Montreal On A Plate

Đẹp trai and I are both foodies, and so, food is life. We both enjoy exploring and rediscovering all the flavours that the world’s cuisine has to offer us. We also deeply appreciate the art of cooking through intentionally selecting ingredients and products. crafting the dish with purpose and care, and the art of hospitality. It’s not just about the Michelin nomination or star merit, we chase the full sensorial experience that then reward us with great memories.

It’s a struggle to decide on a favourite restaurant in Montreal. Is it even possible? We spent a lot of time discovering great local restaurants when we first dated. As we continue our search for memorable bites in the Greater area of Montreal, here are our current local favourites.

Le Club Chasse et Pêche

📍423 Rue Saint-Claude, Montréal, QC H2Y 3B6
🗣️ Intimate
🔪 Refined Quebecois

This lovely restaurant is snuck in those 18th-century stone buildings in the Old Port. It’s a very discreet place. Once inside, you have the feeling that you’re walking in a labyrinth inside a low-lit cocoon. It’s a charming setting. We love going out on a date here or right after a show nearby, like Cirque du Soleil. Their à la carte menu is short and sweet with a couple of specials. We’ve tried both their meat and fish dishes, and they’re equally succulent. Honestly, their full menu is to the perfection. I religiously start my dining experience with their French martini. It’s such a me-drink with its pink hue, sweet and fruity flavour using raspberry liqueur. I relish their oysters prepared in 3 ways, vegetarian appetizers, their specials such as their Hamachi steak, and one of their classical French delicacy, ris de veau. They serve quality ingredients in each plate. That’s why you can’t go wrong with Le Club Chasse et Pêche.

Mucca

📍 236 Rue Saint-Zotique Est, Montréal, QC H2S 1L1
🗣️ Convivial
🔪 Italian

This is a neighbourhood gem in Little Italy. The restaurant owners are a team of husband Pasquale Martone (co-owner chef) and wife Karine Massicotte. They work onsite all year long until the winter holidays, when it closes for 3 weeks. Mucca offers Northern Italian dishes with locally sourced meats that then get aged in the restaurant’s climate-controlled glass room. They make homemade charcuterie and pasta. Their menu presents a traditional Italian dining experience from antipasti, primi, secondi, to dolci. Their wine list varies, including natural wine bottles from Northern Italian regions like Veneto, Piemonte, and Toscana. It’s also there where I discovered the local distillery Mariana Saint-Crème with its alcohol sugar cream as a digestive. I appreciate each of Mucca’s selections of products and ingredients. Their menu is seasonal and always takes us by surprise with their new dishes. Our dining experience here has been consistently a solid 10/10 every time we visit. It’s simply flawless from start to finish: cocktail, wine, food, desserts, and digestives.

HENI
📍 2621 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal, Quebec H3J 1N9
🗣️ Cozy, Speakeasy
🔪 Middle Eastern

A family member recommended it to us a while back. I’m not sure why it took us so long before we tried it out. On one evening, we finally did, and it was such a beautiful revelation! Heni offers both an à la carte menu and a creative tasting menu with one of the best wine pairings ever. We both like the format where we can taste a bit of everything that the chef presents. The first item that took me by surprise was their Lebanese bubble, Mersel, a fusion between Viognier and Merwah. I’m truly fond of these two grape varieties! We fell under the spell of Lebanese red wine, Chateau Musar, at Richmond Station in Toronto. We then later found out where to buy a bottle from our sommelier at 53 By The Sea on our trip to Hawai’i. We have now added Mersel to our list of favourites. In all honesty, they carefully select their wine products to pair with their incredibly savoury dishes. Each plate came with accents on the colour, texture, and flavour. It gave us a complete culinary tour of the Middle East. My favourite plate was their grilled fish with the four colourful sauces that each represented a spice in a heat crescendo. Our highlight was zhug, the spicy cilantro sauce, which is a staple in Yemeni cuisine. I’m genuinely drooling as I’m writing about this restaurant. Fun fact: they have a speakeasy downstairs.

Anemone
📍271 Rue Saint-Zotique O, Montréal, QC H2V 1A4
🗣️ Convivial
🔪 Locally sourced ingredients

It took us a while before getting to hear about and try it out. One day we did, and we’ve become so effortlessly addicted to this place. Its chef-owner, Minh Phat Tu, is a Montreal Vietnamese-Chinese who’s studied and worked at Le Club Chasse et Pêche and Le Filet (two of the great local restaurants that we both love too). He was also on the television series “Les Chefs!”. Between đẹp trai and me, we easily share a good 87% of their menu, including their specials. It’s like love at first sight; everything is delicious. I love that their dishes use locally sourced ingredients and that their wine list is diverse.

Le Chien Fumant
📍 4710 Lanaudière St, Montreal, Quebec H2J 1R5
🗣️ Upscale
🔪 Contemporary Quebecois

It’s one of my đẹp trai’s favourites that shortly after became one of my tops as well. We’re fortunate to have this fancy nook in our former neighbourhood. It’s an elusive spot because it takes a second or two to identify the entrance door. The narrow venue holds very large windows alongside its walls, making the environment both intimate and charming. We always have a good time here by discovering their ever-evolving tasting menu that’s created by the chef in that moment you order on that day. The tasting menu fluctuates by price range and takes into consideration your food restrictions and either must-haves or don’ts. We’re the foodies who put our trust in the chef’s craft and are on this ride of surprises of new flavours. One thing is sure: you won’t be disappointed. There’s always a well-selected wine or digestive that pairs perfectly with your dish. If you still have some wine left after you finish your meals, they have a great assortment of cheese to help you round up your dining experience (before you continue with dessert).

Estiatorio Milos

📍5357 Park Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2V 4G9
🗣️ Stylish Tavern
🔪 Greek

The sound of Milos warms my heart. It reminds us of our family trip to Greece. Our memories of the beautiful Greek islands and the quality of fresh Mediterranean food still follow us. That’s what happened at Milos when we stepped into their main door. It took us back to the white buildings and accordion-style stairs setting, the hospitality from the warm greetings from all the staff at the entrance, and the various fresh fish on ice at their little market section. Their architecture left us such an appealing first impression with its high ceiling, white walls, and curvy staircases. The atmosphere of chatty crowds and laughter in the rooms makes it feel like an authentic tavern. They serve generous plates, which are meant to be shared. Our top favourites are the atherina (grilled small fishes) and their Milos special, lightly fried eggplant and zucchini. The staff is abundant, friendly, and professional. Fun fact: Estiatorio Milos has many locations in the world in addition to Montreal: Toronto, Athens, London, Dubai, NYC, Miami, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Los Cabos, and Singapore. And Montreal is where it all started. As a proud Montrealer, I say kudos to Milos for going global!

Jatoba

📍1184 Phillips Sq, Montreal, Quebec H3B 3C8
🗣️ Refined Eatery
🔪 Modern, Asian-inspired flare

Jatoba calls for a celebration, whether that is a birthday, an anniversary, a bachelor/ette, a date night, or having a good time. I love the ambiance even in a big venue like theirs. They have different sections in their restaurant and manage to make each room feel intimate and cozy. They have an indoor terrace that you can enjoy all year round. I always pick Jatoba for my birthdays because of their great selection of sake, sashimi, and dumplings. It’s a modern Asian-inspired cuisine that offers sashimi and sushi, dumplings, and appetizing main dishes that remind us of Asian staple dishes like Cantonese ginger scallion lobster and Japanese miso black cod. Their list of sake bottles is abundant and covers all ranges from junmai, junmai ginjo, to junami daiginjo. Not all restaurants have junmai daiginjo, the top-tier Japanese sake. We are both fans of their sashimi. They have quality selections and only serve the best fish and parts, including our favourites: ora-king salmon, bluefin tuna (akami, otoro, chutoro), and hamachi. They never disappoint us with their constantly available stock, which is something that not all upscale sushi restaurants offer. It’s not that obvious to find chutoro, even in traditional sushi houses. They also serve various sides like wasabi, pickled ginger, seaweed, and pickled Japanese olives. Another statement item from their menu that we cannot skip during our visits is their Japanese wagyu. It melts like butter in your mouth. It’s divine! In a nutshell, Jatoba’s main strengths to us are their selection of sake, sashimi, and offering a variety of dishes.