What The Critics Say....

"A small and inexpensive restaurant of almost infinite charm. Imagine it: just shy of 30 seats. Dark enough for a tete-a-tete. One long wall of brick, one painted lemon yellow. Bright coloured posters of dining scenes. Fixed-price appetizer and main course for . And food that goes from pleasant to quite delicious. Is it any wonder that downtowners flock to Bistro Tournesol, making reservations difficult?

As if all those splendid qualities were not enough, Bistro Tournesol has a little sister: Pizza Tournesol next door is even cheaper and just as charming, with a menu focusing on pizza and pasta.

Dinner at Bistro Tournesol starts with exotica such as crunchy crispy fried risotto cakes with a small stew of wild mushrooms and warmed goat cheese. Or clams and mussels steamed with white wine and tomatoes. How many inexpensive restaurants stuff big fresh artichoke bottoms with bread crumbs and carefully peeled red peppers? Even Tournesol's soups are unusual: Curried cauliflower puree is pale gold, innocent of cream, delicately flavoured. Certain of the main courses attain glory: One evening the chef barely grills sweetbreads and veal tenderloin, and sauces them with veal reduction kicked up with tomato and green peppercorns. There is a perfectly respectable bouillabaisse full of properly cooked salmon, squid, shrimp, mussels and firm fleshed white fish; the broth is the expected fish with tomatoes, complete with rouille-slathered crouton. And, wonder of wonders, every table gets a small stainless-steel bowl of impeccable fresh-cut frites with the main course. Some evenings they're made from white potatoes, some of white and sweet potatoes.

We do not normally approve of gucking up chicken with gewgaws, but the pecan-crusted chicken breast stuffed with brie and sour cherries comes off better than it sounds. The pecan crust is crunchy.....the cherries sour and the brie mellow....

"A pair of well-favoured neighbourhood bistros have lately given themselves a mild rethink, having a go at self-improvement in the form of new chefs. At Bistro Tournesol, which sits atop The Annex on Dupont Street, the new man is Pat Reilly, who signed up in January after a long stint as sous-chef at the spiffy "Avalon".
Bistro Tournesol is tiny: the room seats no more than 30. So even a mid-week evening, swing open its door at a reasonable dining hour--say 8:30-- and you will find that, but for your reserved table, the place is completely full, which is reassuring.
Give the menu a read and it turns out there is plenty to choose from here, all of it packaged as a two-course prix-fixe that costs a mere 25 dollars , which of course would be a steal if the stuff is any good.
And it is!
We began with a caramelized onion soup, a bistro staple salad of endives with roquefort and walnuts, and a plate of baked plum tomatoes topped with shredded oxtail gratinee. The soup was thick with soft sweet onions and pleasantly fragrant with thyme, and the simple salad was executed exactly right, the endives fresh, the roquefort pungent and creamy, the vinaigrette top-notch and the walnuts freshly roasted and crunchy. The sweet baked tomatoes made a much better marriage with the gratinee of tasty oxtail than I would have expected, although it does seem a better winter dish than a summer one.
We followed with a very pleasant roasted fillet of halibut sitting atop a nice bed of split green peas, and a grilled tenderloin, agreeably seasoned but cooked nearer medium than the requested cuisson of rare. The grilled calves' liver, sliced properly from an organ of excellent quality, was grilled exactly right and served dressed with a nice pear and sage jus.
Cheered by the tiny bill, one strolls out of Bistro Tournesol firmly convinced the evening was agreeable and a good deal, and that doesn't happen in Toronto much."

Candles glimmer in the dimly lit room, lending a glow to exposed brick walls and traditional bistro posters. Through a window, one glimpses a tiny back bar, beloved of regulars. The scale may be small, but the Annex veteran is not without a sense of occasion, polished by exceptionally deft, friendly service. A short menu proposes two courses for .00 (high-end ingredients bring a reasonable surcharge to certain dishes). Duck terrine is akin to rillettes -- dense, herby and studded with pine nuts and juicy shiitake, paired with tangy celeriac remoulade, crunchy toasts and dots of intense Grand Marnier glaze. In a light, crisp coat, a cake of fish and crabmeat tastes mostly of salmon; maple-preserved onions and a salad of finely chopped nappa cabbage in sweet-tart vinaigrette add sweetness to the dish. Thick slices of baguette with a delicate parmesan crust become a genteel bruschetta under a simple, salty salsa of tomato, capers and parsley; balsamic dressing bedecks a side of bittersweet leaves. A more subtle tarragon-shallot vinaigrette infuses a crunchy cabbage-carrot slaw, partnered with slices of smoked tuna and lean smoked salmon.

Mains are similarly simple. Braised lamb shank showcases the meat's flavour in a thin thyme and rosemary-spiked broth floating chunks of carrot and potato. A tangy mustard cream sauces impeccably timed sauteed calf's liver, surrounded by pleasingly firm cauliflower, green beans, broccoli and juicy bok choy. A side dish of good, sweet frites, which accompanies all mains, disappears in minutes. Classic desserts (.50) include yummy, gooey dark chocolate mousse or an individual lemon tart, nicely poised between sweet and sour, under a fresh blueberry compote. A good selection of half-bottles is the highlight of a short, reasonably priced wine list. Reservations recommended. Closed Monday.