Dreyfus

Reviews

• Graham R.

  star star star star star 31 May 2026

  When I heard there was a restaurant opening in Toronto with some connection to Joe Beef I knew I had to go ASAP. It was a little tricky to get a reservation at first but after several attempts I was able to get one.
  
  The restaurant is quaint and has a nice feel to it. Not crammed in like sardines but definitely maximizing their square footage. We arrived a little early (15 minutes) and they were kind enough to offer us a glass of sparkling wine while we waited which was fantastic! I also had a manhattan to start which was excellent and my wife had a really tasty old fashioned.
  
  It was really hard to decide what to order but we opted for the mussels, potato croquettes, cubano, trout tartare, skate wing and the swordfish with mussels. All dishes are reasonably priced but it definitely adds up. Everything is designed to be shared and they recommend 4-6 dishes for a table of two.
  
  What I loved: the potato croquettes were unreal, cubano was super tasty, trout, skate and swordfish dish. The service was fantastic also!
  
  Disappointments: mussels seemed very hard and chewy so it may have just been a cooking thing because otherwise I think I would have loved this dish too. I also don't like how they don't have drink lists. I understand going to a place like this isn't going to be cheap but it's also nice to pick a wine in my ideal budget without being shown 3 options that start at around $80.
  
  I'll definitely go back as the food was very tasty and it's worth a trip to if you can get a reso.

• David N.

  star star star star_border star_border 31 May 2026

  After having a memorable and downright magical experience at Joe Beef a few months ago, I was more than a little excited when I walked through Dreyfus' doors.
  
  We arrived right at 6:00 for a reservation and were shown to a cozy table near the bar. Somehow we wound up with a variety of servers throughout the night, which resulted in no less than three people asking us if we wanted to order a drink within the space of about 30 seconds. An odd way of doing things, certainly.
  
  Anyway, we attempted to make sense of the menu but given that it was completely in French, we had to wait for a server to go through the whole thing with us. And even after all that, we couldn't really recall what certain items were, so we basically wound up only ordering the things we could remember.
  
  The food was, as one of my dining companions put it, a mixed bag. Some things were superb and easily up to the standards of Joe Beef. One of my favorite items of the night was an appetizer that was essentially a finger-sandwich version of a Cubano, and it pretty much knocked my socks off. Likewise, a pork dish contained some seriously impressive meat and was definitely one of the best protein-based concoctions I've eaten in a while.
  
  But on the other end of the spectrum, we ate several dishes that were either disappointing or flat-out bad. I was really looking forward to the croquettes, but they were bland and devoid of any interesting flavors. We ordered a fish dish that was confusing, to say the least, as the fish still had quite a few bones in it and certain components were included cold. (Was this intentional?) We also ordered a squash dish that was admittedly quite flavorful, but there were more than a few pieces that were almost inedibly raw and hard.
  
  We did, at least, end our meal with a pair of fantastic desserts, including an order of Madeleines that were easily among the best I've ever had.
  
  I think I might return to Dreyfus someday in the future, since I feel like the restaurant was probably having an off night. But I can't imagine it'll be anytime soon.

• Robyn H.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 27 May 2026

  Given the hype around this new restaurant what with an alum from the renowned Joe Beef at the helm, I was really disappointed. Reservations have been difficult to get, but a block of seats opened up on Resy for either the "wall" or the "bar" right at the restaurant open. The wall is completely non-descript and there aren't many photos of the restaurant interior up online (I'm guilty with adding to that now). I booked the wall and added I was hoping to sit at a seat near the window for natural light. The front of the restaurant is bright and naturally lit with comfortable looking booth type seating at the one end.
  
  The request for a table near the front was completely shut down by the host who stuck to his seating plan, though I'm pretty sure not every table knew what the restaurant looked like going in and he could have accommodated the request. Thirty minutes in when we were half way done, the tables were still not seated. Only when we left (within an hour) had tables just been seated. Anyways, we were stuck in this dark, dank corner besides the fridge sitting on these high incredibly uncomfortable stools. On a beautiful summer night this was just claustrophobic, tiring and uncomfortable. We just felt relegated there.
  
  The menu is completely in French so the server walks you through each dish. All in all, service was fine - they wiped down the table, filled up water often, and folded our serviettes when one of us would leave the table.
  
  Food was certainly pricey for what you got. The croque cubano for example were these two amuse bouche sized sandwiches at a staggering price of $12. The 'bite' was overrun by pickles, you could barely taste any of the other ingredients. We did enjoy the pommes dauphin and the eggplant. The eggplant was especially lovely with the smokey underlying purée. The duck was okay. It had a nice crispy skin, but the portion of meat again was barely enough for two people to share considering most of the plate was the unattractive claw and a bitter oily dressed frisée, with these weirdly textured 'croutons'. We really weren't interested in dessert after that. It was just so expensive for what you got.
  
  Funnily enough, we saw the chef from Brothers sitting across the restaurant, and wanted to whisper on the way out - your restaurant is so, so much better. Absolutely not worth the hype - much better options in Toronto.

• Alex O.

  star star star star star 19 May 2026

  Genuinely one of the best meals I've had of recent memory. Dreyfus has the character, looseness and culinary creativity of a Montreal establishment the likes of Joe Beef & Vin Papillon right here in Toronto. A welcomed and long-awaited addition to the city.
  
  The staff were really down to earth and friendly, making the experience extra homey, but its obviously all about the food (which was surprisingly affordable, considering we did the full tasting menu).
  
  Some hits of the night were:
  
  - Croquettes raclette
  - Karnatzels!!
  - Green beans almandine
  - Carpaccio de truite
  - Magret de canard
  - And more (obviously), but the menu changes every day.
  
  Welcome to Toronto!

• Shane G.

  star star star star star 18 May 2026

  Every dish had it's own amazing character and I could tell this was thought out by somebody with a great passion for food. I got to experience the tasting menu and was not left astray at all. The progression of the dishes going from light to heavy was fantastic and the wine suggestions were a perfect match. The atmosphere was perfect and the staff knew exactly how to make us feel comfortable to enjoy our experience.
  
  Especially being in a place like Toronto and having so many options for food everywhere you look, Dreyfus is a gem in our city and is highly recommended. Overall i had an amazing experience and will definitely go back.