Food and Drinks in Montreal

Photo credits: HiHenry.com

I’ve never been a huge fan of Plateau restaurants and I can count on my right hand the number of restaurants I’ve visited and enjoyed in that area on St-Denis. This might explain why it took me so long to find out about this one!

L’Express is a French bistro perfect for a bite before going out or to switch the late night poutine for fine dining. It is also known to be a hang out spot for cooks who finished their shifts.

What makes the restaurant so exciting is mostly their amazing and affordable wine list. It was actually the reason why I ended up there in the first place as my friends and I suddenly switched our plan to go dance for a craving for good wine and food.

I decided to go with a light dish and the salmon tartare seemed to be the perfect option. Sadly it was unseasoned and too oily as it was cut chunky. Smaller pieces would have helped to drink the juice and give real flavor to the fresh salmon.

As for desserts, we decided to split a maple syrup tart. Now that was enjoyable! I’m not a sugar person as I have probably stated several times but I could not leave it alone after a single bite.

Conclusion: L’Express is a gorgeous bistro to visit if you’re in the area. The menu contains all the French favorites but they might not always be successful. It can however be forgotten quite fast with the great wine complementing your meal. Check out the desserts too, they’re totally worth it. Finally, the service is pretty amazing.

L’EXPRESS
ADDRESS: 3927 St-Denis
PHONE: (514) 845-5333
HOURS: MON-FRI 8AM – 2AM / SAT 10AM – 2AM / SUN 10AM – 1AM
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $25-45 for a meal

I was invited to Europea last Tuesday to discover a new product by Knorr.  I won’t lie, I’ve been using their products my whole life along some other organic powder broths. I love making homemade broth too but it really is a question of time.

So why not find out about something new especially when Jérôme Ferrer himself does the presentation at his gorgeous restaurant. He was chosen as the French spokesperson for this product so you might already have seen him on French advertisement.

The evening started with a few chats with the fellow bloggers invited. Jérôme Ferrer then greeted us in his workshop which I covered this summer. The chef was more than friendly and excited about the evening spent with us.

We were then proposed to follow him around while he showed us the insides of his kitchen where about 30 cooks work in a room for salt and a room for sugar. The need was evident as all the desserts for his other locations are made here.

We then visited the three different floors of the restaurant separated into different concepts to accommodate couples or big groups. It was clear that Europea was really made to please the customer and make sure that no matter what needs the reservation had, they could cover them.

Goat Cheese Lollipops

Finally, we headed back to the workshop room. With a glass of red wine and a few snacks coming straight up from the adjacent kitchen, Jérôme Ferrer finally presented Knorr’s new Homestyle Stock:

With chicken or beef, the new Homestyle stock features a higher quality product to prepare soups or sauces as it really is a reduction of a broth. The stock also features a higher sodium quantity, double the quantity of regular Knorr broth. From my experience trying it at home, I would definitely keep the Homestyle stock for special recipes that need bold flavors and complete the ingredients.

To showcase the new stock, chef Jérôme Ferrer and his sous-chef for the evening Marie cooked both one recipe they worked on before.

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli – View recipe

Risotto with Lemon Confit

Both recipes were delicious and very simple. Jérôme and Marie really made sure that a minimum of ingredients would be used to really feature both stocks flavors.

An extra plate at the end to taste a trio of sweetness coming from Europea’s kitchen. Special mention for their delicious macaron!

My visit to Europea was really appreciated and it was great honor to meet Jérôme Ferrer. I think it’s a safe bet to step in any of his restaurants after seeing his passion for food. I actually got a scoop that evening and can’t wait to mention more about it!

As for Knorr, if this article made you curious about the new broth line, you might also be interested by their contest. Submit your recipes, which should be simple but full of flavors and win a trip to London, England!

I received my Zarafina this past winter as a gift. Since then, I have been using it religiously and drinking a simple cup of tea is now an event at home! My guests enjoy it as much as I do and with its few but useful settings, the tea has never been so good.

The Zarafina steeps both loose and bagged tea and makes enough tea for four cups. Sadly, the machine is quite hard to find so your best bet is Amazon. For more information, you can visit their website.

Extra points for their clever packaging!

Photo credit: Denis Carl

How about a new category for my readers that’s not about restaurants? I’ve been so caught up in doing restaurant reviews and articles about my trips around the world so far that I never thought of sharing what I buy for my place. And trust me, I love getting stuff to make my kitchen more exciting!

From now on, I will share my favorite products, appliances or recipes from Montreal or online. I hope you enjoy this section as much as I do!

I never planned on trying Honey Martin nor had heard about it before. See, I’m temporary living in NDG and my friend driving me home on a Wednesday night thought it would be fun to go for one last drink. I started Googling the words bar and NDG with no luck when we drove by a small bar that had a big young crowd outside chatting and smoking.

In a dangerous turn, we managed to find parking in less than two seconds and headed to the entrance. I was a bit shy to go in as we were wondering if it wasn’t a private event or even a bar? After seeing the big Guinness sign on top of the logo, we knew it would be okay and made our way inside Honey Martin.

I rarely get this feeling unless I’m visiting another country but I got very excited as soon as we went in. This pub really made us feel like we were tourists trying a new bar somewhere around the world. Honey Martin is a mix of a gorgeous old interior design, loud conversations, live music playing and a great selection of drafts. The crowd was was a mix between people in their 40-50s and students from the Loyola campus.

We enjoyed a nice pint of Harp while managing to talk over the lovely lady singing that night, but it all fit right in. People around us all had smiles on their faces and it was too easy to start a conversation with anyone.

Conclusion: Honey Martin really made our last drink special and I’m looking forward to going back. The draft selection is great but a tad expensive. The bar is long and a bit squeezed. It reminds me of European bars, which is a plus! Great way to meet new people and hear some folk/rock. I recommend to try it out on a week night!

HONEY MARTIN
ADDRESS: 5916 Sherbrooke West
PHONE: (514) 484-2999
HOURS: N/A
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: N/A
CREDIT CARDS: N/A
PRICE: $8 a pint

Point G has been open for a few years now on Mont-Royal, in the middle of the Plateau. It’s mainly because of them that most Montrealers have now had the chance to taste and fall in love with macarons. Like many of you, I had never eaten a macaron before, not even on my trip to Paris!

Since then, I’ve been visiting Point G on a regular basis for a box of macarons or a scoop of their exciting ice cream.

On my latest stop, I tried their Rocher noisette ice cream flavor and it was more than delicious. I also enjoyed their new Chocolate + Sesame macaron. What a delicious mix!

No matter if you have a sweet tooth or not, Point G will find a way to please you and make you want to please others by taking a few of those delicious treats to share.

POINT G
ADDRESS: 1266 Mont-Royal E.
PHONE: 514-750-7515
HOURS: SUN-WED 10AM– 10PM THUR-SAT 10AM – 11PM
ALCOHOL: N/A
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: N/A

Believe it or not, this past Saturday was my first visit to Olive & Gourmando. I used to work five minutes away a few years ago but I never ended up going in. Learning that they started selling the wine they import and serve on the menu made it even more exciting to check out.

As soon as I got in, I knew I would love the place! Once greeted by the staff, we were assigned a table with a number and invited to go pick our food and drinks at the back. Food was going away fast as two kinds of sandwiches turned out to be sold out by the time we made up our mind!

A great selection of beer, wine, tea, coffee and homemade beverages were available to choose from. I went with their iced tea which was wonderful and not full of sugar like many fake versions that are sold in coffee places.

For my first time, I knew that I had to try one of their sandwiches. I have to say that the fresh salads and soup were all tempting too but the Cubano sandwich got all of my attention. The panini bread was filled with thin ham, braised pork, mayo (a mix of chipotle, pickles, lime and coriander) and gruyère cheese.

Wow. This has to be the best pork sandwich I have had so far! Compared to most sandwiches packed with loads of pork and sauce, this one kept it simple and well-sized but exploded with flavors. I still can’t get over the smoky taste coming from the meat combined with the mayo and melted cheese.

This was a perfect lunch meal and I seriously can’t wait to go back to find out about the other sandwiches that were sold out that day.

Conclusion: Olive & Gourmando is a wonderful venue to visit for breakfast or lunch while in the neighborhood. The menu is exciting and you will never look at a sandwich or salad the same way again. Great wine finds can be made too with a staff always ready to help you choose. You can check out their website daily for an updated menu.

OLIVE & GOURMANDO
ADDRESS: 351 St-Paul West
PHONE: 514-350-1083
HOURS: TUE-SAT 8AM – 6PM
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $20

Since I’ve got back from Japan, I have been obsessed in finding a real Korean BBQ restaurant in Montreal. I know that the law is probably different here and that’s what makes it so hard to find exactly what I had back in Tokyo. However, this mission of mine of finding the best place in town is a fun one and I get to taste different concoctions of kimchee each time.

Korea House is the second place I have tried in Montreal, after Maison Bulgogi. Located on Queen Mary inside a building, it has quite a better vibe than my previous venue. The restaurant might be missing a lot of traffic for not being directly on the street but once you get in, you know you’re at the right place.

After choosing a BBQ that seemed to fit our needs, I pointed the beef sirloin plate to our cute Korean lady and got her approval. She then started bringing us plenty of side dishes.

Korean BBQ is simple and exciting. No matter where you eat it, it always comes with a plate of raw meat to cook yourself on the grill and lots of side dishes. Korea House brought us miso soup, spicy sprouts and sweet sprouts, rice and of course, kimchee! All the sides were delicious and generous. Their kimchee wasn’t too strong which is great for first timers.

As for the meat, I loved the addition of mushrooms and onions. The grill had real flames but they weren’t strong enough to caramelize the meat sauce which left it a little bland. Overall, wrapped in lettuce with kimchee and extra hot sauce, it was still very delicious.

Conclusion: Korea House is a safe bet for Korean BBQ but I still feel like I could find better. What makes me want to go back to this one is their great selection of stews that seemed to be ordered way often than the BBQ. A great place to try on a rainy day if you’re around Snowdon.

KOREA HOUSE
ADDRESS: 4950 Chemin Queen Mary
PHONE: 514-733-7823
HOURS: MON-SAT 11AM – 11PM / SUN 5PM – 11PM
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $40 for 2

Biron hosted a lovely 5 à 7 a few weeks ago to meet fellow Montreal foodies and give them a sneak peak of their summer menu. It was previously known as Duel but is now named after David Biron, the remaining chef.

It was actually my second visit to the restaurant and once again, I felt quite welcome and open to ask any questions about the food I was sampling. Charlotte was the fantastic host of the event and she invited us to enjoy a blue corn cocktail as soon as we got in.

The place was quite packed so it was a challenge to taste each of the exciting bites passed around. My favorite sample was the Kobe mini burger which surprised me with its fruit jam inside. No wonder I’ve read about it so many times!

David Biron then blew us all away towards the end of the evening with his truffle pyramid and macarons. The taste and texture was perfect.

You should check out Biron for sure if you’re in the neighborhood, whether it’s for their take-out menu or for a full on 7-course menu. David Biron is a chef to look out for, especially if you’re curious about Asian cuisine.

I’ve been meaning to visit Graziella for more than a year and it finally happened on my birthday, just a few weeks ago! The gorgeous Italian restaurant located in the Old Montreal is owned and named after its chef, Graziella Batista.

I’ve only read great reviews about it that my standards were pretty high but I was also in festive mood that made me, I think, a pretty fun customer to serve. Sadly, I didn’t get the perfect match to take care of my table.

A few minutes after sitting down and waiting for the remaining guests, I was offered to order an apéro and chose the simple and delicious Cosmopolitain. After receiving it, my waiter asked us if we would like sparkling water. I clearly specified that tap water would do it for us but we then received a bottle of water even though all of the tables around us were clearly getting what they asked for. Well it didn’t matter I thought, as I wanted to go on with my evening. Why not spend a few dollars extra for water!

Once the table was full, we all ordered from the exciting menu our appetizers. For my part, I chose the beef carpaccio which was beautifully presented and fresh but it was missing a basic component – salt. My other guests didn’t enjoy their appetizers as much as I did and one of them even ended up with a shrimp with a smell of Javex.

Once again, I decided that it wasn’t so bad after we let our waiter be aware of the situation and started looking forward to trying Graziella’s gnocchis! Well anyone who reviewed this restaurant was definitely right about those. They were the best ones I’ve tasted so far and the simple tomato and basilic sauce just made it all perfect. This time, everyone was pleased with their picks.

Sadly again, when I realized that I would never finish this gnocchi plate even after my guests’ help, I asked my waiter to wrap it up so I could eat it for lunch. I was then given a strict reply that Graziella doesn’t allow take out in her restaurant and that it would go to waste. My waiter was however sweet enough and gave me a chance to eat more of it before he would take it away as if I my goal was to eat like a pig and feel full for the rest of the night. So finally, I had to let it go knowing its future destination.

I understand that Graziella is a chic restaurant located in a chic neighborhood but there’s nothing chic about wasting food. I understand that doggy bags is not an image that fits well with such a place but measures should be taken if the quantity of food in a plate goes beyond what can be eaten in a supper.

After this deception, I really didn’t have much enjoyment left for this first visit. I decided to give it one last chance and ordered the frozen nougat bowl.

Well, this dessert was delicious and finally respecting what nougat is all about. I’ve seen so many types of iced desserts with nougat in Montreal that involve cranberries or tons of nuts when all it needs is nothing. I really hope I get to eat this great treat again, in a more enjoyable evening.

Conclusion: This is sadly one of my worst restaurant review so far and it infuriates me because I know it could have been completely different if so many things didn’t go badly at my table – whether it was the service or the food. I think that Graziella can be a real Italian treat but it was way too expensive for what I got in my plate (and what I didn’t get to take away). I recommend to try it on lunch time for a start. This is what I’ll do to give it another chance!

GRAZIELLA
ADDRESS: 116 McGill
PHONE: 514-876-0116
HOURS: MON-FRI 12PM – 2PM / MON-SAT EVENINGS
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $80 approx. with wine