High Society

La Société is one of the higher end French restaurants situated in the heart of Yorkville. I walk by this restaurant all the time but could never justify eating here until the past month. One of my best friends and I have the same birthday, so we decided to come here for part one of our double celebration. 

This is the entrance to the bar area, there is a different entrance for the main dining room. 

The first thing I noticed is that my friend and I are the only 20-something in the restaurant. Most of La Société's customers seem to be an established and experienced crowd. You can also tell from the extensive wine list and $1,500 price tag on one of the wine they offer. This restaurant also seems like a popular business meeting-type restaurant. La Société is often compared to a very well known French restaurant called Balthazar in New York. 

The main dining room.

One part of their seafood bar.

Happy me, excited to try the food! 

 French Onion Soup

Since this is a French restaurant, we decided to give the French Onion Soup a try. I was so excited to try this, since they used my favourite melted cheese, Gruyère, from Switzerland. Sadly, I was sorely disappointed by this.It's good when an onion soup has rich flavours, but not so good when it's over reduced to a point of it being musky tasting and way too salty. As you can see, the cheese is burnt, and you can definitely taste the burnt bitterness in the soup. This soup was so salty that I ended up just eating the (unburnt) cheese. 

 Roasted sea scallops with fennel, squash purée and lime butter. 

This is my friend's dish, and the first thing I noticed was how little there is on the plate, considering this is a main dish. However, the scallops tasted great. It was seared perfectly on the outside, yet the freshness of the scallops remain and it is not overcooked. The squash purée and lime butter is a great combination with the scallops. The zesty flavour of the sauce really brings the freshness of the scallops to life. It would be great if this was less salty; again, this dish is over seasoned. 

 My steak frites. Grilled AAA dry aged striploin steak with 'Maître d'Hôtel' butter.

Simply put, this is a great steak. Medium rare, juicy, tender, perfect amount of seasoning. Along with the butter? Perfection. In the taste department, I have no complaints. However, I was disappointed by the portions. This is does not seem like 8 ounces to me.

Overall Review: 

Food: 8/10

I really want to give it a higher rating, since the quality of the food is there. However, 2/3 things we tried were too salty, and the portions were not great for what we're paying.

Ambience: 9.5/10 

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the décor is very nice, and is situated in one of the most fabulous locations in the city (in my opinion). It's a nice place semi-hidden from the busyness of Bloor Street. I took 0.5 off for the spacing of the tables. The tables were a bit too close to one another, and we can hear clearly the conversations beside us without intending to eavesdrop. 

Service: 6/10 

The service was adequate. The disparity in service is so apparent, and there's just no excuse for it. Sitting beside us were a pair of established, and older couple. The waiter would check on them, ask them about the food, refill glasses often, but it took forever for us to get the waiter's attention, let alone him checking up on us. I was not too pleased. 

Price: 7/10

The steak frites was $29, scallop $24, onion soup $12. Even if it wasn't filling, I expected the food to be top quality. Yes, the food quality is high, but the cooking/seasoning needs improvement. 

Final Verdict: 8/10

I would probably give La Société another chance, and give the restaurant a try in the evening. 

Address: 

131 Bloor Street W
Toronto, ON M5S 3L7

(416) 551-9929

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