Colette Grand Café ★½ 550 Wellington St. W., 647-348-7000
The new restaurant in the Thompson Hotel is ultra-polished and styled after an airy Riviera brasserie. It’s run by the Chase Hospitality Group and radiates—for better or worse, depending on your dining tastes—a corporate vibe.
Chef Michael Steh’s food is expensive (inflated hotel prices are in full effect), conservative and mostly good. Lobster spaghetti brings two fat hunks of buttery shellfish, afroth with lobster-stock foam and sitting on chewy fresh pasta, but the sauce lacks depth and pepper heat. Better is duck magret, cooked to lush red in the centre and served with a vinegary rhubarb compote and a brown-buttery Jerusalem artichoke purée—three elements that burst with umami when forked together.
Have an opinion on Colette Grand Café? Add your review here »
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.