1640 Bistro

Our group of 7 came here for a late lunch on New Years Day because everywhere else was closed. Again, I’ve hit some bad luck at this place because of my food allergies. Since it was cold that morning, everyone ordered soup. Onion Soup. I asked the server if it had cream or dairy in it. She said no, just onion. Ok, so we all guessed it was the clear brothy soup. Nope. It came out and it sure enough had cream in it. I attempted to order the Mussels, nope… had butter in the sauce. 2^nd attempt were the Ribs… nope, had butter in the sauce too. Neither could be modified, so I was stuck with a Duck Salad. Don’t get me wrong, it was very big in portion and tasted good, but I was hoping for something more… filling. I think I got more full from the 2 Bloody Mary’s I downed before our food came out… which was a pretty long time.

1640… AVOID!!! This place seemed like a sure thing, walking distance from our hotel, good atmosphere, even the menu looked promising, BUT the food is AWFUL. The Caesar salad is a joke. It was clear the salads were pre made because they were ice cold. The dressing was gelatinous, and the salad was served as stalks of lettuce not even chopped. I wouldn’t normally mind this but the plate it was served on was poorly chosen. Yes slate plates are «stylish» but when you have to cut your lettuce with a knife on them, it results in having to taste the slate it was severed on, it’s very unpleasant to have to taste rock in my salad. Now on the the main course, I ordered beef bourguignon and my girlfriend ordered some pasta interpretation of a pasta carbonara. The beef bourguignon was simple a beef fillet with a minuscule amount of sauce. The plate was garnished with strange vegetables. Like who puts a habanero pepper on beef bourguignon?!? The pasta was bad. The Ham and bacon were gritty and the cream sauce was not good. The spinach was too big (still on stalk) and didn’t go well with the meal. The only thing that didn’t suck was the bread BUT the butter came out garnished with a cilantro leaf and poppy seeds??? It was just plain butter. Maybe garlic would have helped it. Anyway, until they get a better chef, steer clear!

Went to this restaurant as it was in our hotel. We received a «special» guest deal at 1640 that was $ 115 and included a 5 course meal with a bottle of wine.
The environment is classic but not worn. The tables are a generous size and the lighting is perfect. The night we went (Friday Night), there was live Jazz playing.
The staff was very attentive but not to the point of interfering discussions with your party. Once we sat down, they brought over warm rolls and very good butter that almost tasted like garlic butter or cream cheese. Very good.
Then, our appetizer was roasted shrimp on a cracker. I am not a sea food fan and this was my first shrimp. Did not have much taste, I found, but my partner said it was really good since he had something to compare it to.
This was followed by an amazing goat cheese salad (see picture). The presentation was perfect and was served on what appeared to be a cutting board with lots of garnish. The goat cheese was deep fried and battered on the outside. Absolutely amazing.
Our next course was parsnip and leek soup. Very thick and tons of flavor.
Then my main course was an 8oz fillet minion. Presentation was once again a work of art. The steak was cooked perfectly (med-​rare for my tastes) and was positioned on top of deep fried and sautéed onions and fried vegetables and was topped with a great sauce. Not too sure what it was but was sweet but not too over the top.
The finale was a beautiful pecan cheese cake. Was delicious.
During the meal, I had the best Caesar I have had in a very long time.
Our overall experience was very good and we would recommend this restaurant if you want a full experience without breaking the bank.
We also had breakfast here as well both mornings and it was just as impressive.

Presentation is lovely, ideas seem pretty awesome, but for some reason execution isn’t there. Their turbot apparently didn’t have much flavour (although I think the sauce was supposed to be the flavour), their poutine was a pretty awesome concept, but I think the fries weren’t crispy enough nor the gravy hot enough to melt the cheese curds (which thankfully were fresssshh! Squeaky fresh!). It’s pretty expensive so I was definitely expecting more. oh well.

Very satisfied. Quick, efficient service, great food, great spot to people watch and just soak in the ambience of Quebec.
I had the fish (turbot) which was perfectly cooked and had an excellent wild rice pilaf and seasonal vegetables accompanying. The Panda had a Ceasar salad and the onion soup, and could not finish! Very appealing presentation as well.
Yes, it’s touristy. Adjacent to the Place d’Armes and the Frontenac, would you really expect it to escape that?
For comparison, we also visited Le Hobbit (excellent) and Saint-​Amour (excellent, but a poor value) on our trip. I am not reviewing those, as they have many reviews already. This wasn’t the most fabulous meal we had in Quebec, but it is the most fondly remembered.

On our first day in Quebec City we ran across Bistro 1640 and looked forward to a delicious lunch. That however was not the case at 1640. The French onion soup was served lukewarm and had to be sent back to reward. The onion soup was tasteless with very few onions and mostly bread. The cheese looked like a glob that had been burned. I ordered a hamburger and French Fries which were also tasteless. The hamburger was so over cooked that it was not edible.
After asking to speak to the manager who defended the food and service we asked for our check and then waited 10 minutes only to be told there will be no charge.
I would not recommend this restaurant.

Great service (I sat at the Bar) and excellent food. The wine list was good and the menu excellent. The service and décor were great. Friendly, upscale and free wifi. Located downtown in the Old City.

I had the chicken salad with ginger and cilantro and it was an amazing salad full of flavour with perfectly cooked zesty chicken. Other members of my family got a chicken and a goose main and found it to be good but nothing extraordinary. Also I don’t expect much from the service, apart from the usual… but the waiter didn’t refill water often enough hence the service seemed to be lacking compared to other restaurants in town.

3 & ½ stars would be more accurate but since this is vacation I will be generous.
Seated outside immediately. Water refilled constantly and bread brought and then re offered. Drinks came timely as did apps: Caesar salad-​tasty with anchovies and fried calamari-​soft with flavorful dipping sauce. I had the app portion of salmon tartare for main course– was delicious with cucumber and guacamole on the side. Hubby had pork chop-​unfortunately a tad dry but flavor was great and potatoes, red cabbage and carrots on the side were wonderful!
Dessert not our thing so can’t comment but food presentation and service were great. Even though a tourist spot it was worth it.

Just had lunch here with my family. 1640 is beside the visitor center and nestled in amongst other cafes and bistros. We selected this specific restaurant because on the high volume of people enjoying their meals. 1640 looks modern in décor and is spacious compared to many of the other restaurants we’ve dined at. We sat inside to escape the sun, since most of us got burnt on our bike tour yesterday. My sister and I began with a French onion soup, which she enjoyed (I preferred the French onion soup from the restaurant Sapin (Rabbit when translated to English)). My other sister and my parents ordered the pâté. Don’t expect a generous slice of pâté. However, they complimented the pâté with some carrot shavings, a few pickled «tomatoes», and a miniature «pickle». I ordered the Caesar salad and was pleased with the representation. I do not like anchovies, nor do I eat bacon so I had to pick these off. In America, these are not common additions to Caesar salad so just note that. The waitress was on top of refilling out water glasses and was fast with the check since we had to leave for the airport. Enjoy xo

Food was so ok but service was great. Nice view right in the middle of old Quebec! Seating was quick and efficient. Staff excellent.

The service was so-​so (I got a fried cheese ball rolled into my lap) and spotty to say the least. The highlights: the special was a 3 course meal w/​coffee or tea at a fantastic price. The salad was a work of art… fried goat cheese atop a poached pear served with micro-greens…delish! The main course left ALOT to be desired… it was basically shrimp fettucine alfredo… and it was loaded with grit (my dining companion actually could hear me crunch down on grains of what seemed like beach sand). We ate the 2 grilled shrimp on top, but when we took bites of the sauce/​noodles we both got grit, so we sent it back and they took the cost of the pasta out of the price. The dessert was crème brûlée and it was wonderful. All in all, I may give this place another chance if only to have that amazing salad again.

Sympathique pause déjeuner au soleil a la terrasse du 1640. La vue sur le château Frontenac est indéniablement le point positif de ce petit resto. Avant midi on peut y peut déjeuner ou bruncher. A partir de midi la carte consiste en un menu entrée plat dont le prix varie avec le plat. Pour 1 $ de plus on peut aussi rajouter un petit dessert. Nous avons donc opté pour la soupe du jour en entrée et nous nous sommes ensuite partagé une salade de saumon fumé et une assiette sandwich — soupe a l’oignon. Les portions étaient copieuses, dommage qu’il né soit pas possible de choisir a la carte hors de la formule car nous avons du du mal a finir nos assiettes.
Par contre le service était efficace et l’équipe très aimable et attentionnée, et les prix raisonnables (14 $ par personne). Et a partir de 13h l’etablissement se remplit très vite surtout aux beaux jours (il y avait même une queue a l’extérieur au moment pu nous sommes parties) donc pensez a arriver a l’heure !

On our first day in the city and the first day of summer weather we jumped at the chance to sit on their large patio.
What we did not enjoy is the slightly «exclusive» service everyone else but us got. We got our appetizers much later than everyone else with much smaller portions of the pâté compared to other tables. Our waiter touched in with us all of 3 times during the meal. Our mains were bland and when we were done we were mostly brushed off when we tried to get our waiters attention.
I will not be going back for the service or the food. Such a prime location and spot ruined by the Basic service and Boring food.

Restaurant sympathique à l’ambiance feutrée (ça manqué un peu d’éclairage quand même). La carte est plus resto que bistro, mais simple, raffiné et de grande qualité. Bön, l’espèce de risotto sous le duo de pétoncles et gambas était un peu étrange et trop sucré, mais dans l’ensemble c’est excellent.
Juste en face du Château Frontenac, mais dans les mêmes prix que Sam Bistro. $$$

The atmosphere was nice here. I had their strawberry crêpe, which was good, but quite sweet. My boyfriend had the Eggs Benedict with the raw salmon, which he said was very good. I would recommend this place for a good breakfast.

The food was excellent, however the service was notably… «Exclusive». Two groups of people were served their meals before me and my husband, there was no effort to clear our plates when we finished, and we sat in the corner mostly ignored.
We were asked only once if the food was good, our water wasn’t topped off and repeated attempts at getting the servers attention went ignored.
There was a certain «je né c’est qoui» about this place à la the era of Rene Levesque.
Unfortunately, the food was amazing, but because of the poor service we won’t be going back.

Disappointing. Last February, 1640 had the best pizza north of NYC. The pizza in February had spicy Hungarian sausage topping on a perfect crust with great sauce and excellent cheese. When I returned last week, the «pizza» was completely different in a terribly disappointing way. It is now a side item served with a mediocre (at best) «Cesar salad.» The Cesar salad was two quarters of a head of lettuce slathered with mediocre Cesar salad dressing, and the «pizza» was a tiny side item that was no better than a frozen, microwaved pizza.
When you have a perfect pizza (or any perfect menu item) why would you ever consider changing it? Especially in a radical manner that has no connection with its predecessor?
Why do restaurants do this? When you perfect a menu item, you should keep it.
I was looking forward to another perfect Hungarian sausage pizza all year, and due to the extreme disappointment I will not be returning to 1640.
It is a shame — such a great location. But in Quebec City there are SO MANY great restaurants that I see no need to patronize places that pull stunts like this. From now on, for pizza I will choose Il Matto!

A nice place to come in from the rain and warm up. The food was good but not the best, I had the shredded chicken served on top of slices of baquette with potatos au gratin. The best was the vegetable soup that came with the meal. Service was adequate, not too friendly not too rude… Bathrooms didn’t have soap nor paper towels to dry off with so I had to rinse my hands and shake the excess water off. It wasn’t a terrible experience but if I knew a better restaurant to go to I would have

I came here with a very large group, so we had to order off a limited fixed menu. I understand these are typically less exciting than their normal offerings and having to accommodate that many people is a huge pain, but there are issues that stood out way too much.
My citrus duck was cloyingly sweet. The confit leg was dry and the skin was not crispy. The hericot vert was easily the best part. Several people at my table also complained their dishes were too sweet. I tried some lobster that was under seasoned and way overcooked. Nice presentation, but overall a completely unsatisfying meal. Actually it was probably the worst sit-​down meal I had all year.

Nice atmosphere, friendly waiter and awesome breakfast. Had egg Benedict with a good cup of coffee and fresh orange juice. Just. perfect.

Well– on New Year’s Eve, without planning ahead, we arrived here. Atmosphere was nice, music was stuffy at first but by the time we were eating it was a compilation of fun oldies.
Our waiter was an older gentleman who was good. I started my meal with a warm goat cheese salad with roasted pear and candies pecans and a curry sauce. The salad was alright… too sweet for me. My boyfriend ordered muscles which he remarked were over cooked and were very small in siZe.
For my main, I had spaghetti & meatballs for $ 17– which to my amazement was not delicious at all. The meat was flavourless and the sauce of the pasta didn’t contain any garlic or similar Italian flavours.
My boyfriend ordered salmon, which was good.
All in all– it wasn’t great. Their pairing in flavours needs some work.

Connaissant mon amour inconditionnel des déjeuners gourmands et réconfortants, plusieurs personnes m’avaient recommandé de venir en prendre un de qualité au Bistro 1640, ce bel édifice écarlate ressemblant à une vieille maison canadienne.
Enfin décidé, mon choix s’était arrêté sur le «Québécois »; un genre de déjeuner de camionneur gastronomique. C’était aussi riche que délectable. J’ai dû siroter très lentement mon café sur la terrasse ensoleillée, question de digérer les oeufs, le bacon, les saucisses, le jambon et les cretons… Excès de protéines. J’ai seulement grignoté en soirée.
L’endroit est chic, le service courtois, mais sans zèle.
On s’en tire pour environ 12 – 15 $ (pour les déjeuners)
Même prix que chez Cora déjeuners et 10 fois meilleur.