A first look at LSL, a nine-seat tasting restaurant with three Michelin-star chefs coming soon to North York
It’s a collaboration between Didier Leroy, Masaki Saito and Christian Le Squer
While Covid was by no means a boon to the restaurant industry, without it, LSL Restaurant—an elite nine-seat tasting room conceived by Michelin-star chefs Christian Le Squer, Masaki Saito and Didier Leroy, opening soon near Avenue and Wilson—would not exist.
About a year and a half ago, Yo-Yo Ma was in town for a concert, and while he was here, he enjoyed a private dinner at Sushi Masaki Saito, Canada’s only two-Michelin-star restaurant. “We all needed to test for Covid before he came in because he was on a world tour and couldn’t get sick,” says Saito. “Unfortunately, I tested positive—that was a real problem.”
For that evening, as always, Saito had amassed a treasure trove of coveted, costly—and a little crazy—ingredients imported from Japan that couldn’t go to waste. But, as the sole chef of his eponymous Yorkville restaurant, he had no backup plan. So Saito and his business partner, proprietor William Cheng, had to pivot fast. “I love French food as it’s very similar to Japanese cuisine, with its strong focus on technique,” says Saito. “I had eaten Chef Leroy’s food many times at William’s home—the two have been friends for 25 years. We both trusted that he could take my place and make the meal beautifully.”
From that meal—which Cheng says “brought tears to Yo-Yo Ma’s eyes”—the concept of the restaurant grew. Its acronym was originally going to be LWS, for Leroy With Saito. “The W was also a way to get my first name in there, like a hidden message,” says Cheng, who has been building the restaurant based on the way he wants to eat.
In 2023, during the recipe development phase of LWS, Cheng and the two chefs felt like something was missing. “Our benchmark for elevated cuisine is extremely high, and we didn’t think we were hitting it,” says Cheng. To find the missing piece, the three travelled to Paris to dine in its many Michelin-star restaurants for inspiration. This tour culminated at Cheng’s favourite: Christian Le Squer’s three-Michelin-star Le Cinq. “I was shocked at the quality, purity and lightness of the food,” says Saito. “I’d always thought of French food as being slightly heavy, but it shouldn’t be. Very few chefs are able to execute the level of technique it takes to make French food with such delicate precision. Chef Le Squer can. We all agreed, upon returning to Toronto and reflecting on our trip, that he is the best of the best.”
Last Christmas, with the construction of LWS well underway, Leroy cold-called Le Squer to invite him to consult on the project. “Christian does not usually answer the phone,” says Cheng. “But, when I heard he’d picked up for Didier and was open to consulting for us, I got him and a sous-chef on a flight to Paris the next day.” In early 2024, Le Squer came to Toronto to dine at Saito’s restaurant with the rest of the team. He was so impressed he asked to have his name on the project. “I very happily dropped the W,” says Cheng.
Related: What’s on the menu at MSSM, sushi chef Masaki Saito’s more casual omakase spot in Yorkville
Their collective vision is a Japanese omakase experience reinterpreted through French cooking, with each chef taking on a special role. Saito focuses on sourcing exceptional ingredients, like Hokkaido hairy crab, wild mountain vegetables and purple sea urchin that costs $800 per tiny box. Le Squer forms the concepts for seasonal tasting menus inspired by the produce and protein Saito brings in.
And, as the only chef in LSL on a day-to-day basis, Leroy—who has worked in multiple Michelin-star restaurants and helmed many kitchens of his own over a 50-year career—executes the vision. Under his leadership, Saito’s ingredients are transformed into exquisite dishes that bring together techniques and flavours from French and Japanese cuisines. It’s a magical arrangement between a triumvirate of top-tier chefs that works harmoniously and is bound to delight—if one can afford the $680-a-head price tag (and another $300 per person for wine pairings).
Much of the first tasting menu (sampled by nine lucky people earlier this month during a practice run) was modelled after dishes Le Squer has served at Le Cinq. A pair of chefs from his team made the trip from Paris a week before the dinner to thoroughly school LSL’s culinary team on the precise techniques required to recreate the signature recipes.
Here’s a look at what was served for LSL’s inaugural dinner. Stay tuned to the restaurant’s Instagram and Tock pages to learn when reservations will become available.
LSL Restaurant, 2066 Avenue Rd., lslrestaurant.ca, @lsltoronto
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