loaded belly. The staff was very kind, something I would expect given the sparsity of the crowd, but I feel the food here is plenty to drive this place to success.Listed in: Traversing Through Toronto
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Review from Piotr Z.
Toronto, ON
10/15/2009
This restaurant is now out of business.
