Lucien Restaurant

Went here last night. I hadn’t been to Lucien in probably two years (despite the many Groupons/​vouchers I’ve seen offered online).
First off, this is no longer Lucien Restaurant! It’s now Olde Towne Oyster Bar. Despite the website still being up for Lucien, the owner (?) stated it should be taken down soon, and the menu has changed (I have posted a photo of the new menu). No renovations were done, so it’s basically the same décor/​atmosphere with new menus and name. Also, the restaurant was completely dead except for us and another table of two, for the entire 1.5 hours we were there.
Instead of the tasty dishes I remember from my previous visits, we were greeted with a much smaller menu. They are jumping on the bandwagon of offering ‘sharing’ dishes, and even stated that their ‘mains’ were pretty small (a strange admission).
Food:
We started with the Thuet bread. Tasty enough, but only 4 small pieces and some olive oil/​balsamic/​pepper mix.
Then we had:
Warm Mediterranean Olives — Plenty given, tasted like grocery store ones
Smoked Salmon — 3 fair sized pieces with bread and capers. Tasty
Trio of Seared Jumbo Scallops (uploaded picture) — Very tasty, but not so jumbo
Albacore Tuna Crudo — Not bad, but we weren’t impressed. Not very fresh.
We finished with one of each dessert. Best part of the meal. The Chocolate cake was warm and melty in your mouth. The Crème Brulee was most excellent (and I’m not a big fan of them).
Drinks:
I had a Steam Whistle. No complaints.
My friend the house white wine. She thought it was pretty weak (house wine after all).
Service:
No complaints. Frequent refills and dishes cleared.
Overall Impression? Meh. I preferred the old Lucien. Maybe they’ll get better and offer a few more shard plates that actually jump out at you. I won’t be going back unless I see some changes. There are too many other places I would rather try.

I suggested to one of my best friends that she join me for lunch at Lucien. I had heard many great things about this restaurant and in particular, I heard that they had a great Summerlicious menu.
I got there before my friend so I was seated first. We were given a table in the back, so that was nice and cozy.
The beginning of our meal started well enough. The waiter who took our order was very enthusiastic and very nice.
Our order: Starters
Bread (extra $ 2)
Smoked chicken salad with organic greens, heirloom radish and buttermilk ranch dressing (local) — tasted like tuna not chicken. It was okay. Nothing special. I was warned that it would be spicy, but I did not think it was. But I like my food spicy.
Albacore tuna crudo with leeks, ponzu sauce and tapioca pearls – tasted like sashimi. I guess that is the point. I like sashimi, and so does my friend, so we both liked it.
Overall the appetizers were ok. Not great, but not bad. Meh.
Mains:
It took over 30 minutes for us to get our mains. Everyone around us was being served except for us. The waiter did keep apologizing, but it was not him that was actually serving us the food. Eventually he went and got our plates.
Hand rolled spinach fettucine with jumbo tiger shrimp, chili, fennel, white wine butter sauce and balsamic drizzle — loved the past and shrimps. There were a lot of little pieces of other vegetables throughout the pasta. Some fennel and something else. It did not need it. I also did not taste any chili, but again, I like my food spicy.
Pan roasted Perth County pork with confit of heirloom tomatoes and cilantro dressing (local) – it did not look that great to me, but my friend liked it. She specially liked how the vegetables were cooked.
Desserts:
Cherries jubilee, vanilla ice cream, cream soda (local) – bread was dry. Nothing special about it. A friend had told me that they had great vanilla ice cream, hence the reason I ordered this dessert. But I did not find anything special about the ice cream either.
House made almond milk tofu with fresh berries, lemon sorbet and mint (local) — my friend likes tofu so she enjoyed it. I thought it tasted too much like tofu. Mmm I guess that was the point?
Verdict: I went for lunch to Canoe the day before and I guess that experience really had a great influence on this one. The lunch at Canoe was $ 25 and the food was amazing, the service impeccable, and the ambiance relaxing. Here at Lucien, the lunch was $ 20 and even though it was a great deal, it did not feel like it to me. Definitely have no plans of returning.

I went here with a business colleague to try their summerlicious menu. The service was quick and friendly — just what you would expect when you are on a time crunch and courses were served on time without us feeling rushed. The food on the other hand was nothing to write home about.
Appetizer
–Albacore tuna crudo with leeks, ponzu sauce and tapioca pearls
The tuna was not marinated properly and it was just sitting on a bed of ponzu sauce which was way too overpowering.
Main
— Hand rolled spinach fettucine with jumbo tiger shrimp, chili, fennel, white wine butter sauce and balsamic drizzle
The jumbo shrimp did not have any flavor or seasoning. The dish had a one dimensional note to it and got boring very quickly. The pasta was well cooked though.
Dessert
— House made almond milk tofu with fresh berries, lemon sorbet and mint
Worst dessert I’ve had in a long time. The almond milk tofu was weird tasting almost gritty to some extent. The only saving grace was the lemon sorbet which was refreshing on a hot summer day
Somehow, I don’t feel like this is worth a second try. The ingredients look appealing but the execution seems lacking and the end product is not harmonious. Avoid this place if you can and give your taste buds something else to be excited about !!!

It’s been awhile since I tried the summerlicious promo around Toronto. I saw this menu and it looked quite appealing. We tried every dish on the menu (minus the soup appetizer). Everything was well plated and portions were very good for lunch. Service was excellent. Friendly and attentive. Water was always topped up. I would try this place again on a regular night for a special occasion.

I was lured to this place with a groupon but left a bit disappointed.
Nice, clean, upscale décor and the type of place that is perfect for date night.
We ordered only mains and a dessert because even with the groupon this place is pricy (and overpriced for what we had, in my opinion).
I had the steak which was okay. Was overcooked and bland. Came with mushrooms and a sauce that didn’t really taste like anything? Mushrooms have a mild taste so that with the sauce didn’t really add anything to the dish.
My sister had the whitefish stuffed with pork jowl, which she liked, but she mentioned that the taste of the pork jowl was so overpowering that she couldn’t taste anything else. To me, that defeats the point of serving both of the proteins if you’re cant taste anything but the one.
For dessert we shared the pear tart with white chocolate ganache, white chocolate sponge toffee, and chocolate ice cream. Was not a fan of the crust or ganache. Did not taste fresh or recently made. Tart was a bit hard to get through so my sister scooped out the ganache and ate it. The sponge toffee was awesome, but the ice cream was WOW. Maybe Lucien needs to open up an ice cream joint cuz that ish was INCREDIBLE. seriously, I was about ready to lick that plate clean!
Okay experience, but I don’t think I’ll be heading back here anytime soon, even with the delicious ice cream as a lure.

Lucien is as perfect a small, intimate wine bar restaurant as can be found ANYWHERE.
Located really conveniently close to work, culture, sports and the King St subway.
The décor is lovely, especially the enormous mirror behind the bar. Very classy.
Food is creative yet accessible for everyone’s tastes. The proprietor, Simon Bower, expertly guided our decisions on what we would like best.
Service is polite yet, friendly and casual. Delivery of drinks and dishes moves at the perfect pace.
What more can I say! Put Lucien on your «go-​to» list for after work, before theatre, sports or just a dinner out. You won’t be disappointed.

Made reservations for Winterlicious and it was a big disappointment. Maybe my expectations for the food were high because of the high price entrees on the regular menu.
The service was okay and at times were a little annoying like Swiss Chalet waiters — friendly but fake. They came out strong but dwindle in the end and were hard to flag down. The décor seems a little confusing. It tries to be classy but the feel was more bar-​like, especially with a tv by the bar playing the game. The music playing in the background sounded like old classic rock, which I didn’t mind, but seemed out of place for the restaurant.
Food was barely okay. We came for the Winterlicious so it was a set menu with a few choices for each entrée. I had the french onion soup, which had raw onions and the cheese curdled in the broth. I chose the duck for my main, which seemed over cooked because it was hard to chew and swallow. They also hid all this shredded duck meat under the sliced pieces of duck which made it seem like they were trying to hide all the messy parts. I just didn’t enjoy it. The desert was terrible. I had this banana peanut butter cookie parfait. Bleh, it did not work and the cookie tasted stale and store bought.
I left the restaurant hungry and had to eat at home.

Du faux français, du faux canadien-​français? Pas certain. Enfin personne n’y parle un mot de français, c’est évident malgré le nom. Nous y sommes passé pendant un ‘summerlicious’ ou un ‘winterlicious’, ces événements où l’on peut découvrir de nouveau restaurants avec des prix fixe. C’était l’occasion de nous impressionner, mais le résultat était fade et sans originalité. Les portions étaient aussi particulièrement décevantes.

I will not be coming back.
The service was very nice, albeit a bit snobby. We had a reservation and (whom I am assuming to be the owner) welcomed us in immediately and showed us to our table. Our server knew a lot about each dish and the little details about it, which is what earned the two stars.
The food, though. Oh goodness gracious, so dry and tasteless! If I am paying $ 28 for an entrée, I kind of expect a few bells and whistles. I got the Berkshire pork. Do not get the Berkshire pork. Get the BC cod, like all three of my friends that I went with. It is just as tasteless, but not as dry. The pork was sad, rubbery and tasteless. And the beans and cabbage just did not set it off like I was so desperately hoping. We also got chicken liver pâté as a starter. I’ve had really delicious pâté before and wanted my friends to experience the same. I was so utterly disappointed because they are now turned off of it forever. I mean, I know we did not fit in with the typical Lucien demographic, being a good twenty years younger than the patrons of that night… But we know good food when we see it! And we did not see it.
You can tell a lot about a restaurant by its bread. I am a firm believer in this, as it has been proven true again and again. Lucien’s bread was not free and not warm. It was served with a nice oil, which added a small touch but not enough. It was slightly dry and I used the rest of my pâté on it, since the portioning of the appetizer left us all with too much pâté and nothing else for it to thrive upon. I’ve had better bread.
We used a groupon deal for it, which significantly reduced our bill ($ 143-​something without tip). That was a relief too, because I would cry if I paid full price of a meal I did not end up liking or finishing.

Even with a groupon (making my meal significantly discounted) this restaurant was a terrible experience. This may be jumping to conclusions, but I’m pretty sure our waitress forgot to put in our orders. We ordered bread (yes you have to pay for this) and It didn’t come for an hour. How long does it take to cut up a loaf of bread? Even the table next to us (who sat down after us) got their bread right away!
So obviously after 40 minutes we were annoyed and we told the waitress we haven’t been served anything we ordered yet. Not only did she not apologize or show sympathy, she was actually rude about it. Seriously the worst service I’ve ever had. I’d also like to add I don’t think I saw her smile ONCE for the entire dinner service. Was not remotely enjoyable to be served by her in any way, shape, or form.
Now on the to the food. Let me tell you, it’s not much better than the service. Dishes were either completely bland, or overly salty. The homemade pasta that we ordered came with a total of 2 clams, and tasted like it was made with the sea water that the seafood came in. The BC Cod was overcooked and had absolutely no seasoning. The only palatable thing of the night was the Albacore Tuna Crudo which was surprisingly fresh.
It’s really a shame that this restaurant didn’t dazzle me. Because the venue is absolutely beautiful. Loved the chandeliers and the romantic candle lit atmosphere. I would possibly consider coming back for a drink or something, but never again for any food.

A recent Groupon deal brought me to Lucien last week for dinner.
I’ll cut right to the chase: The food here is amazing; the prices are quite steep and the portions are small.
Reading the other reviews I thought the place was going to be a chaotic mess in terms of décor. It’s really not that ‘eclectic’ in my opinion. Maybe they were referring to the melted wine bottle chandelier, which I thought was really cool. Apart from that it’s quite normal. They did a good job renovating it, as this used to be Pravda.
The service was friendly and fairly quick, although it did fill up rather quickly once we got seated.
For an app, I tried the Red Deer tartare. It was, without better words to describe it, exquisite. I LOVE tartare and this was some of the best I’ve had. Spiced just right and the bright red of the venison added to the presentation. If it’s on the menu, TRY IT.
After perusing the menu and changing my mind a few times, I decided on the pork shoulder. A little fatty but with a fantastic taste. The dish had two good size pieces of pork shoulder and was served with a side of chicharrón. Very delicious.
I also had a little bite of the pasta of the day, which was ok but $ 25 for a small plate of pasta never sits quite right with me (remember the portions are tiny).
Finally, I had a quick look at the desert menu as we were both still a bit hungry but nothing really appealed to me.
Their menu changes often and the chef seems to know what he’s doing so it would be interesting to come back in a few months to check out what’s new.

I have heard good things about this upscale restaurant from a couple of my friends. The layout was nice and intimate with a wee bit of a rustic meets elegant jive. Although my first impression of Lucien was on the up in up, it was pretty much a slide down hill from there I am afraid.
Maybe it’s the location, but I found this place a bit stuffy in a middle aged businessmen kinda way. Perhaps my gf and I should just stay in Parkdale, Junction or Queen west? lol. There was another young couple sitting right next to us and I caught various patrons starring in our direction like we were some sort of science experiment, it was uncomfortable to say the least.
Service was tight and friendly without being fake… very genuine.
The food was pretty good for normal standards, however, I would compare this in the same caliber as, say Black Hoof. Having said that, it was sub par in comparison.
My gf boasted about their online menu having foie gras ice cream, which they did not have… in fact the online menu was completely different from the menu that was presented that evening. Granted I expect some changes to the menus, however, consistency is a must in an establishment like this… just look at Ruby Watch Co., they literally change the menu everyday and it’s completely consistent with the website.
I had the Pork Tongue and my gf got the Bibb Salad both at $ 12, I totally got the better end of the deal. For the main, I had the Fresh water Trout with Celery Root Purée which was really nice; the trout was cooked exactly the way I like it, the highlight of my experience at Lucien.
We had 2 apps, bread, wine and 2 mains… the bill came out to $ 170 excluding the tip.
For what we paid for at Lucien, we should have had a stellar experience like at Black Hoof as mentioned.
I like this place but it missed the mark in some ways.

Lucien is tucked away at the corner of Leader Lane and Wellington in neighbourhood of the St. Lawrence Market. I have passed by the dimmed restaurant during lunch hour many times. However, starting March 5^th the restaurant will be open for lunch in hopes of catering to the Financial District’s lunch crowd. While I couldn’t scribble down enough notes about how to describe the food, the décor had me at a loss of words. In the end, I settled on one word to describe both the ambiance and food — eclectic. The menu has everything from ramen to pasta to choucroute.
The décor was a mishmash of chandeliers, candles, antique wood, luxurious drapes and textured ceiling. It was cozy without being claustrophobic, and relaxing. I would recommend the table for 2 in the nook space by the window for a little more privacy. Its also great for people watching.
Our server Patrick was every restauraunteur’s dream. Having been 4 years with Lucien, he was engaging without being disruptive and was always within reach. If Wency Leung’s blurb in the Globe and Mail about the drought of qualified restaurant staff being the hindrance to bringing Toronto’s restaurant industry on par with the likes of Chicago, Montréal, and New York — then Lucien must be paying top dollars for quality manpower.
Their wine list is not extensive, but by no means limiting. I was able to find a glass of my beloved Riesling from Tawse Winery, and my dining companion found comfort in a Negroni.
The Thuet bread basket comes at a small price, but its worth it. The oil was spicy, sweet and tart all at the same time. I’m all for threesomes now!
I even got to experience a new type of fish — Sablefish. With a texture very similar to bass, but less flaky and more tender, the soy sauce infused broth entrenched the fish with flavour.
If there’s one thing that stands out in my mind about my meal at Lucien, its the textural contrasts that were apparent in every dish. Be it the crostini and turnip to the red deer tartare, or the honeyed parsnip crisps and malt meringue to the spongey yet crusted financier — every bite was interesting.
Verdict:
Lucien is definitely worth the splurge. The food is yummy, the restaurant is cozy, and the staff definitely play more than just a supporting role.

Lucien is a tasty upscale restaurant located in the old Pravda building and although I thought the space was nice and intimate, in many ways I felt they missed the mark.
THE AMBIANCE/​SERVICE:
Despite the space’s romantic and intimate feel, the ambiance felt quite stuffy and I got the impression I did not belong. I found it funny that despite other open seats we were sat next to the only visible minority couple in the middle of the restaurant. Patrons would often stare in our direction and quickly turn away when we caught their eye… I felt like I was in a zoo and sort of uncomfortable. Our waitress on the other hand was generally nice and attentive during our meal.
THE FOOD:
First there is the menu. I had previously brought my bf to Black Hoof for what I would credit as one of the most interesting gastronomic experience we’ve ever had. When a Groupon for this place came up a few weeks ago I quickly snatched one up when I saw their online menu. With mentions of foie gras ice cream I had high expectation for creative and tasty food.
When we looked at the menu, it seemed completely different from the one online (this has since been updated online). A little bummed out that I wouldn’t be eating crazy ice cream I ordered the red leaf and bib salad and my bf got the slow cooked pork tongue. Both were quite good but I’d say the tongue was a better value as both aps cost $ 12 each.
For the main, I got the Black Angus ribeye and bone marrow. The steak was great but the bone marrow arrived on its own with no accompaniments. For those of you unfamiliar with bone marrow it’s extremely rich… almost like eating butter or lard and is best served with bread or salt in order to balance the texture.
We ordered a bottle of wine for $ 40 and a basket of bread. The total came to $ 170 including tax but excluding tip. The food was good but nothing wowed me except the price tag.

I ate here a few months ago with a Group coupon that brought it into a more reasonable price range. The space itself is beautiful, and the service was friendly and efficient. At this point, the menu has changed and I don’t remember off the top of my head what we ordered — but I remember it was good. Just good. Not great. I also remember that the portions were very small. At that price point, hopefully the food would be great and in good portions, but you at least need one or the other. Frankly, I was barely satiated with my meal.
All in all, I’m glad I had the coupon because otherwise I would have been upset by how much I’d spent on how little. The coupon made it a little more acceptable, but I won’t return nor would I buy another coupon. It’s just not worth it to me when there’s so many excellent restaurants in the same price range or lower.

BOTTOM LINE: Attentive service and delicious food, but I’m not sure I experienced the same «WOW» or «MEH» factor that others have.
Listen, this place is good, and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to others, but it’s also not amazing or paradigm-​shifting by any means. Judging by the the «bimodal» distribution of Unilocal ratings, however, it seems like you’re either a fanboy or a hater.
To the FANBOYS: The service and food were good, but not amaze-​balls. My favourite was their unique take on the classic french onion soup — excellent presentation, loved the duck, though would’ve preferred a bit more cheese. Their heirloom tomato salad could’ve, again, had more than just a thin slice of barrata. Cod was done well and the deer was cooked to medium-​rare perfection (though I prefer a gamier taste, that’s just me). And as for the apple confit, the highlight was actually the goat cheese ice cream that accompanied it.
To the HATERS: To those expecting Lucien to be a molecular gastronomic affair comparable to El Bulli, I say, «WTF?! Seriously?» This place is far from it, but last I checked, they weren’t advertising themselves as such. A lot of detractors also complain about the price/​serving size ratio. On the one hand, I tend to agree if only because I’ve eaten at other comparably good restaurants for less but it’s not like Lucien’s prices are outrageously expensive (although I wasn’t exactly rushing to order their chef’s tasting menu!). On the other hand, given how everything else in the neighbourhood is in the same price range and there’s this thing called the Internets, I’m not sure how the cost was beyond people’s expectations.
All in all, I like Lucien and that’s why it deserves 3 stars. Apparently, I’m only the second or third out of 30 people to think so.

Underwhelmed is the word I would use to describe my experience at Lucien. I loved the design and atmosphere of the restaurant, and from that, I guess I expected something more. I found it interesting that there was really only one waiter, with the other three staff being bussers/​bartenders. When any table wanted to place an order, the busser would inform the older gentleman, who I later found out was the owner of the restaurant, and you would then have to wait for him to arrive to take our order. Unfortunately for us, it was a busy night and this meant having to wait for a while.
I went to the restaurant with my girlfriend and we ordered the Octopus for the appetizer, BC Salmon and Alberta Bison for the entrees and the apple and brownie for dessert.
I have to agree with Sara K.P. in regards to the octopus. Neither I or the gf were impressed with it, although it seemed to be more mashed potato than octopus, to be honest. The gf loved her salmon though, while I was disappointed with the bison. I ordered it medium rare, and it lacked any real flavour. The dessert was okay, but the selection available left much to be desired.
At the end of the night, I’m glad I got to try a new restaurant out, but I really have no plans on returning.

Hubby and myself had reservations here for a romantic Valentine’s meal this past February. The venue was fitting as Lucien’s interior is stunningly outftted with Art Nouveau flourishes abound. Lots of wrought iron scrolling and stained glass with sprinklings of Toulouse-​Lautrec prints for good measure.
Our server was neither callous nor too obliging just neutrally efficient and informative. Maybe it was the dining choices hubby and myself sampled at Lucien, however I was pretty underwhelmed with my meal.
We started with the Bincho Grilled octopus and hubby had the Berkshire pork belly. Our mains were the roast Fenwood farms chicken and Ontario veal Ribeye.
To finish we sampled the «Chocolate Complex» and hubby chased his meal with a single malt Oban.
Overall flavour and texture wise, I wasn’t feeling it at all. Hubby expressed his dinner was good but what man is ever unsatisfied when ribs are involved? I felt like the meals were more like minimalist works of interpretive masticative art than satisfying gourmand dining.
Call me a purist but I prefer that foodstuffs like octopus are served up looking like octopus and not as some odd terrine-​like concotion, not to mention the «dessert» of some scant chocolate pieces with salt and spices made me feel I was surrendering to some culinary experiment just to make Lucien laugh at my expense for both my idiocy for ordering it and for charging me $ 16.
I’ve had the honour and pleasure for the past 20 years to dine on some wonderful, flavourful, and utterly orgasmic meals at both lowbrow and highbrow establishments in Toronto. Lucien to me felt like an insolent exercise in posturing and bravado. Instead of provoking gastronomic inspiration in me, Lucien left a bad taste in my mouth and less $ 225 from my husband’s well intentioned pocket.
Lucien, I will give you credit for trying to assert your own brand of avant garde cuisine but quite frankly, I’d leave the molecular freestyling to Ferran Adria and his rogue El Bulli disciples.

An amazing food experience at prices justified by your taste buds, who will go «WEEE!!! WEEEE!!! WEEE!!!»
Lucien was such a great find. We walked by in our wanderings as tourists, Unilocaled it later and saw a sort of mixed bag of reviews.
Many of the poorer reviews for Lucien had to do with two things: price and size.
«The portions were small and it was expensive!»
You know where portions are plenty and prices are nominal? Burger King. You can get a triple stack for $ 3! Amazing!
Lucien is not Burger King. Reviews judging the restaurant based food all came out quite positive, and I have another one to add to the list.
The server was very nice, helpful, explained to me what «fiddleheads» are. He helped steer me towards the Bison entrée and it was amazing. We also got the octopus starter and the pork belly. They were both really good. The veal ribeye was the other entrée at the table, which was also good, but owner of said ribeye was a wee bit jealous of my bison.
The brownie for dessert was not my favorite after the whole meal was done, but luckily they brought out the cheesecake by accident and let us keep both. The cheesecake was much better than the brownie but a delight to be able to try them both!
2 apps + 2 entrees + 1 bottle wine ($ 58) + 1 dessert + 2 cappuccino = $ 195
So put that in your bison pipe and smoke it. We loved every bite!

Looks can be deceiving …
Don’t judge a book by its cover …
These are the phrases that come to mind when I recall my summerlicious event at Lucien. This was the most expensive (45 $) and yet pleased the least.
I will admit that the ambiance is ok (cool dark lounge vibe) and the service passable (though no one cared to explain the dishes to us — unlike Canoe and Auberge … AND we felt that everything was rushed — prob due to the lineup at the door).
The real failure was the food. The appetizer was delicious and all the different tastes came together in my mouth. I was sooo hopeful for the next 2 dishes. However, my cod came and I was completely disgusted at it — it was far too salty (masking anything???) and small (about half the size of a cat-​food can) and undercooked (it was seared but the inside was still oozing out salty water). I felt like I should return it but didn’t want to make a fuss. At this point, I was pissy and irritated. How dare they serve me this? The cheesecake failed to impress — I tasted no cheese and it was dry. My friend had the chocolate mousse and she did not like its texture.
All in all, I would not return for a *licious event. Perhaps one will fare better if you ordered off the regular menu.
I still have nightmares and pangs of regret for dropping 72 $ at this joint.

Over the years I’ve grown very cynical of Winterlicious. It seems that a lot of restaurants don’t really treat this event well, and sub the regular menu with much cheaper and more generic food that is easier to produce en masse. However, this year, I decided to give a few a try, with Lucient on the top of my list of restaurants that I had heard about but did not try yet. It looked promising for Winterlicious since it looked like their Winterlicious menu actually had items from their regular menu.
We started off our early Friday night dinner with Braised Berkshire Pork and Cauliflower Soup as appetizers. The pork was deliciously fatty and the soup was light as air. Delicious! Next came the Top Meadow Farms Beef Bourguignon — nicely braised and tasty, but nothing special. For dessert I had the Ontario Apple Cobbler while my boyfriend got the Lemon Meringue. Both were inventive and good. I was impressed with my Winterlicious experience here and would return here again for the regular menu — which is what Winterlicious is all about — attracting new customers.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Lucien. The service was good, the décor was intimate and cozy, and the food was tasty and original.