You go away for a couple months and all of a sudden Montreal has a bajillion great new restaurants—all local and sustainable and with biodynamic wine lists, of course. Nudding wrong widdit! as my honorary Newfoundlander of a father would say. All this newness sure makes me think it’s time to make a list: the hottest new restaurants of the year, whether they were born this year or last. Sounds fair, right? These kinds of lists are always fair…
BEST NEW RESTAURANTS IN MONTREAL 2013-2014:
1. Ludger
2. Patrice Patissier
3. Orange Rouge
4. Vin Papillon
5. Moonshine BBQ
6. Cafe Verdure
7. Manitoba
7. Bethlehem XXX
8. Sel Gras
9. Méson
10. Mercuri
Ludger
Honestly, I haven’t eaten a whole meal here, but in the three times I’ve come for a glass of wine or a cocktail I’ve fallen in love. It’s so hipster. It’s not cheap but it’s not Toqué, for goodness sake (note: Toqué! is my favourite fine dining in Montreal, but fine dining it certainly is, and since the departure of chef de cuisine, Charles-Antoine Crete, I have not returned…which has more to do with being not rich than it does with being scared the restaurant won’t be up to snuff). The menu at Ludger has things like braised beef cheeks and lovely pasta, but I’ll stick to the well-curated list of mostly biodynamic and organic wines by the glass. Both food and beverage come with stellar service, which helps the #1 ranking along. It’s basically #1 because if someone asks me to go for dinner and I want a relaxed, good neighbourhood-y (that’s a word) restaurant where I can get dressed up or not, spend a lot or not, and always enjoy myself, I vote to come here. If there were more gluten-free, dairy-free options on the menu I’d be bankrupt.
Patisserie Patrice
Are you as in love with Patrice Demers as I am? I’ll admit I love him just a little less than Guillaume (who just moved from his Fairmount location to St-Laurent a bit further south. There, he and his wife will have more room to make exemplary sourdough baguettes, sundried tomato fougasses, and toasted nut miches. I digress) but Patrice is still a dessert mastermind. Formerly of Les 400 Coups, he now brings his crazy-good kouign-amann pastries, individual apple, hazelnut and tonka bean cakes, and little pots of lemon (the term works better in French) and chamomile and local honey mousses to his own establishment. Lunch is a sandwich affair and dinner is pure French bistro (marinated arctic char with carrots, creme fraiche and dill; braised lamb tart with caramelized onions and mustard; and beef tartare with egg yolk, horseradish and black radishes. But why would you fill up on real food (forgive me for the slight, as though I’m implying that your desserts are not real food, M. Demers) when you could have more than your fair share of masterful petite sweets? You must have the dessert tasting ($22/person) platter of combo desserts and mignardises, but I’d forgive you if you just ordered the “Green,” which is perhaps the only thing ever made with coriander and white chocolate together. It also throws in pistachios, olive oil and creamy yogurt (the only other non-green component besides the white chocolate). It’s edible art. There’s also Jerusalem artichoke with the maple sugar cake and pear sorbet meal-closer. Did I mention this was also a wine bar and a pastry school? Sure is. $100 wine tasting nights (“sparkling wines and cocktails,” “Argentinian wines”) are run by Marie Josée Beaudoin who worked with Demers at Les 400 Coups. The three-hour evening pastry classes taught by Demers are given slightly more vague titles, such as “chocolate,” “citrus,” and “maple.” Let your imagination run.
Orange Rouge
The very cool child of chef extraordinaire, Aaron Langille, and business partner, Patrick Dumont, Orange Rouge does French-influenced Asian cuisine in Montreal’s Chinatown. I really hope Aaron doesn’t mind that I called it “French-influenced Asian cuisine.” He might stop being my friend. He might never talk to me about cool restaurant design and what we love about sauerkraut again. And that would be a shame. And he might slip some gluten into my order of chrysanthemum salad, burnt eggplant with bonito and chili, or my blessed albacore tuna with almonds, dill and kimchi. The restaurant was even featured on À la di Stasio, which really means it made it, right? With a grande opening Chinese dragon celebration and a little help from Cirque du Soleil, how could they not? My only wish? A better sake list. Cocktails galore, but Montreal’s sake scene needs some encouragement.
Vin Papillon
Give me a sommelier who can convince me that Dalmation Coast wines are something I should be drinking, a biodynamic list, and a sunshine-coated back terrasse, and I’m a happy camper. There’s some deep-fried cauliflower that I think is overrated, some chicken wings I believe are underrated, and the belief that this place is vegetarian-friendly that needs to be stomped out, but overall, this is a stellar addition to Griffintown. The grappa is killer and very non-biodynamic. The pickled fennel deserves its own plate.
Moonshine BBQ
Following the great Blackstrap BBQ in Verdun, Montreal shaped up and realized it needed to import another southern smoker. I say Montral shaped up, but it was Moonshine that stepped up, really. And then it went and opened up shop on Decarie by metro Cote-St-Catherine in Cote-des-Neiges/NDG, where nary a hipster will venture. Good for them. More for the rest of us. I hope they’re as loved as they would be in Mile-End, despite not being able to charge as much for their slow-smoked “champion”: 4 kinds of meat (pork ribs, beef brisket, smoked chicken, and pulled pork) plus 4 sides (mac ‘n’ cheese, tater tots, cornbread, and beef chili) and a big smile of juicy joy.
Cafe Verdure
With such a springtime-friendly name, a chef who understands the need to use whole spices in her Indian-influenced cooking, and gluten-free pastries, I had to make room for Cafe Verdure on the list of the top new restaurants in Montreal. Servings are small, take a long time to receive, and after a few visits you may tire of the burgers and rice and lentil plates, but boy, is this food tasty and good for you. Besides, servings are small because the food is mostly organic and made with care. Service takes a long time because the owner is also the chef and the restaurant wasn’t busy enough or known enough when I visited to justify hiring a second member of staff to work only the cash. And if it was, chef wouldn’t be able to greet her customers, which would be a shame because she’s a) lovely, and b) loves meeting people who love good food. Anywhere that toasts its own cumin seed for coconut eggplant and cauliflower curries on brown rice, and makes its own chutney for vegetarian burgers on homemade sorghum-based gluten-free buns can take their sweet time making my meal. I’ll get over it. You should too.
Manitoba
This is t wild, foraged restaurant of Elisabeth Cardin and Simon Cantin. No, they didn’t forage the restaurant, silly. The two met at an art exhibition when Cardin was looking for money for her restaurant idea. Cantin was all-in, and Cardin took off like a spark. Think grilled veal tongue with arctic char gravlax and mustard; horse steak with caramelized white turnips, and red wine and spruce syrup; and Sagamité croquettes (Sagamité is a Native American stew traditionally made with corn, squash, beans and venison) with creme fraiche, spiced pears and marinated beets.
Bethlehem XXX
It seems that 2013/14 are years for fine dining Middle Eastern food in Montreal. First there was SU, then the excellent Damas, and then SU opened Barbounya (ah heck, lets just group all the Middle Eastern restaurants together, because that’s fair…), but now there’s Bethlehem XXX, which, funnily enough, isn’t always Middle Eastern. Neither is it Israeli. In fact, Newfoundland native Beaver Sheppard does it all, and weekly. With a changing menu, he rips out everything from Egyptian kebbe beef balls and spicy sausage to Thai green papaya som tum salad with a different culinary theme every week. Says Cult MTL: “You probably wouldn’t take your parents there,” by which they’re mostly referring to the crazy nouveau fou decor, because my dad would be weirded out, but my mom would be tickled. Probably.
Sel Gras
Salt and fat? Or fat-salt? Who knows at this very Quebecois local, seasonal, haute cuisine restaurant with Pan-Asian and Spanish influences. Doesn’t make sense? Think stuffed quail with truffle, chestnut puree, green peas and mushrooms; miso and tamari-marinated black cod, and fried egg with red wine and portuguese blood pudding sauce. Throw in a decent (and affordable) wine menu and you’ve got yourself a hit with the kids (by which I mean the cool kids).
Méson
The new resto from Groupe Tapeo and Marie-Fleur St-Pierre is all Spanish bistro and more relaxed than the group’s namesake restaurant. At Méson in Villeray, dig into marinated anchovies with sherry and sardines with peppers and egg yolk. There’s even zarzuela, Spain’s answer to bouillabaisse, and a homestyle rice with clams and meatballs. The only reason MTL Cuisine’s (another restaurant group) new Cantinho de Lisboa, isn’t on this list at all is that its highly anticipated opening won’t happen until April 29th. That Portuguese café/bakery should give Olive & Gourmando’s a run for its money…right…sure.
Mercuri
Admittedly, I can probably never eat here, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be spectacular. Lesley Chesterman sees more than a glimmer of hope for the spot thanks to a handful of stunning dishes. Such as? Raw yellowfin tuna with mango cream, tobiko, powdered cilantro, black sesame crumble, and spaghetti made of a soya-mirin gel. Refreshing by Montreal standards, as much as I love yet another plate of veal cheeks.*
*I don’t eat veal.
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