Didier
1496 Yonge St. 
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Phone: 416-925-8588
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Didier is a classic French restaurant on Yonge St. north of St. Clair led by Chef Didier Leroy - who a few months ago was awarded France's Medal of the Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole for carrying on the French Culinary Tradition in Canada.
During my visit to Didier on a cold and gloomy winter night, the warmth of a grand dining room with ornate wood paneling, soft lighting and crisp white table linens greets me.
The room is half-empty, with a sprinkle of couples lining the sides. It is pretty quite, a perfect place for intimate conversations or romantic table mingling.
Although the very reasonable menu degustation was my first choice (between $90-$100 per person), I opted for choices from the small but appealing menu.
I started off with Les huitres ($14), six New Brunswick Village Bay oysters with smooth champagne granite. This was definitely an upgrade from my typical horseradish and lemon condiments. The oysters, freshly shucked, were soft as silk as I digested one after the other.
For my main course, I ordered the Duo du Canard Bourguignonne ($34). Tender duck done two ways served with mushroom, bacon, pearl onions and pommes anglaise. The first portion of the duck was sliced and cooked to a perfect medium-rare. Surprisingly, the meat, which is often known for being quite fatty, had all the rich flavour but none of the thick fat. It was definitely a dish I had never had in the city and one that had me drooling days later.
For dessert, I ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake ($14). This was unfortunately the low point of the evening. I expected something with a little twist to the lava-like cake from what they serve at mediocre restaurants in the city...but heck, the Valrhona chocolate was smooth.
On the way out, I got a chance to meet Didier Leroy himself - a very tall handsome man that, without saying a word, expelled both authority and politeness. I complimented him on the duck, a dish worth recognition. And as expected, he thanked me for the compliment, almost shy in receiving it.
Comments (4)
Here's our BAD experience of unethical billing & poor attitude at the restaurant to share with you.
We have organized a class reunion dinner at Didier to celebrate Christmas & our long-lasting friendship, everyone came with excitement & anticipation but left with disappointment & disbelief. We did enjoy our gathering but it ended in a way which has upset all 18 of us. Since we have a large group we've only been offered to do a group menu (no other options), that's not an issue though. We got charged extra for a few guests who did not manage to show up for dinner, merely for the reason that "the number of guests who showed up for dinner did not match the number of guests intended during reservation". We have indeed updated changes of our guest list but some circumstances cannot be foreseen until the night of. Obviously the restaurant does not believe in flexibility nor goodwill courtesy. There are no disclaimers on their website nor any warnings whatsoever regarding this "policy" when we called to make the reservation. This is not a good business practice and is bound to lose long-term clientele. Furthermore, the corkage fee has been changed from $20 (as stated on their website & outside the restaurant) to $30 (when making the reservation via phone/e-mail) to $40!!!! (when we were actually at the restaurant). And you're right in guessing that we got charged an unexpected $40 for corkage fee alone.
As we attempted to clarify the bill, Tory the event co-ordinator was very indifferent and rude, with no intention of helping out with the situation, and simply said, "this is your bill and you are paying for it!" The owner Didier himself was brought to attention and after a long discussion has finally agreed to reduce the corkage fee a bit and charge for one guest less. WE STILL ENDED UP PAYING FOR 2 EXTRA GUESTS WHO DID NOT COME FOR THE ACTUAL DINNER. So good luck to you and please check your bills if you still wish to give the restaurant a try.
As a group of professionals, it was definitely not our intention to engage in such type of disputes over the bill and we always hope to respect others and vice versa. In the end we paid extra for some guests who did not show up, in respect to the restaurant's "policy to cover costs". Of course we did NOT ask to take away the extra food that we paid for (but was not cooked and not served to a couple guests who did not come). We are all experienced in fine dining in a lot of restaurants but this is a first-time for us.
Didier restaurant still made a profit with all the extra charges and by keeping the uncooked/ unserved food in the end. But in exchange of a short term profit they have certainly lost their respect in the industry as well as long-term and future clientele in one night. Food is an important element in a restaurant, but its service & professionalism give it soul. I hope this review will help some fellow diners in making their choices.
Quelle horreur ! Didier, c'est pas bon , c'est cher et c'est prétentieux.... tout ce que je déteste !
There are a couple of comments I would like to make in regards to your complaint.
If the people at Diddier were rude to you that's certainly an issue that needs to be resolved. There website should also be reflecting their current prices (although 90% of restaurants don't) and you also should have been informed of the charge on "no shows". On all those accounts you have ever right to be upset.
That being said, what people don't realize is how you're screwing over a restaurant by not having your full reserved party there. When a party the size of yours is reserved, the kitchen preps for the amount of people who are supposed to be in attendance. When it is less, food goes to waste. Parties that are smaller than their reservation also can create staff problems. Maybe they had an extra server on when they didn't need one. Especially when it's the matter of 2-4 people not showing up, you have just screwed a server, and the restaurant out of a table they could have used for someone else, someone they likely turned down because they were full, when in fact they weren't.
I think people tend to give restaurants a band name for things like this without thinking of the negative impact on the restaurant, especially with the way our economy is and with rising food prices.
Thnx for sharing Food advisor. Been a few times and Didier is one heck of a chef but the atmosphere fluctuates based on the mood swings of the staff. There's a lot of stress there. It can be 'doodoo' at times. Head on over to Mt. Pleasant and enjoy Celestin. It's fantastic.
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