SubscribeDINNER November 22, 2008
There is a moment in zombie movie every when the protagonist is faced with a loved one who has morphed into a zombie and needs to decide whether or not to kill the facsimile lumbering towards her in order to preserve herself.
The first two courses of my initial meal at L’Atelier in 2006 could rival almost any one-two punch I have taken: seared foie gras on grilled tuna accented with a valrohna chocolate sauce was bizarrely perfect and an escargot risotto with foie gras shavings a memorable follow up. Subsequent meals, while quite good, never lived up to that initial moment . L’Atelier was always a bit of an outlier in the Roy group of restaurants: a traditional business model in a portfolio that includes some of the top BYOW spots in the city (A l’Os, Les Infideles etc..). And so, some might say, it was only a matter of time that when business faltered, L’Atelier was converted to the BYOW model.
At first I thought this was a positive development. It appeared that the talented kitchen would be untouched and although I would miss ordering a bunch of appetizer- sized plates and the very professional wine service, I thought L’Atelier would easily vault into position as one of the city’s top BYOW options. Sadly, after my meal, I don’t think that is in the cards.
Regular diners will find some menu items they recognize: poutine with shredded rabbit and BBQ sauce or the stack of tuna tataki, bison and marinated king eringi mushroom, for example, still feature. I sampled the latter. The mushrooms were cold and soaked in too much sesame oil. The tuna past its prime. Not a terrible dish but nowhere near the standard of the old l’Atelier.
Not the Atelier you Used to Know
The old menu still appears on the website but I would estimate 85% of those items were not available on my visit. A duck magret with sauteed mushrooms and green lentils sauteed with balsamic vinegar was available. The magret is well cooked and the dish tasty, if unremarkable, but there is no love in the way the food has been thrown on the plate and the ubiquitous side of veg that lines this and every other main belies a restaurant that has more in common with L’Academie than La Chronique. The Captain’s potato and beet parmentier with shredded pork turns out to be a soupy bowl of underseasoned mush. I passed on dessert.
L’Atelier still looks the same. Welcoming, with its log cabin wall, funky bar area and black and white pictures of the producers with which the restaurant has worked. The great service is gone though and even if the executive chefs appear to not have changed you would have a lot of trouble convincing me there have not been some key changes in the back of house. I would recommend that diners take any pre-November 2008 reviews with a grain of salt. This isn’t the restaurant we used to love. Pass me the shotgun shells…
Cost: Approximately $60 with tip and coffee.
L’Atelier
5308 St-Laurent
514.273.7442
Very helpful review as always. I love reading what you have to say. Very insightful!
I can confirm that the ‘back of house’ staff has changed over — completely, in fact, since autumn ‘08.