Review: Roux serves comforting Creole standards to Junction regulars
Roux ★½ 2790 Dundas St. W., 647-343-3600
Last summer, the owners of the Junction Eatery transformed their diner into a polished little Creole restaurant, with a marble-topped bar, swinging saddle seats and opulently weathered brick walls. The makeover hasn’t deterred Junction regulars—the place fills with couples and toddler-toting families by 7 p.m.
Chef Derrick Markland, an alum of the Four Seasons’ shuttered fine dining restaurant Truffles, fusses with each plate before it emerges from the open kitchen, making sure every flourish and garnish is perfect. The service suffers as a result, but his elevated southern comfort food is worth the wait. The shrimp fritters, battered in creamed sweet potato, are airy and crisp. A fillet of meaty mackerel are grilled to flaky perfection and served with sautéed vegetables and a fiery horseradish-cauliflower mash. Bread pudding brings a towering heap of eggy, custard-soaked challah ladled with stewed berries—a steal at $6.
