Café Boulud at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto Transforms into a Stylish French Brasserie with New Menu, Rotisserie, Chef

Four Seasons Hotel Toronto announces the relaunch of Café Boulud in the style of a lively French brasserie at the brand's flagship location in the heart of Yorkville at 60 Yorkville Avenue. The restaurant is scheduled to close after brunch service on June 28, 2015 for renovations and will reopen just in time for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2015.

Award-winning designer Martin Brudnizki, who has created chic, buzzy spots such as The Ivy, Cecconi’s Miami Beach, Hix, Scott’s and J Sheekey, will introduce a similarly comfortable energy to Café Boulud – the perfect backdrop to inspire good conversation and the convivial atmosphere of a brasserie.

Based on Chef Daniel Boulud’s hometown Lyonnais roots, the new Café Boulud menu is filled with soulful, delicious French cooking.

“The menu will be based on the way my family gathered for a meal in Lyon. It will feature classic French dishes as well as a selection of unexpected items inspired by my curiosity and love for travel,” said Chef Daniel Boulud. “There will be a real focus on generosity. We are really getting to the heart of the French culinary DNA.”

This “culinary DNA” means French bistro classics such as quenelles de brochet, hand-cut tartares (seasoned tableside), Niçoise salad and escargots persillade, as well as Boulud favourites such as crispy calamari and the Frenchie Burger.

The “new” Café Boulud will also introduce a gleaming rotisserie, like those that can be found in France with fine meats and poultry turning slowly over open flames. Café Boulud’s rotisserie hails from Rotisol, the largest and oldest rotisserie factory in France and a top choice for many chefs including Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Gordon Ramsey and of course, Daniel Boulud.

The only one of its kind in downtown Toronto, the rotisserie has both vertical and horizontal spits allowing for meat, poultry, fish and vegetables to cook simultaneously. The only thing more delectable than the rotisserie meat and fish may be the potatoes that crisp beneath, being glazed by their cooking juices to the point of submission.

Café Boulud is helmed by Chef de Cuisine Sylvain Assié, who was first a Four Seasons chef when Chef Boulud discovered him and became his mentor. Spending much of his youth in Montpellier, Chef Assié started his training at age 13 and has always been driven by the comfort that is at the heart of French cooking. An ongoing collaboration between Chef Boulud and Chef Assié, and a testament to their shared experiences growing up on farms in France and deeply respecting the French culinary tradition, the menu is seasonal and informal, truly focused on bringing friends and family around the table.

In addition to the reimagined menu, the new Café Boulud will also undergo a complete physical transformation, creating a space that is warm and comfortable, defined by a wraparound bar and intimate, low-banquette seating. Bringing some of the high-energy from d|bar downstairs, the new Café Boulud will be a lively destination perfect for a meal with friends, a quick and easy business lunch or a casual bite at the bar.

“There is something strong yet simple about mid-century design that creates harmony in an interior. We wanted to build on this balance with Café Boulud, to design a space that displays a modernist playfulness yet feels comfortably current,” said designer Martin Brudnizki.

“We want our guests to enjoy an atmosphere that is completely relaxed and comfortable. A place they can come to at any point in the day to meet, laugh, eat or drink amid a lively environment,” said Dimitrios Zarikos, Regional Vice President and General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. “That’s what we are bringing to the new Café Boulud.”

• Website: www.cafeboulud.com
• Twitter: @CafeBouludTO
• Instagram: CafeBouludTO
• Facebook: CafeBouludTO
• Hashtag: #thenewboulud

About Café Boulud and d|bar

Located at the flagship Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, Café Boulud, by Chef Daniel Boulud, serves a soulful menu deeply rooted in French tradition. The playfully retro-modern restaurant designed by Martin Brudnizki, located in the landmark Yorkville neighbourhood and steps from the Mink Mile shopping district, is suspended above the street level and includes a dining counter and private dining room for up to eight guests. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Right below the café is d|bar, the lively lounge serving an array of lunchtime favourites, bar-friendly fare, and a large variety of uniquely mixed cocktails with a dj playing in the late evening.