Le Sélect Bistro
432 Wellington Street West
416-596-6405
Weekday evening prix fixe dinner for two with all taxes and tip (not including beverages): $90
Weekend afternoon prix fixe lunch for two with all taxes and tip (not including beverages): $50
Because the universe likes to mess with me, my gym is located next door to Le Sélect Bistro, one of Toronto’s longest standing and most beloved French restaurants. Especially now, after the holidays, my conscience orders me to march past the warm, inviting facade and enticing scent of decadence to my workout, but their prix fixe menus lure me back in. In these harsh economic times, who am I to turn down a good deal?
Le Sélect Bistro offers two different prix fixe menus (no substitutions, please): a $35 three-course menu on weekday evenings and a $20 two-course one on weekend afternoons between 3:30 and 5PM.
The choices on the evening prix fixe are, aside from the vegetarian option, classic bistro fare: soup of the day or house salad for appetizers; steak frites, duck confit, or mushroom risotto for mains; and chocolate mousse or crème brûlée for dessert. When we went, my friend and I tag teamed in order to try everything (apart from the vegetarian option).
The soup on that lucky day was a coarsely blended cream of mushroom, full of earthy flavour while the salad was mixed baby greens, lightly dressed and layered on top of a generous drizzle of syrupy, reduced balsamic. Both are superb, but I give a slight edge to the soup.
I was happily surprised to see that the steak portions on the prix fixe and à la carte menus are the same: 5oz bavette cut with caramelized shallots and an indulgent amount of skinny frites. My steak came cooked to a lovely rare as requested and paired perfectly with the sweet, jammy shallots. However good the steak frites was, nothing could soothe my jealously after having a bite of my friend’s duck confit. The skin was crisp but not greasy and the plush, tasty meat fell easily away from the bone. The accompanying many-layered potato au gratin and crisp green beans were excellent, but understated enough to leave the spotlight to the duck.
The chocolate mousse was made from dark, slightly bitter chocolate with a much denser texture than I am accustomed to, which encouraged me to linger over it for a long, leisurely time. As it warmed up, it became even smoother. The crème brûlée was also top shelf - creamy with a crackly, delicate crust.
The weekend afternoon prix fixe dishes are almost identical to the evening ones, but dressed in more casual clothes. Everything but the risotto comes with frites and one more main is available, a grilled lamb burger with Moroccan spices. The price is reduced by $15, but one must choose between having an appetizer or dessert. This time, I made sure to horde the duck confit for myself and as before, it was divine. My husband’s daytime steak was a 6oz rumsteck cut rather than the 5oz dinnertime bavette and again it was cooked precisely to the desired doneness. We are savoury-leaning kids, so we opted for appetizers instead of dessert and enjoyed a beautiful, bright squash soup as well as the same wonderful house salad.
Service on both occasions was attentive and courteous, but not without a sense of humour. On the afternoon excursion, while I debated internally over whether or not to sop up the rest of the reduced balsamic with my last crust of bread, the waiter almost cleared my plate before reading my mind and saying, “Go ahead! It’s good!” I will think of him next time I’m standing outside on the border between the gym and Le Sélect, struggling to decide.
Kaori Furue is a Toronto-based blogger who goes to Le Sélect more often than the gym. Her adventures big and small (mostly small, and mostly about food) can be found at: I can’t believe I’m back in Toronto.
