It’s Montreal restaurant week time again – that magical part of the year when a week is defined as 11 days (Oct. 29 to Nov. 8, 2015).*
All the better for us, since that means four more days of prix fixe menus at some of Montreal’s top restaurants. Most restaurants give two options for appetizers, two choices for mains and two choices for desserts. Some give three and some suggest wine pairings right on the menu (that come at an additional fee).
Tax and tip aren’t included, and neither is that $7 extra for the foie gras, so if you’re working on a tight budget, keep those things in mind before placing your reservation and your order.
How to choose, how to choose?? Plus, “best” is clearly different if you’re a vegetarian or a teetotaller – won’t make much sense to drop $50 at meat-heavy Chez Queux or BYOB Tandem, respectively.
Options include $21 weekend brunches and $31 lunches and $31 and $41 dinners. On the MTL à
Table website, you can search by late-night menus, vegetarian options (no gluten-free search criteria yet), local cheese options, brunch options and BYOB options.
But there are over 150 menus to go through in total! And who besides me is going to call that fun? (I look through menus while waiting for buses.) Thus, here’s a very subjective opinion on what I think are some of the best deals for the 2015 Restaurant festival. And when you book your table, keep in mind that some restaurants aren’t open Sunday or Monday, which is maybe where the whole thing about the festival being “about ten days” comes from…
Best $41 Dinners:
Criteria: In a sometimes monotonous though lovely 11 days of $41 yogurt-topped salmon tartare, seasonal squash gnocchi and chocolate mousse, it takes something special to stand out. These places do just that. They’re also steals at $41, where mains alone usually cost $30.
Roasted beets, homemade faisselle, wild grape gel, smoked pecans and beets chips OR
Chicken liver mousse, honey comb, roasted pumpkin, hazelnut crumble and pickled mustard seedsSecond service
Duck leg, naked oat grains risotto with Louis d’Or cheese and mushrooms, cress, marinated Chinese artichokes and bog myrtle sauce OR
Arctic char filet, cauliflower puree, salt roasted celeriac, sea lettuce, sunflower seeds and oil
Third service
Chocolate jar, Illanka and vanilla cremeux, chocolate crumble and cashew milk foam
Praline cake, honey gel, vanilla cream and pear sorbet
I have a Japanese friend who’s very discerning when it comes to food. He won’t eat fish in Montreal that’s not made by a Japanese person. He checks Michelin Star restaurants off his bucket list. Laurie-Raphael used to be his favourite restaurant in Montreal and the only place he’d go for a good lunch in the downtown area. A few years ago, he started saying the restaurant was slipping, but the creativity of this menu puts it back up at the top of the city’s most inspired places. Now it’s up to the staff to make the meal live up to the expectations.
First service
Nori rolled marinated salmon, sweet and sour vegetable and quinoa salad, compressed cucumber pearl, avocado sour cream, dashi vinaigrette OR
Beets salad, duck foie gras mousse and meringue, beet juice vinaigrette, fall strawberries and vanilla
Second service
Côte Nord halibut cheek, cauliflower three ways, black olives gel and powder, curry sauce OR
Valcourt Piedmontais veal cut, basil and sun-dried tomato veal jus, wild mushrooms, sweet onion cream and purée, crispy potatoes and kale chips
Third service
Apple and Dulcey chocolate Opera, yogurt and cinnamon sorbet OR
Chocolate cake, Oloroso sherry-caramel cream, Valrhona caramelia ganache, chocolate ice cream
Mochica
Last year Callao was the deal of the festival. The $31 menu of Peruvian street food done upscale was a steal. Now the menu is up to $41, and I feel a little disappointed (but happy that restaurant is doing well and pricing their dishes at what are probably more accurate levels). I read the Callao menu, though, and I recognize everything that’s there. I can imagine how it will taste. I had the beef cheek last year and the ceviche. The beef was falling-apart-tender, and the potato stuffed with beef and huancaina sauce really is a classic Peruvian dish plated nicely. The only real deal-breaker for me is that the salmon is probably Atlantic. I won’t pay $41 for farmed Atlantic salmon. If it’s not Atlantic, please tell me. But there’s no “eco-responsable” indicator on the webpage, as there is for many of the other restaurants including Laloux and Laurie-Raphael.
Ceviche Duo: Corvina classico and passion fruit tiradito shrimps (sashimi), maracuyá sour foam OR
Parrilla Duo: Grilled veal heart, sweet potato, corn, huacatay (Peruvian black mint) pesto and Grilled octopus, arugula with Peruvian black olive pesto
Second service
MAR – Seared corvina (Peruvian sea bass), cod and cassava brandade and Seared scallops, black quinoa risotto OR
ANDINO – Seco de cordero (Braised Kamouraska’s shank lamb with coriander), tacu-tacu and Grilled tiger shrimps, mashed squash stew in yellow chili
Third service
Mazamorra morada : purple Inka corn pudding with exotic fruits, cinnamon and cloves, quinoa sablé OR
Nigiri Arroz Zambito (rice cooked in ancestral sugar bread), Fruit, Honey chancaca
Best $31 Dinners:
First service
Calamari salad, mixed greens, jalapeño and marinated onion vinaigrette OR
Polenta, braised pork, tomato and Parmesan
Second service
Braised Lamb shoulder Bordelaise and Panca chili, Peruvian quinoa OR
Seared tuna, chorizo sauce, tortilla de patatas, marinated red onion
Third service
Custard cake with chocolate and dulce de leche OR
Lemon curd and pisco jar, meringues
Best Late-Night:
Pastaga – $21 (after 10pm)
Martin Juneau’s small plates haven in Little Italy gets top prize because you can choose any two courses and you don’t need to order dessert. Why is this a perk? Because dessert often isn’t worth it for anyone who a) doesn’t have a sweet tooth, or b) has a food intolerance like gluten or dairy, which are common in all those chocolate and cake-y things. So you’re not really getting a “deal” price-wise if you’re paying for a course you don’t want. Here, there’s not a problem. Deals all-around. Or, you can order just one appetizer or main and a dessert. I shouldn’t neglect sweet toothed people out there.
First service
Parmentier soup, leek ravioli and marinated mushrooms OR
Marinated Atlantic salmon, creamy fingerling potatoes and salmon Jerky (might be sustainable as the restaurant is noted as “eco-friendly”) OR
Lots of beets, goat cheese powder
Second service
Fish of the day confit in olive oil, Rockefeller kale OR
Risotto with pumpkin, root vegetables roasted with garlic confit, Mr. Petrone sprouts OR
Maple-lacquered piglet breast, parsnip pancake and pickles
Third service
Cheese with assorted condiments OR
Bitter chocolate mousse, sponge taffy and caramel foam OR
Mr. Crémeux ice cream confection
Best $21 Brunch:
Just check out the menu. I can’t eat any of it (nothing’s gluten-free and dairy-free), but maybe you can.
Pork belly steam bun, cashew butter, tare sauce OR
Wild mushrooms poached in butter, caramelized cauliflower purée, black bread crumbsSecond service
Gnocchi à la fajiole, romano beans, smoked tomatoes, parmigiano OR
Grilled octopus, hibiscus glaze, chorizo, soy beans, black olive powder, lemon
Charcoal grilled dear heart, black kale and gruyère, snail sauce
Third service
House Doughnuts OR
Spicy cream pot OR
Apple tartelette, pan seared foie gras, smoked cheddar, apple butter, warm maple syrup with black pepper (+10)
Best Vegetarian:
This vegan bistro in the Mile End isn’t off-the-charts expensive in the first place, but its special MTL à Table menu makes it the perfect time to either try it for the first time or schedule a return visit. I chose it for the tempeh-crusted butternut squash, which does the incredible thing of making tempeh sound gourmet (note: I love tempeh but don’t usually think of putting it in the same sentence as fine dining). Mostly, I love this place because their vegetarian cuisine isn’t all fake-meats and faux-pastas.
Invitation V special signature salad OR
Burmese chickpea soup
Butternut squash marinated layers in a crispy tempeh crust OR
Marinated tofu coated with sesame seeds, wrapped in teriyaki yuba, on a sushi rice futonThird service
Triple chocolate cake OR
Black quinoa pudding with pumpkin cream
Deer, red cabbage, pickled onionSecond service
Beef hanger steak, oat, spinach OR
Cod, cauliflower, brown butter
Third service
Blueberries, coffee, Guanaja chocolate OR
Apples, pecan, aged cheddar
Where: Montreal restaurants
How much: $21 – $41 plus tax, tip, wine and foie
Fantastic blog, thanks for the tips. I think i’ll do Mochica.
Hope you had a great meal! Thanks for reading, Marcia!