New York City’s popular Bistrot Bagatelle brought its operation to Toronto’s Roosevelt Room for two brunch parties this past weekend.
In New York, regulars to the Bagatelle Brunch include Kanye West, Sienna Miller, Tyra Banks, John Legend and more, but nary a famous face (as far as we could tell) showed up for the Toronto iteration on Saturday.
But that didn’t seem to stop the 40 or so in attendance from shaking a tail feather to the beats of Bagatelle’s DJ, Jacques Dumas, whose set got louder as the dishes were cleared and the rounds of Veuve Clicquot Brut (with blazing sparklers attached) multiplied.
The highlight came when the boisterous servers, who were brought in from New York for the event, hoisted one of their own on their shoulders with sparklers in each hand and performed a “Superman” circuit of the event, bringing even the most timid bruncher to his feet. Another server followed that up by making rounds with a magnum of some mystery liquid, pouring straight into revelers’ mouths.
Co-owner Remi Laba brought along his New York chef, Nicolas Cantrel, who dished up lunchy fare (truffled natural chicken and country style potates) and breakfasty options (smoked salmon Eggs Benedict), but the real star was a warm tartine with soft mozzarella di bufala and tomatoes appetizer, which we could have eaten all day.
On the whole, the event felt a tad contrived — lots of furtive “who’s going to dance first?” glances around the room — but the next time we sit down for a bland old brunch at Over Easy or Cora’s, we suspect we’ll be wishing for Bagatelle to come back for good, celebrities in tow or not.
Bagatelle’s New York City location is at 409 West 13th St. between Washington St. and Ninth Avenue.