This $680-a-head omakase restaurant is rebranding
LSL is now Onze
Following the lead of countless Toronto restaurants fighting to stay alive by pivoting, LSL—previously a nine-seat Japanese omakase experience reinterpreted through a French lens by Michelin men Didier Leroy, Masaki Saito and Christian Le Squer—is making some changes.
After Leroy stepped down a few months ago (taking one of the restaurant’s two Ls with him), the $680-a-head tasting counter is now evolving. “As Chef Didier steps behind the curtain, it marks a natural moment for LSL to evolve while staying true to its roots: an intimate tasting experience where Japanese and French cuisine meet,” says spokesperson Albert Hsueh.
Enter Onze: now with 11 seats and “eleven principles.” According to its Instagram page, the new concept will still offer an “omakase-style experience guided by French discipline and Japanese minimalism,” but Saito and Le Squer will no longer be involved in day-to-day service. “They’ll be closely engaged in all decision-making and menu development,” says Hsueh. They’ll also occasionally host special dinners, stepping into the kitchen to lead service themselves.
In their place will be French-speaking Japanese chef Hiroki Aikawa, who has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in France and Japan. “Chef Aikawa also communicates in French with the team,” adds Hsueh, “which we believe will spark even more chemistry and creativity for Onze.”
At first glance, Onze sounds strikingly similar to its predecessor. But there is a subtle strategic shift (one that goes beyond a French-immersion kitchen). Where LSL built its identity on a pipeline of rare Japanese imports, all hand-selected by Saito—Hokkaido hairy crab, wild mountain vegetables, $800 boxes of purple sea urchin—Onze appears to be recalibrating its sense of luxury. Rather than relying on exclusivity and imported goods, it’s sourcing ingredients closer to home.
Related: Inside the making of LSL, Toronto’s wildly ambitious new fine-dining powerhouse
“We’ve taken a further step by acquiring a farm in Ontario where we grow our own vegetables and produce, offering guests a more direct and personal farm-to-table experience,” says Hsueh. In that sense, Saito and Le Squer are planting deeper roots in the tiny Avenue Road space—expanding their influence beyond ingredient sourcing and menu development to include operations, cultivation and even what’s grown on the farm.
While the new price point remains under wraps, the question is whether this reset will come with a cost that feels a little more grounded—something that reflects the restaurant’s turn toward a more grassroots philosophy.
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
