Le Mitoyen

Simply the best restaurant in Laval. Fit for a foodie. Chef Richard Bastien also owns Leméac on Laurier.

By far the best restaurant in Laval. It’s quaint, romantic and the service is always attentive. Very fine French dining experience, my husband and I are there at least once a year.

Bouffe — impressionnant ! Spécialisé en cuisine française. Nous avions pris le menu dégustation absolument délicieux. L’entrée de vrai mozzarella (water buffalo) était simple, mais tellement bonne. La petite salade de concombre, cerise de terre, et de melon d’eau venu merveilleusement compléter la mozzarella. Nous avons également reçu un flanc d’agneau cuit sous-​vide pendant 48h, qui était tout simplement divin ! Suivirent des côtelettes d’agneau avec des ravioli à la queue de bœuf tellement savoureuse. Comme prédessert, un toast avec un fromage fondu, caramel de canneberge et petite salade de pomme gala d’une simplicité, mais oh combien délicieux. Et nous avons complété la soirée avec le crêpe, le financier, et le moelleux au chocolat. Vraiment, une belle expérience !
Service — Sommelier sur place, très courtois. Service impeccable. Bön synchronisme entre les plats.
Ambiance — douillet et humble. Presque campagnarde ! Le bâtiment est une maisonnette charmante avec différentes pièces de décor varié.

Wow.
My boyfriend and I dined at Le Mitoyen last night, and it was some of the best food we’ve ever had. Executive chef Richard Bastien is a genius! The flavour combinations were out of this world, and the depth was incredible.
Le Mitoyen is a converted house, built in 1870. There are several separate dining areas, a nice fireplace, artwork on the walls, candles at each table and soft music in the background. Service was excellent — each course was presented with a description of the ingredients.
For Valentine’s day weekend, a prix fixe 7 course menu was offered ($ 85/​each or $ 140/​each with wine pairings) with a choice of one of 4 mains.
We started with a glass of champagne and the salmon cooked «sous vide» — basically vacuum sealed and cooked in an immersion circulator, I believe. Is was served on a rectangle of watermelon with citrus. The marinade was vodka-​based. SO GOOD! The texture of the salmon was amazing, and nicely complimented the crispness of the watermelon.
We then had a lobster tail with a mango sauce, microgreens, and tiny cucumber balls. There was a taste we couldn’t quite place, and then realized it was vanilla (we think!). Whoa. Vanilla lobster? Who would have thought…? Delicious!
Next was a white polenta atop moist guinea foul with a rich guinea foul gravy. It was garnished with fried grains, rice and quinoa that turned into a ‘rice krispy’ texture. Again, awesome.
We had the foie gras, served with a winter-​root purée, carrots and a roast potato and spicy microgreens. I’m not a foie gras fan, but my boyfriend love it. The purée was delicious! (not included in the prix fixe menu — an extra $ 17).
After that, we had a delicious bouillon, with finely diced carrots, and something with a bit of kick (couldn’t quite place it…). It is served spoon-​less, and meant to be sipped.
For the main course, I had the pigeonneau (yup! domestic pigeon! I’m living on the wild side: P) with wild mushroom risotto, and what I believe was a kind of liver mousse. The sauce was flavourful, rich, and delicious, and the risotto was earthy and creamy. The pigeonneau was delicious and tender. My boyfriend had the lamb, and it was amazing! So tender, and moist.
We finished with coffee and desserts. We had an amazing profiterole filled with ricotta and tonka beans, and served with lemon curd. We also had a strawberry soup, with basil ice cream. Oh. My. Yum. Honestly. Holy Food!!!
At the end of our meal we noticed we had missed a course — a cheese based dish. Our waitress was apologetic, and since we didn’t want it after our dessert, we were credited the cost of a glass of champagne. We were a pretty disappointed to have missed it, since it likely would have been amazing, like everything else. A bit of a miss given the calibre of the restaurant. But, c’est la vie.
The service efficient and friendly, allowing enough distance for a romantic evening but always close enough should anything be needed.
Highly recommend! It’s definitely pricey, but you’re looking for a splurge, this is the spot.