After a lengthy renovation project, Paul and Danielle Bigué and son Stéphane, have opened Le Papillon on the Park—a French restaurant in a converted 90-year-old brick house and factory space on Eastern Avenue near Coxwell.
Paul and Danielle, who ran the original Le Papillon on Church Street for 34 years (the restaurant opened in 1974 and was known as Toronto's first crêperie), split with former business partner Sandra Kane almost two years ago. Kane has since opened Le Papillon on Front, and the two restaurants now share a landing page with links to both Web sites.
“We drove by this house every day. To us it was like a little bit of Quebec,” Danielle said during an interview at the restaurant, which opened in mid-November. The family renovated the small home and factory to create a rustic space that seats 125 on the main floor. A rooftop terrace overlooking Jonathan Ashbridge Park will hold as many as 136 during the warmer months.
“We kept the charm of the old house," Danielle said. A long black and red bar sits just inside the entrance to the space, which has exposed brick walls. The old ceilings and beams from the original factory structure remain and the restaurant is filled with tables fashioned out of the old wood flooring—and covered in blue and white checkered table runners. Two double-sided fireplaces in the dining room divide the space into three areas. “The object was to have a little bit of Old Quebec with a New York feel,” Paul said.
Le Papillon offers French and Québécois fare—Paul and Danielle are originally from Montreal—with a menu that delivers old favourites such as French onion soup and a lengthy list of crepes, as well as a number of traditional Québécois dishes, including tourtière (a meat pie filled with seasoned ground pork, veal, and beef) and poutine (russet frites served with Québécois cheese curds and a veal demi-glace).
“We’ve brought in more Quebec cuisine, old family recipes,” Danielle said, noting that executive chef Roman Malik (of the original location) plans to create a lighter seasonal menu for the summer.
Le Papillon is available for buyouts and can accommodate semiprivate group functions.
