Company: +Will
Will and I had originally planned to have a Winterlicious lunch at Le Papillon on Sunday but we ended up cancelling the reservation late minute. We were still in Waterloo and just decided to stay for lunch there instead. I really wanted to try their famous French Onion Soup which was one of the entrees during lunch and not dinner so I was pretty disappointed... Once we got back to Toronto in the afternoon, we Netflix-ed The Interview and then realized it was dinner time already! I suggested we just find somewhere nearby to grab Winterlicious and Will was actually down to try Le Papillon's dinner menu so we headed here for some french cuisine even though I couldn't have the soup.
We've never really noticed the location before even though it's in an area we walk by quite often. Upon entering the restaurant, you really get a rustic feeling from the high ceilings, brick walls, and dark wooden accents. It also came off a bit fancier but with some charm to make it less itimidating. We were placed at a table near the bar which separates the front and back sections of the restaurant. You can't really tell how large the restaurant is until you enter the back section. Our waitress was very sweet and gave me the best news of all when she said that you can switch the appetizer soup for the French Onion for an extra $5. We got some bread to start but it wasn't the best. It was hard and dense and the packaged butter was rock hard.
But of course I had to order the French Onion Soup to start, it's considered one of the best in the city. The bowl didn't look very large but it was actually very deep. I tried to get a photo of some cheese drooping and soup underneath but as soon as I punctured the top, the soup burst out and almost overflowed. The broth was the perfect thickness, temperature, and taste, I was very impressed. The cheese was gooey but most of it sank to the bottom and I was left with a lot of difficult cheese to eat at the end. My only complain was the little burnt pieces of cheese at the top, I could really taste the burnt flavour even after it being drenched in the soup.
For my main, I ordered the Duck Confit, duck leg confit with wild berry sauce, potatoes and market vegetables. I don't think I've had proper duck confit before so I was pretty excited to try it. The presentation was very appealing, the leg was larger than I was expecting and placed on a colorful bed of sides and sauce. The leg was very tender and the sauce accompanying it was just superb. The combination of the creamy mashed potatoes, sweet sauce, and some duck was just heavenly. Definitely up there on one of the most memorable dishes I've ever had. I wish I hadn't been so full from the soup to fully enjoy every bite of it.
For dessert, I went for the Traditional Cheesecake which was topped with some whipped cream, fruit sauce, and chocolate sauce. The slice of cake I got was pretty small (not that I needed more), like the smallest slice they could cut for someone. The taste was good but didn't blow by mind, it could have been more creamy and cheesier. The graham cracker bottom had an excellent flavour though. I also wish they had a bit more fruit drizzle on it as I got one piece of berry and it gave the cheesecake some personality paired together. The waitress also wouldn't take my dish until I finished my last bite of cheesecake, it was hard but I did it. She was super friendly and also said I picked the perfect menu :)Food: 4.5/5 - Amazing meal, haven't stopped thinking about it since.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very spacious, warm, and romantic.
Service: 4/5 - She was a bit chatty but extremely friendly and not annoying.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Definitely, I'm a bit intimidated by french cuisine though so Winterlicious was a good time to go.
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://papillononfront.com/
