Chez Boulay Bistro Boréal

3 et demi. 4 étoiles parce que c’est une institution!
Entrée: tartare de bison.
Excellent! Léger, subtile, viandeux!
Pétoncles: ok. L’agencement des goûts est bien.
Veau: la sauce est très goûteuse. Meilleur que les pétoncles.
Services impeccable

Exceptional service and ambiance. This casual yet elevated french bistro is a great spot to go for a bite if Quebec City.
I found the staff were very professional and knowledgeable about the food and wine list (something hard to come by in Toronto where I’m from). The food was excellent as well.
I had the seared frois gras to start let me say that I’ve never understood the hype with fatty duck liver until I tried it at Boulay. It was paired well with a apple based purée and touches of other little compliments that brought out all the depths of the liver. Must try. $ 18
Second I had the goose and duck confit which was a tad more modern than what I had expected. Shredded duck and goose sat above caramalized parsnip and onions. Topped with scalloped potatoes. Though it looked modern the flavors were very reminiscent of the traditional dish.
Overall highly recommend for a guaranteed great night of food!

My drink was the best part of the meal. Granted it was Valentine’s Day and we were one of the only non-​couple tables of four — with our (well-​behaved) kids. So maybe they didn’t want to serve us, as the waiter ignored us. Having eaten at Saint Amour twice and loved it, this just missed the mark. The food was overly complicated — the gnocchi in particular. The steak was chewy with limited flavor. They didn’t replace our cutlery — yet who wants to eat a warm meat dish with a knife still covered in cheese. It was over-​priced and disappointing all around.

Décevant. Un dîner à quatre pour un anniversaire.
Le plat de chacun plus qu’ordinaire.
Le service, pas très bien.
Je n’y retournerai sûrement pas.

Nous avons mangé à ce restaurant à plusieurs reprises ces derniers années. Jamais déçu.
Le personnel est courtois, la nourriture très bonne et l’assiette de fromage pour terminer le repas avec un bon café est agréable à regarder et à manger. Le fromage est varié.
Incontournable sur la rue St-​Jean.
Pas de valet parking. Mais beaucoup de stationnement payant dans les rues avoisinantes.
Fait partie de mon palmarès des 10 meilleurs restaurants de Québec.

This is my 500^th Unilocal review, so I wanted it to be memorable — and «memorable» doesn’t even begin to describe our incredible experience at Bistro Boréal. When we decided to travel to Québec with a friend for the New Year, his first decision was to make a dinner reservation here, so it was a pleasant surprise to later discover we had booked a hotel in the same building! Not to mention the luxury of going to dinner wearing only our dining clothes — no boots, hats, gloves or other bulky layers.
The only tiny hiccup came when we arrived: there was quite a crowd bunched up in the entryway and no real place to wait. We entered from the back (the hotel entrance) and felt awkward about standing in front of the line, so we stood on the other side of the hostess station, near the bar. Still, we worried that we had inadvertently cut in front of others, and we all waited longer than we should have considering we had made reservations. They need better logistics for that system.
Once we were seated, however, we were under the care of Anna, who is probably the best server I have ever had anywhere. There were three of us at a four-​top, so when she arrived at the table she simply sat down in the other seat to tell us all about the menu for the evening. She remained completely professional, but the act of sitting at our level, and her engaging personality — lots of eye contact even during an extremely complicated list of ingredients for the night’s specials — caught us completely off guard. I think we all had a little bit of a crush on her by the end of the evening, actually! She was that good at her job, taking instant command of the situation but with the utmost care and respect for us and our experience.
Their cuisine is «Nordic,» and I have to admit that when I heard that, I groaned inwardly as I was expecting pickled herring and vodka. In fact, the word Boréal describes it much better: traditional foods from the wilds of Northern Canada, prepared using the finest-​quality ingredients and modern techniques. There wasn’t any deconstructivist nonsense like foam or sous-​vide, nor any elements that bordered on inedible or bizarre — just flavors and textures from a part of nature we hadn’t been exposed to much, so every course was something of an adventure.
To begin, my husband and our friend both ordered the carpaccio of arctic char, marinated in elderberries and garnished with cattail hearts. I tried and enjoyed it, but they both adored it – our friend counted it as one of the best dishes he had ever eaten, and he is an excellent cook in his own right. I chose the more traditional goat cheese salad with endive, beets, black currants and locally-​sourced balsamic vinegar from the nearby Île d’Orléans. Again, a classic salad, elevated with superior-​quality components and one or two surprises. It was sublime.
Our main courses, though, eclipsed even the first ones. My parmentier of duck and goose confit was superb: meltingly tender chunks of meat atop roasted potatoes and buttered cabbage, with one refreshingly unexpected change: a pesto of Labrador tea, which (as I found out later) is a species of rhododendron that’s used in an infusion in northeastern Canada. It added a light, herbal freshness to an incredibly rich dish, one I’m still ashamed I couldn’t finish completely. (I blame the delicious tower of homemade bread and salted butter they delivered to us first thing. Or maybe multiple glasses of toasty Chardonnay.) My husband and our friend again ordered the same thing, bay scallops with white beans, leeks and a dusting of cranberry powder. I don’t care for scallops, so I only tried a bite of the ragout, which was delicious. They raved about the dish and wished they could order a second round!
After this I can hardly believe we continued to dessert, but I think we just didn’t want to leave. The boys stuck together a third time and had a wonderful crème brûlée with clover blossoms and black currants, but I thought my sea buckthorn tart (again, had to do some research, but it’s an orange berry rich in nutritional oils) with meringue and pine-​infused cream was really incredible.
And then — a long, long walk through the snow to digest all that amazing food, to see the fireworks and to welcome in 2016, which was already off to a beautiful start. Nearly a month later, I am still shaking my head in disbelief at the memory of that meal, and I cannot encourage you enough to go try it for yourself!

4 Stars — Food
2 Stars — Service
We had reservations here for a party of 10 for dinner on NYE. Upon arrival, they had us check in our jackets and outer wear, which was nice and free of charge. Majority of our party got sat right away while we were still waiting on 2 late comers. Our server was pretty cool about waiting until they arrived before taking our order, but I felt like it was partially because he was busy with other tables so he didn’t care if he gave us more time.
Now, when I said he was pretty cool, I guess that was just in the beginning. Once we were ready to order, he came over and had a very impatient demeanor when taking our order and it felt like we were being rushed. I have food allergies and when we made reservations, we had mentioned to them if they would be able to modify dishes, which is why we chose this place to begin with. I told our server my allergies and asked if the Bison Cheek was safe. He at first said yes. Then when I inquired about the Fowl dish, he said no it had butter in the sauce. So then I said ok, I will go with the Bison Cheek. He then said no, it also had butter. Uhm… I thought you said it was safe? I then asked if they could do it without butter and he said No. I then asked what he recommended that wouldn’t kill me. He then goes and recommends the Bison Cheek! I was thinking WTF? So does it have butter or not? I told him, «I thought you said it had butter…» And he said Yes, it does. I then go and tell him, «Then I guess I can’t order it…» And he just said, «Oh yes.» Ugh Whatever! By then I was fed up by this guy. I just went and ordered the Angus Steak (totally original, right?).
Again, I was wrong. It turned out my boring Angus Steak was the best meal out of everyone’s. While most of the table ordered the Bison Cheek, they all said it was dry and flavorless. My friend didn’t even eat all of his!
Prior to our meal, I had also ordered their Foie Gras, thinking it was the standard Seared piece. Instead, it came out like a pâté, and no bread of anything served with it. I guess they wanted us to just use the bread that was served with butter in the beginning? Regardless, you NEED bread or something to eat with this. WAY too rich and fatty. I do not recommend ordering this!
Overall, we had to flag down our server multiple times and when he asked what we needed, he rolled his eyes and said «Anything else??» as if it was our fault he forgot to even bring it in the first place. I guess on a good note, the drinks are decent here. Cocktails, at least.

Local sustainable nordic concept innovatively executed with the finest fresh ingredients.
Excellent service as well.

Everything here was fantastic — the food, the service, the drinks, the dessert, and the recommendations. We sat at the bar since they were full even on weekday, so try to make reservations in advance. We got the vegetarian Gnocchi and we would definitely recommend it!
If you’re looking for a good wine, try the Le Vilain P’tit Rouge Malbec /​Cabernet Franc. Affordable and delicious!

Superb! Excellent food! We have eaten here three times… excellent wines… call ahead several days in advance for dinner. Always booked!

One of the best brunches I have ever had, the braised beef shoulder was really tender. Friendly service, not sure what else to say.
We spent about $ 55 for both of us for brunches so it’s definitely not a cheap place but great for couples.

Amazing meal– best in Quebec City, and all restaurants we were so good, but this was a stand out. Food was delicious. Hangar steak was tender and perfectly cooked. Charred on outside, pink inside. Root vegetables in a wonderful sauce and great, well done frites. Scallops were perfectly cooked. Veal was excellent. Deserts were great. Service is top notch, professional, but not stuffy. Great atmosphere. Classy, yet not pretentious.

Delightful! Stopped in for lunch. Enjoyed the mushroom soup and surf and turf. Soup was amazing, with some lovely lentils. Seafood was just spectacular. Really enjoyed the presentation and am now very happily full. Wait staff was wonderful and the atmosphere was both trendy and comfortable. Highly recommend!

We stopped here for brunch during a long road trip. It was the best meal of the entire journey.
Everything was just so delicious. Meat was cooked perfectly. Bread was fresh. Flavors excellent. They started the meal with a complimentary little cup of something so delicious and sweet. We ended up ordering many of the dishes on the menu, but were too full to try the poutine which others have raved about. Next time!
So I maybe got fat after eating here, but this is an example of one of the few places that is actually WORTH IT, in terms of breaking your diet.
Waitstaff was very friendly. Décor was tasteful. Food amazing. It was a wonderful experience.

My husband had the bison cheeks and I had the chicken. He said the Bison cheeks were tender and lean. We sat at the bar and had dinner two nights in a row! Highly recommend this place. Easy walking distance from the Marriott.

Great food for a bistro. We started with lunch here and it was so delicious that we returned for dinner. The brunch menu looked a bit limited but good if you like something specific on it.
The lunch and dinner menu have a nice selection of meat and seafood. Seafood can be a bit tricky to find in these parts, so it was a good find.
As a french bistro, the ambiance is casual but festive but not boisterous like NYC Pastis.

Ce restaurant vaut les 5 étoiles, autant dans le service, la qualité, la nourriture, l’ambiance. C’est un MUST à Québec ! Les conseils sur le vin sont justes et précis, on vous fait des bonnes recommandations. Les assiettes sont montées avec élégance et raffinement. J’étais impressionné de mon jarret d’agneau, servi dans une assiette de fonte. Quand vous prenez la peine de souligner la qualité du service, c’est qu’il est vraiment au-​dessus des attentes… je l’ai fait à deux reprises quand je suis allé chez Boulay ! Je vous recommande sans hésitation !

Holy hell. I’ve died and gone to poutine heaven. I was hesitant because of the location in the touristy area of Quebec City, but went off a recommendation from one of my New York foodie friends. Boy, was he right!
We started with some cidre rosé, apparently a Canadian specialty I had yet to experience. It was a mix between cider, rosé and prosecco… sign me up pour deux s’il vous plaît!
I decided on the steak with fried egg and béarnaise with a side of poutine. O-​M-​G, the poutine! I had a lot while in Canada and this was the best by a landslide. The meal was just delightful. Also, the atmosphere couldn’t be better. A nice spacious restaurant with wonderful, friendly service. I am going back next time I am in Quebec!

This was hands down the BEST brunch spot we could have stumbled across during my day in old Quebec, and we were even more lucky that it was located right under our hotel! Everything on the brunch menu looked delicious, and we ordered three items to share.
Le petit bonheur — SO good and probably my favorite of the things we ordered. Smoked meat is apparently a uniquely Quebec thing, and this was paired with waffles! Doesn’t get much better than that.
Le bucheron — huge chunk of beef, with a sunny side up egg. Also came with a side of poutine, which I thought was just okay. It’s one of their more popular items though so if you are a meat lover then you’ll probably enjoy this dish.
Le pecheur — the smoked halibut was done so well, and the cheese really complimented the flavors. I would get this if you’re looking for something lighter.
Everything also came with a huge salad and also your choice of two coffees or two teas or a latte! Honestly I don’t know if I’ve just been getting gouged by NYC prices, but I thought it was amazing value since all the dishes were sub $ 20 CAD too.
Anyway, definitely definitely pay this place a visit for brunch. They’ve also got wifi which is nice for those traveling.

La réputation de ce restaurant n’est pas surfait. Le service y est courtois et efficace. La terasse était bondée ce soir là, mais l’hôtesse nous a fait patienter 15 min, puis nous avons eu notre table assez rapidement. Une belle place face à la rue Saint-​Jean qui etait piétonnière à l’occasion du festival d’été. Pour commencer cette expérience je me suis rafraîchit d’un cocktail mousseux et crème de framboise. L’entrée de tartare de saumon du draveur a suivis, exquise. Pour le plat principal j’ai continué avec le saumon en feuilleté d’épinard, wow tout était parfait. Si vous hésitez et que vous vous dites que c’est un peu cher, cessez immédiatement et courez chez Boulay pour un repas sans fautes.

One of the best brunches I’ve ever had (if not the best downright). The service, décor, location are all impeccable. The food is surprisingly affordable for its quality and I’m not complaining but I’m just so thrilled to have discovered this gem of a restaurant.
The brunch menu (served till 3 pm) is a simple menu but each dish sounds better than the next. I finally decided on the stuffed chicken and hubby got the cod. We both had the soup du jour as well-​cream of broccoli soup. Everything was delicious. The chicken was cooked to perfection; it was moist and the filling was yummy. The jus and mashed potatoes as well as the green beans that accompanied it were all great too. We also had the crême brulèe for dessert which was also pretty good.

Our first choice of restaurant was fully booked and we wandered Old QC until we came across this restaurant. The place looks very bright and is very spacious inside. We walked in to see if there was any space. They were able to find a table in the back room for us and honestly it was a great space there as well.
It was a private dining area with a fireplace.
We ordered a charcuterie platter and the flank steak.
The platter was excellent! They had a great selection of meats and some of the homemade condiments were amazing.
As for the steak, it was a solid steak. They really don’t mess up their steaks at nicer places in QC.
Our server was amazing and answered many of the questions we had. Our water was always full and we were always checked up on.

This was quite possibly one of the best brunch meals I’ve ever had. I avoided going here for three days because it was attached to my hotel, and who wants to eat at a hotel restaurant when on vacation? Luckily I checked Unilocal and saw that they have a killer brunch. That turned out to be an understatement…
The restaurant has a modern edge to it. With its open set up and window views of the street, it gives off a feeling of newness that leads you to think you’re in for an innovative meal. And you certainly are…
I ordered the cut of beef, which came topped with a sunny side up egg and bearnaise sauce, a side of salad and a side of poutine. To say that this meal was delicious really doesn’t do it justice. The beef was cooked and glazed perfectly. Tender and delicious. The egg of top gave the beef an intense taste that really pushed it over the top.
The real home run though was the poutine. Prepared in gourmet fashion, it came in sliced potato form in a side bowl. It tastes nothing like any poutine I’ve ever eaten before and since. I literally scrapped the plate clean.
This entire meal was excellent and I highly recommend this place for brunch while in Quebec City. It should be at the top of your list!

Lundi soir brumeux, la rue St Jean est presque déserte ce qui fait tout un contraste avec les nombreuses personnes qui sont attablées chez Boulay lorsque nous entrons à l’intérieur.
On débute avec l’entrée de l’omble chevalier qui est tout simplement parfaite. L’assaisonnement est présent mais laisse quand même place à la douceur du poisson.
Légère déception au niveau du médaillon de fesse de cerf. La qualité de la viande est sans reproche de même que la purée qui l’accompagne, mais l’assemblage manqué un petit je né sais quoi au final. Un bon plat de cafétéria de luxe… De plus, les carottes sont tellement cuites que Jean Luc en aurait sûrement parlé pendant plusieurs minutes a l’émission les chefs en disant que c’est un manqué de respect pour le produit .
Pour ce qui est de l’assiette de saumon, c’est un grand chelem… La tombée de poireaux est magnifique, le saumon est parfait, la salade et la crêpe qui l’accompagnent le sont tout autant. Un gros Wow en bouche et ce à chaque bouchée.
Service sans faille, et surtout sans prétention comme on l’aime. Belle carte des vin, beau choix au verre de meme que quelques sélections de scotch et wisky. Nous n’avions malheureusement plus de place pour le dessert, mais nous y retournerons assurément.

So we decided to make a last minute trip to Quebec city, and on the first night the hotel staff recommended Chez Boulay. I called for reservations and thankfully they had a spot for 2 even on short notice.
The atmosphere was pleasant, with a clean modern décor. I had the beet salad with goat cheese to start with and their version of steak frites as my main dish. The steak was perfectly cooked and very flavorful. My friend had the bison cheeks, which was incredible. The meat was some of the most tender I’ve ever seen. The desert was chocolate surprise, and was very good. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced, which makes them very fresh and tasty.
After having lunch the next day, we passed by and checked out their brunch menu, which looked amazing. Needless to say, I’ll be doing brunch there next time I’m in town.
Service was great too and our server was very helpful. Highly recommended!

Service vraiment bien, nous sommes arrivé avec notre petit fille de 23 mois, et tout ce qui vient avec cet à dire la Cadillac des poussettes et tout les serveurs nous dirigeaient vers notre table, un autre me montre un endroit où ranger le carrosse… Bref je né m’attendais pas à ça. Surtout qu’à chaque fois que venons à qc, je suis souvent déçu de l’attitude des commerçants face au tourisme. Pourtant ils devraient en être fier… Bref tout ça pour dire que le service est number 1.
J’avais vu ce resto à l’émission guide resto voir ce qui m’avait vraiment mis l’eau à la bouche.
Mon chum a choisit la bavette … La meilleure qu’il ait mangé jusqu’à ce jour. J’ai choisit l’entrée de tartare de saumon. Simple et pas très assaisonné. Mais poisson de qualité A1, frais frais frais! Comme plat j’ai choisis le dorée et et j’ai déçu. J’aurais dû écouter mon cœur et essayer les ris de veau mais je voulais que ma fille puisse manger alors mon côté ´maman’ l’a remporté!!! Mais il est certain que la prochaine fois j’y retourne en couple :)
Je donne un 4 étoiles car notre expérience a été presque parfaite

Je né mets pas souvent 5 étoiles, mais tout était parfait. Le service, la qualité de la nourriture, la carte des vins et le prix.
C’est du haut de gamme pas peteux avec un chef hors-​père.

Summer Vacation in beautiful Quebec. I made reservations for my family of five to enjoy one last dinner at Chez Boulay and they did a great job accommodating our needs.
It should be noted, Quebec was suffering a heat wave. Being from Texas, we found their 85 degree heat wave amusing. Still, after a day in the heat, we were all worn out. The family was exhausted and patience was non existent. I’ll note that our waiter did a great job remaining cheerful and maintaing a hospitable demeanor while facing our table of sour faces.
The room is gorgeous. The staff professional and polite. The food was fun and delicious. (that’s the short version)
Edible highlights include the duck and goose confit, also the fish plate. The waiter also helped us select a Canadian white wine that was also very affordable.
Chez Boulay was the location where I laid down a new family rule regarding iDevices at the table (and Nintendo). If a restaurant has any of these three qualities, electronic devices for entertainment purposes need to be put away
#1: reservations were made
#2: cloth napkins
#3: water is poured from a vessel not made of plastic
All three applied to Chez Boulay, I made the kids, and wife, put the iPhones away. This was not a popular rule, but I’ve stuck to it. Somebody has to be the bad guy and they’ll all be better mannered from it.
That being said, we didn’t finish all our food. Being frugal, even when traveling, the wife had the leftovers boxed up. The next day I sped along at 100 kph to Montréal as she pulled the box our and hand fed me the most delicious hands free lunch I ever had. That duck confit was just as good the next day.
I’d recommend Chez Boulay for a family. My second piece of advice, let any new iDevice policy be known before being seated, and maybe it’s best to feed kids before 8PM (they get a bit cranky otherwise).

Ein super Preis-​Leistungsverhältnis bei Jean-​Luc Boulay, einem französischen Chefkoch, der in der Stadt ansonsten ein Edel-​Restaurant betreibt (Le Saint Amour) und hier eine günstigere, einfachere Variante vor kurzem eröffnet hat.
Das Restaurant befindet sich eigentlich im Hotel Manoir Victoria und hat einen direkten Zugang zum Hotel.
Jetzt zur Hauptsache: Das Essen! Lecker, raffiniert, auch ziemlich deftig (macht Sinn, wenn es draußen –20 ist). Dabei sind die Preise richtig günstig: ca. 25 CAD pro Nase für das normale 3-​Gänge Menü. Bei der Qualität einfach unschlagbar.
Ich will wieder hin!

Oui, c’est beau et c’est, certes, tendance, mais je n’ai pas du tout aimé mon expérience.
J’ai trouvé les plats gras, insipides et de fait, beaucoup trop chers pour ce que c’était (et de grâce, né pas confondre insipide et manqué d’assaisonnements). J’ai été très mal conseillée pour le vin. Le service, quant à lui, a été très expéditif.
Si j’y retourne? Non.

Chez Boulay, on sort des sentiers battus. On mange de source locale, apprêtée avec raffinement et gourmandise. Les assiettes sont bien remplies, on n’a pas besoin d’arrêter au fast-​food après. Le bloody caesar est à se rouler par terre et, au brunch, l’inclusion du café ou du latte avec chaque assiette mérite pratiquement un prix.
à y retourner n’importe quand.

Quel service amical, chaleureux. Ambiance parfaite pour déguster une bonne table gastronomique du Québec.

J’ai modifié mon avis de 5 à 4 étoiles car après 4 visites nous commençons à trouver que le menu manqué de diversité.
Les plats sont très lourds et ce, peu importe les changement de choix que l’on fait à chaque visite.
Il reste que Chez Boulay est un des resto les plus intéressants du quartier intra-​muros du Vieux-​Québec à mon avis.
Ambiance A
Service A
Menu B+
Carte des vins A
Prix B+