TIFF may take over King Street, but Yorkville has plenty happening during festival season too. This year, Café Boulud at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto is offering a special five-course TIFF tasting menu.
Every September, TIFF draws much of Toronto to King Street for premieres, parties, packed patios and crowds hoping to glimpse whoever just stepped out of a black SUV. But the festival has never been confined to one neighbourhood. Yorkville has long been part of TIFF, with dinners, drinks and festival gatherings throughout the day and into the evening.
Four Seasons has its own history with the festival, having hosted plenty of famous faces over the years. And in Yorkville, you are just as likely to spot someone notable over dinner or drinks as outside a premiere.
Ahead of TIFF, I had an early taste of Executive Chef William Kresky’s festival menu at Café Boulud, and it was exceptional. At $225 for five courses, there’s plenty of luxury on the menu, from Kristal caviar to Japanese F1 Wagyu, but it’s woven throughout the dinner rather than concentrated in one headline-grabbing item.
The menu opens with smoked salmon mi-cuit and Kristal caviar, with Granny Smith apple, wasabi crème fraîche and sorrel. Beautifully presented, with the caviar layered generously over the salmon, it was a fresh, delicate start, with the apple and wasabi keeping the dish bright. The doppio ravioli was a standout. It’s a technically demanding pasta, with two fillings held separately inside a single piece and chef Kresky pairs Brigid’s Brie with charred sweet corn, chanterelles and Parmesan broth. The pasta was delicate, the corn brought a subtle sweetness and the Parmesan broth made it rich without weighing it down.
Later came the Japanese F1 Wagyu striploin. While A5 gets much of the attention for its intense marbling, F1 is a first-generation cross between fullblood Wagyu and another cattle breed. It’s leaner than the Wagyu often found on tasting menus, but still remarkably tender and full of flavour. Served with creamed spinach, grilled maitake and bordelaise, it had all the indulgence without the heaviness.
The menu finishes with sweet corn flan, brown butter cake, maple-whisky corn ice cream and caramel, bringing corn back in a completely different way from the ravioli earlier in the evening. It was an unexpected finale and a nice surprise of the night. The brown butter cake and caramel were delicious, but it was the maple-whisky corn ice cream that left me wanting another scoop.
The five-course menu is simple and elegant, with just enough to make dinner feel a little more special during TIFF.
Café Boulud is also an easy place to settle in for the evening. Yorkville has its own TIFF energy, without the crowds. Stay for another drink and take in the room.
Café Boulud’s five-course TIFF tasting menu is available at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, 60 Yorkville Avenue, during TIFF for $225 per person.