Restaurant Review: Summerlicious La Societe

This was my first visit to La Societe. I have been wanting to visit this restaurant on several different occcasions but ended up not going. Last night was my first visit. My family and I decided to come here for dinner during Summerlicious. It is owned by Charles Khabouth, the man who owns like all the big clubs in Toronto and more. 

La Societe is located at 31 Bloor St W. and resembles a French Bistro. The Summerlicious menu for dinner is as follows:

 

I enjoyed this menu thoroughly. I didn't know what to expect, were the portions going to be big or is this one of those restaurants that will charge high prices for small amounts of food. No idea what to expect. However I was pleasantly surprised. I started off with the Rabbit Terrine, followed by the Salmon, and finished with the Wild Strawberry Chocolate Mousse. My mom, dad, and sister all ordered the Romaine salad, my mom ordered the salmon as well, dad ordered the Flat Iron and sister ordered the gnocchi, and both my mom and sister ordered the Tartlet and my dad ordered the mousse. 

I enjoy going out with my family to Summerlicious because they are great company and also they can order different things and I can have the chance to try it :).

This tall caucasian gentleman served us and was extremely helpful and accomodating. My mom and I ordered two glasses of pinot gregio which was a perfect wine to have with our meals.

RABBIT TERRINE
Gin, Dates, Pickled Mustard

I haven't ever tried rabbit because the opportunity was never presented so I was super happy when I saw rabbit on this menu. Rabbit has a texture that of which is similar to chicken. I feel rabbit tastes a hint sweeter than chicken. The filling was quite delicious and the dates and pickled mustard worked beautifully with this dish.

ACACIA HONEY MARINATED SALMON
Haricot Vert, Creme Fraich, Capers & Lemon

For the next course, the salmon was cooked to perfection. I enjoyed the little perfectly diced croutons with this incredibly moist and flavourful salmon. It tasted as if the salmon was poached in a flavourful broth. The haricot verts were also cooked to perfection to my liking. I love when my green beans are cooked slightly so they are a bright vibrant green and with an amazing crunch. The lemon segments were also quite delicious as they were not super sour and complimented the fish. This is a dish that I could imagine would be served at a Bistro in Paris. The flavours were very light and delicate and not overpowering or heavy...perfect for a warm sunny day in Toronto.

PARISIAN GNOCCHI
Beurre Noisette, Heirloom Tomato, Confit of Garlic & Sage

My sister ordered the gnocchi...which was absolutely delicious. Originally I thought the gnocchi were made with mashed potatoes but our server informed us that it was actually made with Choux pastry... I was mind-blown... The tomatoes were also seasoned with parmesan cheese and some parsley...again this dish was very nice and light... the little that my sister gave me :(.... One thing that did disappoint me was, when I got home I wanted to figure out how they made this dish so I looked through my cookbooks and found an almost identical dish made in Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery cookbook and the picture of Chef Keller's Gnocchi Parisienne is identical to that of La Societe's gnocchi... I thought that was interesting and worth noting....

Moving on... one of the best ways to finish a meal is that of a light and pungent tasting dessert which was provided by the restaurant.

My dad and I both ordered the Mousse. 

WILD STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Wild Meringue

The mousse on top was light and airy... and on the bottom it had a very dense texture but was again very light and delicious. I didn't understand the purpose behind using the little microgreens on top of the dessert as it did not add anything to it. I could understand using something green for colour but I thought mint would have been an ideal garnish... anyways my mom and sister ordered the Passion Fruit Tartlet which was presented beautifully.

PASSION FRUIT TARTLET
Cassis Coulis

 

 

 

The crust on the passion fruit was crumbly as a short crust pastry should be. The little meringue added a nice light texture like a marshmellow... I admired the little crumble the chef placed near the tartlet as it added a nice texture to the smoothness of the passion fruit tartlet. My sister and I came toi the conclusino that in order for the Chef to have a beautiful ruby red line such as on the plate he must have used a brush... as you can see my sister and I are very critical when eating at restuarants.

Anyways, I would definitely suggest everyone give La Societe a try if you are shopping along Bloor Street. Give them a call ahead of time to see if they are busy or not and whether or not you can make it. After having alittle peak at what this restaurant provides during Summerlicious I would definitely want to visit La Societe again during the year and experience their regular menu.

Enjoy Life & Happy Eating!

KMW