Le Kensington Bistro

Returned here on a whim for cozy date night, and we had an alright time.
Alas, in the winter without the people-​peeping patio, this place is more like an upscale French diner than it is a romantic restaurant.
Loud clattering kitchen and a few patrons make up the interior on any given night. There’s candlelight, but it’s a little too bright to require it. I feel like thanking the cook for a laugh, too. You, sir, are a mediocre singer, but I really enjoyed your BSB renditions. Perhaps, however, consider the patrons and keep it down just a little? Most folks don’t love 90s boy band tune-​age as much as I.
Food is still tasty, and French wine is never bad.

Was here on Sunday for a late brunch. The patio was nice, as was the atmosphere. I ordered the steak and eggs, and it was fantastic. My only real complaint was that service was slooooooow. We weren’t in a rush so it wasn’t a big deal, but had we been in a hurry it would’ve become a problem. All in all, I’ll probably be back. Probably.

The service was very friendly.
I found the food overpriced for the quality and the portion.
The French Toast were thin and small. It was a bit dry. The sauce on it was ok but considering how dry the french toast was, could have used more sauce.
The steak and eggs was ordered medium. It came much closer to rare than medium.
i ordered two slices of bacon. For four dollars you get two slices much smaller than a Post-​It and almost as thin.
I was trying to like this place. Nice spot on Kensington, friendly service, nice patio. Unfortunately the food and pricing really fails here.

Probably the best French food I’ve ever had! My friend is friends with chef (unfortunately, he left sometime after I visited in July 2013) and already knew what to order. The rotisserie chicken was unbelievably tender and juicy, the beef literally melted in our mouths, and the mushroom risotto was surprisingly good considering I don’t usually enjoy risottos. The menu is limited, but all the plates were great, so it didn’t matter anyway. There wasn’t much décor or ambiance, and the service was all right, but the food made up for it – and I care more about the quality of food anyway. I’m not entirely sure how the restaurant is now since I’m from out of town and the chef I had left.

Low quality cold atmosphere, small menu choice, kitchen had a visible dispute, small non-​alcoholic drink selection, small glass of expensive cola, even smaller portion of bread and butter for 3. Got the AAA steak and it was severely undercooked for medium. Also, didn’t taste very well (thin and drenched in butter… For better taste? It helped to be honest). Dish didn’t have much decoration and lacked a lot. They never asked how we were and the owner seemed to be hawking us because he could tell we weren’t happy but didn’t try to help.
25 dollars without a drink for a horrible time all round. In my opinion — even if the food was better and the staff was awesome I’d still rather a steak house like The Keg for that price. When I pay out the ass I like the environment to blow my mind a bit which this did not.

Price is a bit high but food is very fresh. Make reservation for patio seats.

We popped in for dinner here on Pedestrian Sunday (last Sunday of every month during spring/​summer/​early fall) which was a total treat because north Augusta remains closed to traffic until 10pm… so we sat outside and watched the action. Very cool.
But the food was meh-​to-​just-​okay. I didn’t realize this French resto is also a rotisserie. The chicken was pretty good but the fries they came with stole the show… truly outstanding french fries. Unfortunately I didn’t much care for my mushroom risotto.
Having dined at this intimate, cozy lil space before (when it was La Palette) LKB doesn’t compare… but maybe I just didn’t order right! Perhaps you should try the brunch instead?

have been here several times with my boyfriend, and once with his family.
on each occasion, service has been lovely and attentive, and the food delicious. nice portion sizes – not too big, not too small – the food is rich (it’s French!) so what may look like not-​a-​big plate will easily satiate. perhaps surprisingly, there are several veggie options.
brunch is especially good. I’d recommend getting a side of fries with whatever you order, because they are so very good.
Update:
they make great Caesars & strong mixed drinks. if you’re a wine drinker make good use of the pro sommelier on site!
also, I recently tried the risotto and was less impressed with that dish than others I’ve/my dining-​mates have tried — it was just not that flavorful (to the extent that I can’t even recall what type of risotto it was supposed to be – arugula perhaps?). texture was good, but needed salt to make it palatable.

As soon as you walk in, you feel like adding Le to everything. The place is very french. The waitress and owner/​server greets you with a thick French accent which makes it *feel* authentic right from the get-​go.
The décor is cute and very simple. The place is small but works perfectly wit the wafting smells from the kitchen.
The food. I love the food. The Goat cheese salad was so-​so (a little salty) BUT the Chicken and brussel sprouts… to die for. SO juicy and tender and it leaves you regretting your decision to only get a half a chicken instead of the whole. For desert I indulged in a cheese plate. Let me just say, I’m a cheese connoisseur (not really) and it was phenomenal!
GO here on a date. I think it would be cute.

Decided to check this out with my wife based on reviews here, and I was not disappointed! We arrived at 5:45 p.m. from work to a restaurant that was just setting up for dinner and were the first ones there.
Our server was incredibly friendly and laid-​back. He knew enough about the wine list to suggest a terrific red I really enjoyed, and took the time to make my wife’s non-​alcoholic drink in a champagne glass to make it pretty.
For the meal:
1. Rotisserie ½ Chicken with a side of Brussels sprouts, roasted chestnuts and caramelized onions: The chicken was tender and flavourful, but the real star was the side of sprouts and chestnuts — cooked just right and a treat on their own. A great choice.
2. Striploin with fries: one of the better steaks I’ve tasted (I stole some from my wife). She enjoyed every bite. The fries were pretty good, but the rosemary mayonaisse dip that came with was the star.
3. Rice pudding w/​pear compote — LOVED THIS! Warm rice pudding that contrasted with the pear topping. A real treat.
For 2 entrees, a glass of wine and 2 desserts after tip it came to just over $ 100. A little steep, but it was the pricier desserts that put it up there. Well worth the cost and I suggest you go!

I stumbled upon this gem thanks to my handy Unilocal app after finding Aunties & Uncles closed, and couldn’t be more happy about this find!
This cheery little place is small in size, but big in awesomeness. The service and food here are superb, and provided for one of my favorite meals while in Toronto.
For starters, I tried the warm goat cheese salad with spinach, endives, beets, and walnuts and the mussels Basquaise which contained tomato, fennel and red pepper. Both of these dishes were delicious, and while simple, very much full of flavor.
After not having had any red meat for over a month, I decided on the strip loin steak and eggs. I made a great choice because my medium rare steak was absolutely perfectly cooked and was a great re-​introduction to beef! In addition to my steak and eggs, the sauteed potatoes with caramelized onions were my absolutely favorite thing on my plate. The caramelized onions were tasty, and I could have eaten a plateful of them (though I’m sure my wife is very glad I didn’t). I also tried a bit of the wild mushroom and goat cheese omelet and found that to be very tasty as well.
Our server was very nice and accommodating, and made the experience all that much better. The décor here is simple, and functional, but the cartoon chicken logo really needs to go, this is way too classy a place, and the food here is way too good for that!
A solid 4.50 for a great brunch experience! I would definitely go back here and try the other dishes including the charcuterie and rotisserie chicken.

Very tasty and reasonably priced French cuisine. Actually, extremely tasty. Simple décor and cozy place, friendly staff and authentic food. Went for dinner. Had the duck confit — every bite was excellent. The rest of my group had other dishes, and everyone seemed very pleased.

My husband and I had drinks there for our last night in Toronto. The restaurant was cozy and the waitress was lovely. I would come again.

The place is quaint and small. We were seated right away and the manager/​owner took care of us. Very good service, very french place.
The food was solid. Everything we had was delicious form the wine to the desserts.
We order a goat cheese and beets salad, i had the beef bourginon and my hubbie had the steak. It was cooked perfectly and it was very tender.
The manager was friendly, and knowledgeable. Very nice parisienne.
Toronto is filled with good restaurants, we tried quite a few but this is one of those that stuck in my mind.

I just went here for my first wedding anniversary dinner with another couple. Best steak I’ve had in a long time! The Charcuterie plate for two was phenomenal (chicken liver to die for), homemade mustard that was delicious. True french cooking! Although we made the mistake of bringing a vegan to a french restaurant, they were more than accommodating and our friend raved about the root vegetables.
All in all, one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while. I can’t wait to go back for brunch soon and try the croque monsieur.

«Wow! That was so good. I can’t wait to come back again.» was our unofficial greeting to Le Kensington. The exiting party that we were stepping aside for at the entrance was positively glowing. We took that as a very promising sign indeed.
Finally entering into the empty dining room (late) at 1:30pm, we felt somewhat silly for having made a reservation. However, not even before our entire party of five had shown up did it start filling up. The service from our very friendly Montréal-​born server was most excellent. She was very pleasant and made plenty of helpful suggestions throughout our meal.
Even in hindsight, I still cannot decide whether sharing the charcuterie between two (while everyone else looked on) to start was gluttonous or ambitious. Regardless, the dish of assorted cured meats, in-​house pickled baby veggies, and homemade condiments was awesome. I was actually so full from this incredibly rich first course that it’s something of a wonder that I managed to plow through most of my steak and eggs main too afterward. While my brunch mates’ goat cheese omelet, moules, and ox tail eggs benedict were reported to be most excellent as well, the croque madame was apparently only so-​so (due to the «too chewy» ham).
At the end of a very satisfying meal, we all agreed that (including juice, coffee, and sparkling water, but no alcohol), the bill was trés bon marché. We definitely walked away sharing the sentiments of the guests we met upon our entrance. Next time though, I will do my best to save room for dessert. I’ll just promise myself to come back again and again in order to try all the dishes one at a time.