Pukka’s about to open a French restaurant on St. Clair West
The owners of St. Clair West’s modern Indian spot Pukka will soon be feeding the neighbourhood French food, too. Concession Road (that’s St. Clair’s original name) will open just half a block east of Pukka, in the space recently vacated by Bywoods. Co-owner Derek Valleau tells us that the new restaurant, which is scheduled to open as soon as this weekend, will serve dishes with “French roots but global branches” cooked by chef Masayuki Tamaru, who Valleau first worked with at Crush Wine Bar, and sous chef, Mark Cutrara (Cowbell, Hawthorne, Parlor Foods). “We obviously weren’t going to do Indian and compete with ourselves,” says Valleau, “but the neighbourhood is developing and in great need of better restaurants. If it wasn’t us, it would have been someone else.” Sommelier Peter Boyd (Scaramouche, Skin & Bones, Pukka) is in charge of the wine list, and there will be cocktails and an absinthe program, as well—all of which, come summer, will go nicely with the spot’s street-side patio.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/pukkas-open-french-restaurant-st-clair-west/&title=Pukka’s about to open a French restaurant on St. Clair West&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Concession_2.jpg&description=[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Rebecca Fleming)[/caption]
The owners of St. Clair West's modern Indian spot Pukka will soon be feeding the neighbourhood French food, too. Concession Road (that's St. Clair's original name) will open just half a block east of Pukka, in the space recently vacated by Bywoods. Co-owner Derek Valleau tells us that the new restaurant, which is scheduled to open as soon as this weekend, will serve dishes with "French roots but global branches" cooked by chef Masayuki Tamaru, who Valleau first worked with at Crush Wine Bar, and sous chef, Mark Cutrara (Cowbell, Hawthorne, Parlor Foods). "We obviously weren't going to do Indian and compete with ourselves," says Valleau, "but the neighbourhood is developing and in great need of better restaurants. If it wasn't us, it would have been someone else." Sommelier Peter Boyd (Scaramouche, Skin & Bones, Pukka) is in charge of the wine list, and there will be cocktails and an absinthe program, as well—all of which, come summer, will go nicely with the spot's street-side patio.){kind=link}
Sounds interesting. Any association with Pukka will make this restaurant a great experience
West: 77
East: 4
Exciting to see Pukka opening another restaurant. I hope more better restaurants open in the neighborhood!
Epic fail. Wait staff did not know what he was serving and we had to ask for cutlery. $25 Fish stew was a tiny portion with 2 over cooked shrimp and a sand infused clam. Eggplant “caviar” was like any store bought babaganouj. Decor resembles an airport lounge. Completely over priced and 100% average. The only good part? An easy to make martini in cute Kensington market glass wear.
A bummer of a disappointment for a neighborhood that needs a new resto.
What resonates is that this restaurant is not even remotely French. Shrimp bonbons, what the heck??? Massively over fried spring rolls, I think. Oh yes, I forgot this is French right???? There were microscopic mussels in a fish stew which was incredibly average. The wine was acceptable but a tad overpriced. Wait staff was anxious and lacked a sense of timing, being somewhat over attentive. In a nutshell, the whole restaurant concept should be revisited. If it’s defining itself as French, then let true French cuisine be defined throughout the menu, The fusion piece isn’t working well.