Anyone been to Cluny in the Distillery yet?

Question

Supposed to head to Cluny (http://www.clunybistro.com/) with a few other couples for dinner on Saturday. There hasn't been any mention of the place yet on this board. Has anyone been? Any general reviews? Any specific dish recommendations/cautions?

Answer

Have been there twice now. Loved it. Try the grilled cheese app. the duck poutine, scallop ceviche, burger (tuna and steak) and soufflé. They are all incredible. if you like sweet cocktails, there is one with sorbet that is outstanding.

Answer

Thanks for the info guys. Now I'm really looking forward to the place. Both urban spoon and yelp had unanimously positive reviews but I'm always skeptical of restos that have just opened and get glowing buzz - I think a lot of the time it's friends and families hitting various social media vehicles to bolster business. Glad to hear Cluny is the real deal!

Answer

Glad to hear this sounds promising. We're holding back on visiting because I heard it's run by the same people as El Catrin which also looks beautiful but had mediocre and very expensive food both times we visited. I'm concerned Cluny might be similar, but perhaps they're destined for something better....

Answer

I wonder if the person who designed Cluny also designed Weslodge. I was at Weslodge yesterday and the tiles looked very similar :)

Answer

Just bumping this up a bit to see if anyone has tried Cluny more recently than the July reviews in this thread? Once the summer tourist hordes die down in September we're thinking of giving it a shot, just making sure it's going to be worthwhile...

Answer

Here is my input for the brunch from last month
This is another addition to the mundane restaurants that line the distillery district. 
The interior is striking to say the least so full marks there. The staff is well trained though is overly keen at times so full marks there as well. So if those two items are high on your criteria by all means visit this place.
I have had exposure to both the bakery and the restaurant so will rate them separately.
Bakery is kind of neat and the desserts look enticing. I ordered a apricot tart and my friend had the Bostock. The tart has a good shell. The filling was over powered by the almond extract IMO. Bostock was OK again over use of almond extract IMO.
The macarons look good so will give them a try though next time but with SOMA right across I think they have stiff competition already. 
I dined here for brunch. Had already looked at the menu so knew exactly what to get. 
Crab Benedict. Crab meat was forgetful and has that frozen taste to it. The eggs were poached well and the hollandaise was OK. Fries were shoestring and didn't do it for me. 
French toast. Didn't try it as was having dessert later from the comments I was told it was way too sweet.
Merguez Sausages a surprisingly huge portion, was decent and I would recommend sharing it with a 3-4 people as an add on if you like this sausage. 
The cafe latte was forgetful too apparently. 
I would say 2.5 stars for food with a half star thrown in for ambiance.

Answer

Looping back here since we've visited Cluny twice since I posted here asking about it back in July.

Our first visit was stellar. The server was great -- professional but personable -- and the decor is stunning. The place has an energetic (but not deafening) vibe. All four people in our party enjoyed our meals. We also shared a few apps, and augmented some things with fois gras. I had the steak frites and it was one of the nicest steaks I've had in years. We spent more at the bakery counter on the way out, picking up some nice croissants and delicious apple bread. The place wasn't cheap, but in general the experience was well above average and it felt unique in Toronto.

Our second visit a month later was more mediocre. They seated us at a really awkward table that stuck into the main entrance walkway, even though we'd made our reservations over a week in advance. Our server was friendly but a bit nervous and surprisingly blunt in his comments. We started with a few cocktails and they weren't the best. Our friend seemed to like her main, a giant ravioli. My wife's main (an escargot dish) started out fine but by the halfway point became so salty she couldn't finish it. I ordered poorly, the "crisp Erie perch" which I did not expect was going to be chopped into tiny chunks, battered, and fried like fish and chips. It tasted fine, if a bit Captain Highliner, but was also too heavily salted. This time, the very high final bill was a bit less fun to pay considering the experience was pretty mediocre overall. On leaving we again visited the bakery again and picked up some chocolate croissants, but these proved to be undercooked and very gluey on the inside when we ate them the next morning.

So in the end I'm torn on Cluny -- it can be great, but it's huge and permanently very busy with a huge staff, so I can imagine that consistency will be difficult to maintain over time. I will go again, but will probably order more cautiously, stick to a beer and some steak frites and maybe some oysters.

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Anyone been to Cluny in the Distillery yet?

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Weslodge Saloon

416 Snack Bar

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