What’s on the menu at Chantecler, Parkdale’s recently reimagined French bistro
Name: Chantecler
Neighbourhood: Parkdale
Contact: 1320 Queen St. W., 416-628-3586, restaurantchantecler.com, @ChanteclerTO
Owners: Jacob Wharton-Shukster
Chef: Jesse Mutch (Aria, Keriwa, DaiLo)
The food
Inspired by Montreal’s L’Express, Chantecler’s new incarnation moves away from precious small plates to larger-format French classics. Mutch—who worked as a server at the restaurant for eight months before taking over the kitchen—has designed a menu filled with shareable portions of things like steak tartare, frog legs, chicken ballotine and duck à l’orange. A late-night menu is available until 2 a.m.
A side of green beans with hollandaise sauce, brown butter and almond crumble. $6
Niçoise salad: smoked albacore tuna, green beans, tomato, egg and olive tapenade. $13.
Steak tartare: three ounces of chopped beef with egg yolk, mini toasts and cornichons. $12.
B.C. snapper and mussels in tomato sauce with potatoes, pepper relish and black olives. $25.
Ballotine de poulet: half of a deboned bird stuffed with chicken mousse is cooked sous vide and then fried. It’s served with chicken gravy, marinated mushrooms and greens. $25.
The drinks
Cider, a long list of craft beer and a tight, conservatively priced wine list focused on natural and biodynamic wines. Fans of Chantecler’s signature gin-and-grapefruit tonic can still find it on the menu, but it’s now joined by the bar’s signature takes on classic cocktails.
French 1320: St. Germain elderflower, cassis, yuzu, lime, Crémant and grapefruit peel. $12.
The space
The wee dining area is unchanged—but the basement and washrooms got a facelift.
Chef Jesse Mutch.
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