If you have seen ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop‘ then you will, without a doubt, recognize the art that lines the walls of Cafe Boulud Toronto as the works of Mr. Brainwash. Located on the second flour of the brand new, and incredibly stunning, flagship location of the Four Seasons, Cafe Boulud feels like a tucked away secret, despite its impressive size. This is good news for anyone who doesn’t frequent restaurants just to be “seen” through busy street-level windows.

Because its location feels somewhat secretive, there’s an added thrill to the place with its touch of mystery which only increases its suitability as a romantic dinner destination. I mean, it is located in a fancy hotel after all.

I recently visited Cafe Boulud with my boyfriend for a very romantic pre-Valentine’s Day date. If you’re still scrambling for restaurant ideas for Valentine’s Day (which is tomorrow by the way) then I highly recommend picking up the phone now and getting yourself coveted seats at the uptown spot.

Speaking of hotels and uptown, it should be said that there was the furthest thing form a snobby attitude from any of the hotel and restaurant staff. A rarity in an area that often has their noses held high in the air. To begin the evening, we were presented with some champagne by their  extraordinary wine director, Drew Walker, to kick off our food frenzy. Here’s a look at what we ate:

Doesn’t this just look glorious? It tasted just as good too. If only all Nova Scotia Lobster Salads looked this impressive.

Often half the fun of eating at restaurants is seeing how creative they get with the presentation of their food. At least to me it is because I think it’s such a cool form of art. This contemporary looking plate is the delicious Fois Gras Terrine that was served with brioche toast and paired with a Charles Baker Riesling from Ontario.

This dish was particularly delightful, I mean just look at it! How could you not fall in love with such a delicate bowl of Truffle Agnolotti? This is what makes coming to restaurants extra fun; when you get to eat something you’d never be able to re-create on your own at home.

We were extremely fortunate to have Drew (ps. how cool would it be if you were a Wine Director!?) present us with an incredible wine pairing for our meal from start to finish. Although he introduced us to wines from all over the world, he really emphasized the best wines from Ontario’s Wine Region which I really admired. Don’t knock Niagara wines until you’ve ventured outside of what’s offered at your local LCBO and Wine Rack!

Ah, the mains. Hard to believe we could fit anything else in by this point, right? But we did! This Ontario Venison was my probably my very favourite meal of the night – it was D-LICIOUS! This is something I will order every time I visit Cafe Boulud, most definitely.

We also ordered the Grandview Farm Chicken which was also very good, but I was personally just overly smitten with the Ontario Venison. Oh my god I am craving for it right now.

For dessert, Drew pulled up to our table with this crazy contraption that allows you to pull wine from a bottle without actually having to open it. This is particularly handy when you’re trying to make a fancy bottle (or any bottle, really) last as long as possible. If I recall his story correctly, it was invented by a scientist who was getting frustrated by all the wine that was going to waste when he would open a bottle to pour a glass of wine for himself during his wife’s pregnancy. SOLUTION: crazy contraption that gets you as much as or as little wine as you want without removing the cork. Genius!

I know, there are no words right? At this point we were nearly falling out of our chairs because we were so full, but, how could we say no to dessert? Especially when it looked this good?! This is their Warm Chocolate Coulant, served with liquid caramel and flour de del caramelized milk ice cream.

 Of course we didn’t stop there, we also go this Pear & Pistachio number, because I am a sucker for anything with pistachio, and especially a pistachio ice cream.

Thank you Cafe Boulud Toronto for such an amazing evening and meal! We will definitely be back soon!

For more information about Cafe Boulud‘s restaurant and menu, please click HERE. 

 And you can see What I Wore on my pre-Valentine’s Day dinner date at Cafe Boulud HERE!

The post Where To Go #TO: Eating at Cafe Boulud Toronto appeared first on Gracie Carroll.