Toqué

My brother and I ate at Toqué! a while ago (apologies for the delay), and we both ordered the chef’s tasting menu. (The quality of the food was wildly inconsistent, so I’ve rated each dish individually.) Bottom line: Chef Laprise and his staff may have talent, training, and high-​quality ingredients, but they could care less about your experience, your good opinion, or your second visit.
MEAL NOTES
(#0) Amuse-​bouche: sweet corn and celery-​rabe mousse. {****} The amuse was served as a soup: several mouthfuls of foamy liquid that had to be spooned out of a large bowl. Topped with a daub of melted butter, the amuse was essentially several spoonfuls of liquid, salty, delicately creamy-​sweet popcorn.
(#1) Tuna-​wrapped crostini with lime mayonnaise. {*} This dish was a big disappointment: the chili and pepper overwhelmed the tuna, and the dish was flat out under-​salted. Using a prosciutto instead of tuna may have been more predictable, but it certainly would have tasted better. This dish was also a little embarrassing to eat, because it’s impossible to snip tuna fat with your teeth. Each bite engendered a tug-​of-​war between the crositini and my mouth, with the fish strung out between. Did the chef actually try to eat this before asking us to pay for it?
(#2) Scallop, cheese, and bacon tartelette. {*****} Grizzled old culinary rule: never combine seafood and cheese. M. Laprise exploded this rule with flavour and flair. In this thoughtful, playful, and scrumptious reinterpretation an an Alsatian classic, potatoes replace the crust of the tartelette, which is then filled with in a bacon, cheese, and scallops. The potatoes, astonishingly, add air and lightness. High cuisine at its very best.
(#3) Mackerel and summer vegetables. {*} A slender half-​fillet of mackerel on a capacious plate, dressed with an understated sweet soy sauce, and surrounded by a carnival of fruits and vegetables. We counted no fewer than 17 (!) distinct components on the plate, including 2 pinches of different chili powders and a smear of pesto. It was impossible to grasp how the chef thought the dish should be eaten. What goes with what? Serving a plate of bewildering options to your patrons is about as amateurish as it gets.
(#4) Charcuterie plate with sausage, stewed rabbit, pancetta, and black trumpet mushrooms. {**} Another visual and gustatory train-​wreck. Everything on this plate was forgettably adequate except the sausage – dressed with what we think was a strawberry and balsamic reduction – which was divine. Those two small bites of sausage were two of the most transcendentally perfect mouthfuls I’ve ever had. (This dish gets one star for each bite of that sausage.) Everything else on the plate just got in the way of that transcendent perfection. Especially the bones: I found one in my rabbit, and my brother one in his pancetta. Now, bones are not supposed to leave the kitchen, but it can happen. You let the kitchen know about it, the chef (or sous-​chef) apologizes, and everyone gets on with the meal. We found two of them. Our server apologized perfunctorily, but we never heard anything from the kitchen or from management. Nothing. WTF.
(#5) Seared Kobe beef with a baby leek. {*} This was the first dish ever served to me at a fine dining establishment that I sent back to the kitchen unfinished. (My brother sent his back as well.) The steak and leek were dressed with an excellent veal-​stock reduction featuring (we think) blueberries and beets. The baby leek was so forgettable even my notes can’t remember it. The beef was improperly cooked: excessively charred on the outside so that it tasted strongly of charcoal (not just a hint – strongly) and underdone on the inside (I like my steak bloody, but this meat was stringy). The steak was not only inexcusably over-​salted, but also served without a steak knife. M. Laprise apparently thinks that «Kobe» is Japanese for «contempt.»
(#6) Lightly melted cheese over summer vegetables. {***} Sweet yellow tomatoes and summer squash under a blanket of slightly melted cheese, dressed with fresh herbs and blueberry vinegar. Unremarkable except for the blueberry vinegar, which was utterly extraordinary. Another instance in which the best item on the plate got lost in the effort to impress the diner with packaging.
(#7) Dessert: Raspberry tart and blackberry sorbet. {**} The tart was composed as a tower raspberries, whipped cream, and pancake crisps. The accompanying blackberry sorbet was competent, but unimaginative. One welcome surprise was the presence of tiny clippings of fresh, fragrant herbs beneath and over the whipped cream, each of which provided a startling little burst of flavor in a fancy-​looking presentation of raspberries, whipped cream, and pancakes. Fresh berries are wonderful, but I expect a great chef to use his skills to improve his ingredients – not simply re-​label them.

It was truly a great gastronomical adventure, but with several imperfections.
First, obviously you have to reserve before coming here, but it was a nightmare. I tried calling several time but they kept telling me that they don’t have any availabilities. Therefore, I monitored OpenTable for days and finally got a Friday night reservation at 5:30.
Recommendation: book through OpenTable!
Upon arrival, the waiter/​usher did not gave us a warm welcome, they kept looking at us. Yes, we are young and dressing informal but they should still have the best attitude in the world considering their price tag.
After got seated, we both got the Valentine pre-​set menu with black truffle for $ 155 each. I got an extra glass of white wine.
The meal started with two kinds of bread with butter. I prefer warm bread but their cold bread were fine.
2^nd, a breadstick wrapped with prosciutto, simple but tasty.
3^rd, scallop with blood orange in cucumber water. The combination of flavour was unreal, it was the most fresh any food could have!
4^th, lobster, my boyfriend really liked it, the texture was amazing.
5^th, foie gras pâté with bread cubes. It had a creamy texture and really captured the essence of goose liver. I used to think au pied de cochron has the best foie gras in town, this dish really challenged my perception.
6^th, veal. OMG, my favourite dish of the night. It was so juicy and tender, so well executed with the perfect amount of seasoning.
7^th, quail. My boyfriend hated it because it was served medium rare. I loved it because usually quail doesn’t any specific taste, but the chef here managed to bring out the taste of quail. It was kind of like chicken but more tender.
8^th, cheese and yogurt. I like that they served these for variety but I don’t really eat cheese in my daily life and can’t really judge it, but the sauce that came with the dish was a great compliment to the yogurt.
9^th and 10^th are the desserts, I like neither. The predessert tasted like toothpaste and I don’t like mousse as dessert in general. Oh, they also gave us chocolate in the end, they were good.
The waiter who served the dishes was very knowledgeable and patient, explained every single dish.
However, sometimes the waiter forgot to fill up our water.
Overall, I’m really glad I finally dined at this great restaurant after hearing so much about it.
It was a great way to start our valentines weekend.

This place is a sure-​fire bet for a perfect dining experience. The meals are expertly crafted, innovative, and absolutely scrumptious! Their service is phenomenal and the atmosphere is refreshingly light and fun for an institution of its calibre.

I struggle with writing a review that is as flawless as the meal that I had at Toqué. I confess that I took countless pictures and texted many notes to capture the flavors tasted.
Toqué offers a 7-​course tasting menu as well as an à la carte menu. In the past, we’ve always gravitated towards the latter, attracted to various new and inventive dishes. This time around, we decided to be surprised by the kitchen and went with the tasting menu, without knowing exactly what was on it. After sharing a food allergy, we were prepared to be amazed. And we were. So, if you prefer to be surprised — spoiler alert (until the menu changes)!
The meal began with a warm, airy and velvety artichoke mousse amuse. It was a delicious start to the meal.
The silky sea urchin zabaglione combined many tastes, including whole oyster, finely diced daikon and soya in its prickly, spiny shell. The flavors of the various ingredients shone in this artful and imaginative dish where soft meets spiky. This is where the restaurant excels: the skilled chefs celebrate each ingredient, including them in distinctive and complementary ways.
Next up was the seared scallops topped with celery root brown butter and capers, served on a scallop shell with puréed carrots. I liked that the sweetness of the scallops and carrots were balanced by the brininess of the capers. It was very well conceived.
Perhaps the only course that I did not enjoy was the suckling pig loin. While the pork was perfectly prepared, pink and tender, the herbed yogurt was overly salty, taking away from the fantastic zucchini tempura and accompanying olives and mushrooms. Because of that, I ended up eating around it. The roasted red pepper coulis, as well as the rich demi-​glacé, were savory.
The roast rack of lamb was heavenly. The thick cut of hearty meat was tender and well-​marbled. Served with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted cauliflower and onions, I loved every bite of this dish, including the nicely-​smoked bite of tongue sausage.
We had a choice of a cheese course or a second dessert course. We chose the latter, which runs counter to the palate of the majority of Toqué’s more sophisticated clientele. The first dessert featured a cloud-​like popcorn mousse with a poached apple slice. It also included a creamy Geneva apple sorbet (red apple with red flesh) and included caramelized popcorn and peanut crumble. There was even a dash of a rich and luscious hay caramel. It tasted like how hay smells.
The other dessert included several different chocolates: chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie, and roasted white chocolate. The latter was so different and so good that later on that evening, I searched for the recipe. Other flavors of the dish included a bright raspberry sorbet, crushed meringue, and an interesting crumble of tarragon-​almond flour.
As we lingered, we enjoyed a few mignardises, little bites of fruit gelée and maple sugar fudge.
Service throughout the meal was first-​class. Even with the number of meals that I’ve had, I rarely encounter this level of professional and warm service. The elevated service was a tangible ingredient in our meal. Our server patiently and knowledgeably answered all our questions and provided us with detailed information about the ingredients. While the meal took 4 hours, it flew by because of the well-​orchestrated and choreographed talents of the kitchen and restaurant staff. It is one of the best meals that I’ve ever experienced and deserves its more official ranking as the best in Canada.

Overall — 4.5÷5.0
Came here last summer for their tasting menu and it was an absolute treat.
Their courses are fairly substantial in terms of portion size and leaves you very satisfied at the end — I was pretty darn full to be honest.
Each course was executed perfectly and I can definitely say that this was my most favourite dining experience of all time.

Ho, je né mets pas 5 étoiles parce-​que ça m’a coûté cher. En fait pour tout dire c’était mon cadeau d’anniversaire, j’ai eu une petite goutte de sueur au moment de l’addition pour mon ami, mais cri$#* qu’on a passé un moment d’anthologie qui valait tout l’or du monde.
Parlons bouffe dabord. 7 services «surprise» c’est-à-dire selon la saison et l’arrivage, ce qui fait souvent un grand restaurant: fraîcheur et qualité des ingrédients. Les portions sont parfaites, certainement calculées par un mathematicien pour que l’espace de n’importe quel estomac soit rempli sans pour autant déborder. Plus ou moins dans l’ordre, pétoncle, oursin, foie gras poêlé, boeuf et agneau, tous apprêtés ou cuits à la perfection. (j’en ai oublié un oups). Les accompagnements sont aussi très originaux avec des ingrédients simples tel que panais, courges… je pense notamment au foie gras accompagné de gaufres liegeoises, pistaches roties, courge confite et poire pochée. BOUM. Le dessert était très surprenant, composé d’une multitude d’éléments soigneusement montés, je retiendrai surtout la partie meringue de sapin. BADABOUM.
Je manqué de mots et d’onomatopées pour décrire les vins. Le premier vin, blanc, provenait de Galice, une région vinicole que j’aime beaucoup. En blague j’ai averti le sommelier que ça allait être difficile de faire mieux et d’aller en crescendo sur la longueur du repas. HO MON DIEU. Je né sais pas si c’était un défi personnel bien que le sommelier soit quand même très compétent, mais OUI. Les vins non seulement étaient meilleurs de service en service, mais ils ont su défier mon palais par leurs saveurs inattendues. Je devrais dire inédites. Je pense que je né boirai jamais d’aussi bons vins à moins d’en faire une quête d’une vie.
Côté service rien à redire bien sûr. Nous avons joué la carte de la provocation toute la soirée pour détendre un peu l’atmosphère un peu pincée et attendue d’une grande table. Déjà je suis entrée là habillée à l’arrache car… c’était une surprise je né savais vraiment pas où on allait. Tout le staff a été délicieux et ri avec nous tout le long à nos jokes plates et nos exclamations d’extase. Avec du recul j’ai l’impression d’avoir été Gérard Depardieu. Enfin nous avons fait un petit tour en cuisine pour voir où la magie se passé. En revenant à nos sièges on né pouvait plus bouger. Et puis on voulait plus partir.

Went to Toque on a visit to Montréal this past weekend. Overall the food, experience, drinks were fantastic. Specific review areas below.
Service: We went to the restaurant before the Symphony and had a strict timeline to stick in order to make the symphony on time. I told the restaurant this when making the reservations and they were extremely excellent at sticking to this. In addition they offered us champagne and oysters upon arrival while we are situated in our bar seats. The bartender was extremely knowledgeable, kind, attentive, and helpful.
Drinks: We ordered a french bottle of wine and it was delicious. We are big wine people so this is typical for us for a night at dinner. They had a good selection of wines from a bunch of different regions. We opted for a Bordeaux and were pleased. We also had espresso martinis with dessert and they were made «fally» with maple bourbon and nutmeg. It was fabulous.
Food: Started off with the Oysters for the night — very good and the sauce they put on them was delicious. For starters we had the squash soup and sea urchin. Both were delicious, perfect sized portions, and spiced well. For dinner I had the duck loin and heart and my spouse had the striped bass. Both were extremely delicious, well sized, and accompanied well with their sides. The duck heart was extremely tender and fantastic, For dessert we had the blueberry mouse which was exquisite. If you go — have it. Hands down.
We will be back!

Toque Montréal is ranked best restaurant in Canada. Second on the list is Hawksworth Restaurant at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver. Naturally we had to try this being in Montréal for the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. Toque is located on 900 Place Jean-​Paul-​Riopelle; just around the corner from Le Westin Montréal. And it is easily accessible by the Metro. Get off at Station Square-​Victoria. Toque’s Executive Normand Laprise culinary philosophy is all about «une cuisine de produits». Using fresh ingredients to delivery flavorful dishes.
Toque reminds us a lot of Le Crocodile in Vancouver. It blends traditional French cooking with innovative sense of fun. The restaurant itself is modern and patrons primarily are business professionals. We recommend dressing for the occasion. Gentlemen, remember that sports coat. Oh, and no sneakers!
Toque Tasting Menu
TWO GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE (2 OUNCES EACH) AND ONE OYSTER 30
MENU WITH OR WITHOUT FOIE GRAS (EACH PERSON) 122
WINE PAIRING: FIVE GLASSES 80
WINE PAIRING: SEVEN GLASSES 105
The tasting menus apply to the table as a whole.
Amuse Bouche: tuna apple confit with crispy bread. I love the bright apple that elevates the taste of tuna.
Blue Fin Tuna Tartare: When the ingredients are fresh, it just speaks for itself.
DUCK MAGRET AND HEART 50: This warm and earthy dish is filled with shiitake mushrooms, carrots, pear, Jerusalem artichoke, black garlic purée and Madeira sauce. The duck is rich and cooked perfectly.
SUCKLING PIG LOIN 50: oyster mushrooms, apple, celery, squash purée and poivrade sauce. In hind sight, we realized this dish resembled a lot of the duck magret and probably would have ordered the cod or the Agnolotii with duck confit and foie gras instead. Nonetheless, the pig loin was tender and quite delicious.
We didn’t end up ordering desserts. We were so tired after a long flight that we didn’t have much of an appetite. For desserts, I would have loved to try the blueberry mousse or the iced raspberry mousse with cocoa and almond dacquoise, Manjari chocolate ganache, and cocoa nib infusion. They all sounded fabulous.
Instead, we were presented with brown sugar fudge and white chai chocolates. The brown sugar fudge was amazingly define. It was sweet but not so sweet that makes you cringe. It melted in our mouths.
Toque restaurant is a great location for a special celebration and for those who want to experience traditional French fine dining. The prices are reasonably priced and the staff welcoming. Next time, I would want to try the tasting menu simply because we’ve done the a la carte style already.
I would recommend ordering a la carte and share the a few appetizers you have your heart set on. The menu can be quite decadent and rich. I hope you have a big stomach!

Amazing. Delicious. Delightful. Service outstanding. What you would expect. Highly recommend.

Amazing place. Super delicious food. Service is top class. We were a large group and waiters were always there and super attentive. They were pretty good at serving the food at the same time to everyone. At the end though they didn’t do same when serving coffee. Some of our guys were already done by the time I got my cappuccino. Regarding the pricing I have no comment as the company paid :) but I’ve heard its on the pricier side. Overall great place, great food, great service, definitely deserves 5 stars.

Don’t waste your money on this place. There are much better options in Montréal. The service was a bit uptight and the food was mediocre for the value. Don’t recommend it.

Our server Karen was attentive to my dietary restrictions as a pregnant lady and offered pleasant service to us even though we placed a funny order. The amuse bouche was delectable and rather large (I am used to soup spoon size not app size). My butter and bread were tasty, which is what I have been looking forward to on this trip.
My husband enjoyed 2 oysters with citrus granita followed by a first course of venison carpaccio and sea snails (large enough for 2 – 3 to share). I enjoyed the suckling porn loin main dish, hubs had the duck breast and heart, and MIL had the gazpacho (from first course section) as her main. So much food!
The desserts were lovely, though at the price, I probably should have shared or skipped. The petite fours were a blueberry pastry almost like a mini muffin and a brown suagr fudge. I liked eating them in the same bite. Will definitely reccomend and return. Reasonably priced fine dine, not too noisy but not too stuffy. Glad we skipped the 7 course and did ala carte per another reviewer’s suggestion.

This place show up on just about every «Best of …» list and deservedly so. The ambience is upscale French with clean lines, plenty of light and elegant décor.
We had the 9 course tasting menu with wine pairings, and this experience is now the benchmark for tastings I have experienced in my life.
Each dish, from the amuse bouche through the dessert, is so artfully presented and with such pinache that the overall experience is difficult to overstate. Expert service accompanied each plating, with clear descriptions of both the dishes and the wines, and enough skill to answer any question we could muster. This was a true gastronomic experience, a journey through flavours, textures and combinations that intrigued, challenged and tantalized the tastebuds in turn.
I can honestly say that now I can check one more experience off my bucket list.
Bravo!

Really good French refined food made by the best ingredients, the tasting menu takes too much time so I ordered the dish of fish fletan with risotto and shrimps and it was excellent, my friends had other dishes which amazed them, I would highly recommend this place, it is worth the experience the staff very attentive, the service excellent and the ambience one of the best, would really come back

High end, upscale french restaurant with professional service. It was my birthday dinner and we decided to go for their famous 7-​course discovery menu.
The restaurant is elegantly decorated but not extravagant. Typical french restaurant with beautifully presented bite-​sized food in small in a large plate. Classic martini was well mixed with a balanced taste.
I really like the sea urchin, lobster and the magret de canard (duck breast). The raw foie gras did not impress me. There was a pre-​dessert and a dessert, both of which were pretty delicious.
The whole dinner experience was more than 3.5 hours with each of us only had one cocktail. If I were to go back I would probably go a la carte instead of the tasting menu.

Came in with a really high expectation but went out with diarrhea. all I can remember is they did great job on matching sauce and food.

I went there with very high expectations because of the rating. We tried the tasting menu, but the food didn’t surprise me. In the 7 courses, only 2 or 3 that I was really satisfied.

This place had a great ambience — the open wine cellar was very unique. We started off with the champagne tasting (can’t go wrong there) however, we went towards the a la carte menu, not being very hungry — I felt the dishes were a bit disappointing but that may be because everyone around us was enjoying the tasting menu. I’d definitely go that route next time.

Service hors pair et très sympathique. Le menu dégustation était à couper le soufflé et le «pairing» des vins sensationnelles. Un des meilleures restos où j’ai mangé.

In terms of food presentation and quality, I don’t think it’ll get better than this.
The décor was very nice on the inside, not exactly what I was expecting when I saw the exterior. You might get what I mean when you see it.
Complimentary (and adorable) whole sea urchins and a bisque were offered when waiting for your dishes to arrive — not something I was expecting after sitting down shortly and then a little sea urchin on a plate is in front of you; a range of bread and butter was also offered.
Appetizer: their pan seared fois gras was beautiful and felt like I was eating a painting (definitely an Instagram moment). The portion might be better shared if you want to enjoy the rest of your meal. The berry vinegar reduction was a little sour for me so I tried to avoid touching that part on the canvas. Their scallops was also very fresh, definitely worth a try when it’s in season.
Mains: beef rib eye was extremely tender and juicy-​the shade of red was perfect and had me debating whether I should’ve ordered more (the bok choy was a weird pairing though). The miso purée added a nice touch while the Bordelaise sauce was also really nice, which made the dish unique. The halibut was cooked perfectly; tenderness, texture, and flavor was spot on. The colourful bed of diced veggies added a nice spark to the dish instead of it being bland and boring. However, it wouldn’t be ‘the dish’ at this place. You might want to try the suckling pig loin instead of this one if you want something more special while you’re here.
We purposely didn’t order dessert because our next stop was Cacao 70; enough said if you’ve been there. Even so, 2 truffles were given as a treat at the end of the meal (they give out different things from time to time).
Every dish was very detailed and felt like an art work; definitely worth the visit if you’re in town.

This place was really fancy and the design of the dishes. The plating was superb. it was art more than food. I almost felt bad about eating it. But the wait between each dish or to even start the meal was ridiculous. I guess because it was Valentine’s Day. But a 5 hour meal. We left the restaurant close to 1am. I mean really?
It was a 8 course chef tasting menu. The first 4 dishes were great. But I didn’t like the veal, cow tongue, or the liver. So 4 dishes out 8 I couldn’t eat.
I found it funny that they had waiters and waitresses walking around to refill your bread rolls. I almost felt like they were giving bread to fill us up because the dishes were SO SMALL. I guess that’s what happens when you go to super high end restaurants?
The cocktails were amazing tho. They definitely have mixologists.
The service was great tho.
Total was $ 420 without tip.

Définitivement dans mon top 5 de mes meilleur restaurant. J’ai pris le menu dégustation et j’ai été épatée! L’oursin, la salade de homard ou le pigeonneau tout était extraordinaire! Et quoi dire du service et du sommelier merveilleux et très professionnel. Tout un expérience!

Wow! I called my dish — especially the appetizer, fireworks! It’s an explosion of flavor and no two bites taste the same.
We were thinking of looking for another place because of prices, but took the bullet and decided to stay… And were so happy we did!
The bread was ok, but every other dish after that was a work of art with a beautiful melding of flavors that created music in my mouth.
We were also worried that portions would be small, but after one course and one appetizer each we were stuffed.
Only down side was that the duck was too salty for my taste. Everything else, was perfect.

Haut lieu de la gastronomie Montréalaise, mondialement reconnu, le Toqué reste après toute ces années un incontournable pour les épicuriens. Je n’élaborerais pas trop sur la carte car elle change sans cesse mais insisterais plutôt sur la constance.
De l’accueil, au service, aux judicieux conseils de leur sommelier, et bien sûre de ce qui se retrouve dans l’assiette, le Toqué est un modèle d’excellence, d’exécution.
Pour que je réussise à manger du coeur de bison et en redemander, on amèné la cuisine ici à un autre niveau.

Le meilleur restaurant de Montréal, sinon du Québec et le plus connu aussi. Tous les plats au menu sont à essayer, même ceux qui, vous pensez, né vous plairaient pas en temps normal. L’équilibre des saveurs et des textures dans chacun des plats et l’unité du menu sont renversants! C’est le meilleur restaurant à lequel j’ai mangé dans ma courte existance.

20 ans déjà que Toqué! est en opération et c’est ma première visite? Eh oui, ça m’a pris tout ce temps et la promotion «MTL à Table» pour me décider à y aller.
J’ai d’ailleurs presque regretté d’emblée d’avoir choisi la promotion «MTL à Table»… sitôt arrivé, le personnel nous a demandé si on était ici pour cette promotion et après nous avoir assis dans le coin (par pénitence?) on nous a remis le menu spécial et restreint. Le serveur semblait avoir des préjugé et j’avais l’impression de lire entre les ligne «encore des quidams du 99% qui envahissent notre institution avec la promotion pas cher à $ 39 et qui né prendront même pas de vin».
Sur le menu «MTL à Table» quelque vin au verre en accord avec les plats était proposé. Comme je n’étais pas particulièrement épaté par ces choix, je demande de voir la carte des vins… et j’attends… une petite entrée «surprise» nous est servi… toujours pas de carte des vins… notre entrée arrive… toujours pas de carte de vins. Là je commence à être un peu impatient, j’aurais bien aimé avoir ma bouteille de vin un peu aéré avant l’entrée… mais je n’ai toujours pas eu la carte. Je réussis à attirer l’attention du serveur (qui par ailleurs semblait plus empressé à libérer une autre table pour un autre service) et je réitère ma demande de voir la carte des vins. Il me dit alors qu’il avait compris que nous né voulions pas de vin plutôt que d’avoir compris que je voulais la carte de vin. J’imagine que c’est une présomption logique qui prendrait une «promotion» pour ensuite demander la carte de vins. Enfin, j’ai dû perdre un peu mon accent montréalais avec ces années passés à l’étranger et tout ces voyages. Je n’ai jamais eu de tels problèmes à me faire comprendre… ni à Paris, ni à Londres, ni à New York, ni à Atlanta, ni à Los Angeles, ni à Madrid, ni à Amsterdam, ni à New Delhi, ni à Pékin, ni à Tokyo, ni à Bangkok… et j’en passé… mais oui, à Montréal on confond ma demande pour la carte de vins!
Enfin, avec finalement la carte des vins, je fais un choix rapide pour un vin espagnol (j’ai un faible pour les vins espagnols actuellement) le «Vinos de Madrid, Navaherreros, Bernabeleva» à $ 80 (j’imagine un choix de quidam) que j’ai trouvé un peu léger en première bouche, mais qui a remarquablement gagné en complexité avec un peu d’aération. Il s’est avéré un excellent choix pour accompagner le plat principal de canard. Ce n’est certes pas l’aide du serveur qui a guidé mon choix… il recommandait plutôt le même vin du pays d’oc qui avait été proposé au verre dans le menu «MTL à table» et que j’avais rejeté.
J’arrête un instant pour parler d’ambiance. En général, j’ai trouvé l’ambiance agréable. Moderne et un peu froid mais avec goût. Pas original en soit, c’est le genre de restaurant moderne qui apparaisse un peu partout dans le monde depuis le début du siècle. D’ailleurs le décor et le cellier vitré sur deux étages me rappelaient un resto de Madrid ou j’ai bien mangé plus tôt cette année. Bön, on aime ou pas. Pour nous ça allait compte tenu que c’est un resto au centre-​ville sans vue remarquable.
C’est un restaurant de chef et vous êtes incité à goûter à l’oeuvre du chef sans compromis aucun. Pour vous le rappeler subtilement, point de sel et de poivre sur la table. Ce n’était pas vraiment un problème puisque les plats étaient effectivement bien réussis.
La présentation des plats est impeccable. La vaisselle et les ustensiles sont de bonne qualité, rien à reprocher sur ce plan non plus (j’avais un peu peur qu’on nous donne les ustensiles en plastique pour souligner notre status de quidams).
Je dois quand même souligner que mon entrée de caille m’a aidé à patienter un peu pendant que mon vin respirait un peu… en effet il y a peu de viande dans une demi caille et dans un resto aussi chic on hésite à utiliser nos doigts… de fait j’ai dû facilement m’amuser 20 minutes à tenter d’extraire les petits bouts de viandes. D’ailleurs je recommande cela comme plat principal à ceux qui veulent perdre du poids.
Le plat principal, une combinaison de confit et de magret de canard était succulente et tout à fait réussie.
La qualité des plats, l’ambiance et la compagnie de ma charmante épouse m’ont fait passé une très belle soirée mais je né classerais pas «Toqué!» parmi les grandes soirées de restaurant de ma vie. En fin de compte, les prix sont un peu poussés pour le résultat global. Je vais me consoler en me disant que j’ai goûté des produits locaux de qualité dans un resto local de qualité et que la cuisine était irréprochable.

Nous avons eu la chance d’avoir une réservation dernière minute– une table s’étant libérée à la dernière minute dans le cadre de MTL à table.
Il est 20h30 et il fait littéralement un froid de canard à l’extérieur. Nous nous engouffrons vite dans l’entrée. L’accueil est gentil, mais un peu coincé.
— Vous venez pour MTL à table?
–Euh… Oui, c’est ça!
Pas trop sûre de ce que cette question veut dire exactement…
Un serveur nous accompagne à notre table. Nous passons près du superbe cellier. La déco est moderne et le restaurant est é-​nor-​me! Nous nous retrouvons dans le coin. Au moins, c’est intime!
Le serveur nous apporte le menu, que nous avions vu sur le site Internet, donc pas de surprise. Nous commandons. Pas d’apéritif pour nous, mais de l’eau minérale maison. Mon chéri demande la carte des vins, malheureusement, le serveur a compris que nous né voulions pas de vin et il enlève les coupes. Problème de communication. Chéri n’est pas très content. Ça commence bien mal!
Surprise: on nous apporte un amuse-​bouche. Pommes avec huile d’argan, sucre et sel. Le mélange est surprenant et bon. C’est la première fois que je goûte à de l’huile d’argan!
Les entrées arrivent rapidement: moi, omble confit brûlé, choux braisés. Chéri, caille. La présentation est superbe et tout est délicieux. Le mélange des textures et des goûts est parfait, savamment étudié. Chéri est déçu de né pas avoir eu le vin en même temps que les entrées.
Enfin, le serveur nous apporte la carte des vins et nous commandons un vin rouge espagnol. Il est très doux en bouche et très bon avec notre plat principal: magret de canard et confit, pommes de terre mousseline et betterave. Encore une fois, la présentation est merveilleuse et tout est parfait. Le magret est cuit à point, le confit est croustillant, la betterave est tendre et sucrée et la purée est liquide et servie… dans un bol! Étonnant contraste de textures et de saveurs. Une petite sauce fruitée que je soupçonne être aux bleuets accompagne bien la viande.
En finale, le dessert: moi, mousse de courge et glacé à la courge. Chéri, tarte aux pommes, glacé au sucre à la crème. Mon dessert est peu sucré et goûte vraiment la courge. Des graines de citrouille ajoute un petit côté croquant. J’aime bien. La tarte aux pommes est définitivement plus sucrée et bien bonne. Pour clôturer ce superbe repas, un espresso déca pour mon chéri et moi, une tisane à la verveine.
Je donne quatre étoiles parce que le service était gentil, mais pas extraordinaire. Était-​ce le fait que nous participions à MTL à table et que nous avions un menu à 39 $ par personne? Par contre, les plats étaient splendides et originaux. Tout est frais et on voit que le chef travaille avec les produits de saison ET québécois.
L’ambiance est chic, mais pas guindée, style complet-​cravate. Mais, il faut dire qu’on est mercredi soir. Peut-​être que la clientèle est plus chic un samedi soir? Je né sais pas… Une chose est certaine, il n’y avait pas de jeans troués!