Batifole Restaurant

Reviews about Batifole Restaurant

• 5 / 5

  By Jef Mallory
  Fantastic French cuisine for a reasonable price hidden in old Chinatown! This restaurant is a hidden gem in Toronto's vast culinary environment. Highly recommended.
  November 22, 2016
• 5 / 5

  By David Richardson
  While it changed ownership a few years ago, Batifole gas remained my favorite bistro in Toronto. Their cassoulet is second to none, and they have a short but well thought out wine list. Dinner for 2 can be easily had for less than $120 inc. tip which for the quality of food you are getting is remarkable. If you live in the east end, or want to venture out beyond the west end then this is the place to go. Most nights they are full so I would get a reservation a day or two ahead.
  October 18, 2016
• 5 / 5

  By Wil Ng
  We went to Batifole for our wedding anniversary to recreate our last European trip with delicious French cuisine. We were thoroughly impressed! The ambiance was oh so Parisian, and the food was superb. I ordered the seafood soup and it was so tasty. For my entree, I had the canard - cooked and spiced to perfection. Highly recommended!
  September 20, 2016
• 5 / 5

  By Steve Adams
  What delightful French Restaurant. It is quite simply, the perfect evening out. Food, wine, service and ambiance. The unpretentious and enchanting experience. I am so glad that it's in my hood.
  July 31, 2016
• 5 / 5

  By wubba lubba dub dub
  Went one night a few months ago, when the Vietnamese place next door was closed.
  
  I entered the restaurant in a pretty foul mood: I wanted vermicelli and pork for $6, not some stupid, expensive French food that probably wasn't even going to be good. A French restaurant in Chinatown... come on. But my family didn't want to drive somewhere else, so Batifole it was.
  
  I actually left the restaurant at one point after seeing the prices, letting everyone know that they could find me down the street at Rose's Vietnamese shop (yes, I was acting like a little baby). I returned.
  
  A steak, medium-rare, was ordered for me. I relented, still tremendously grumpy.
  
  To preface: I've travelled extensively through Europe. I've eaten in many restaurants in France, Spain, Holland, etc. I've had bistecca alla fiorentina while staying in Florence. I love food, and I like to think I've got pretty discerning tastes.
  
  This was, by orders of magnitude, the best steak I've ever had in my life. Bar none. Finito. Absolutely fantastic - cooked the definition of medium-rare, bathed in the richest espagnole sauce I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. My mood had lifted immediately: the first bite was like that moment, on the morning of your first day on vacation, when you roll out of bed and throw open the curtains of the hotel room window to be greeted by a beautiful vista, beckoning to be explored.
  
  But it had it's downsides: every bite reminded me that it was one less bite I'd have to savour. The closer I ate towards the end of the dish, the more desperate to prolong the experience I became. The negatives of the dish were that of life itself - an ephemeral experience, properly enjoyed only in the moment and in memory; impossible to prolong. The bright white porcelain of the plate, exposed by my appetite, likened a comparison to that brilliant light at the end of the tunnel that I would never be ready to go into.
  
  But the meal eventually ended, left to live only as a warm, happy memory, and I left the restaurant feeling the same.
  
  5/5 stars.
  July 12, 2016