What’s on the menu at Gare de L’Est, a new French brasserie in Leslieville
Name: Gare de L’Est Brasserie
Contact: 1190 Dundas St. E., 416-792-1626, gdlbrasserie.com, @gdlbrasserie
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
Owners: Erik Joyal and John Sinopoli (Ascari Enoteca, Hi-Lo Bar, Table 17, The Broadview Hotel)
Chef: Mathew Gulyas (The Good Son, Table 17)
The food
Brasserie favourites, including French onion soup made with house-made beef broth, steak tartare and steak (or moules) frites. A whole-animal butchering program (so, charcuterie) is on its way, but until then there’s foie gras au torchon and a rustic pâté de campagne. The restaurant’s café is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a pre-theatre prix-fixe menu is available when there’s a show playing at Crow’s Theatre.
The drinks
French wines from small producers, a dedicated section for Champagnes, a selection bottled beers (some local, many Belgian), one beer on tap and ciders, many of which are on the dry side. The cocktails, including some pre-batched ones, feature French liqueur.
The space
A fully accessible 70-seat dining room and bar that Sinopoli likes to think evokes the fun, the levity and the romance of 1960s France. A 35-seat patio is in the works.
