For our final dinner of our trip on this very frigid New Year’s Eve in Montreal, I made a reservation at Monarque. Monarque is ranked 16 on Canada’s Best in 2023. They have 2 sides of the restaurant: one is a brasserie and the other is a more formal dining room. We sat in the dining room, which offered a 4 course menu for the night. Our area was a corner spot, where we had plenty of room to also place our jackets and bags without having it coat checked.
Ambiance & Service
The service was pretty great. The water was constantly filled, and they made sure the timing and attention was all correct throughout the night. Our waiter recommended really good wines to me.
The ambiance, due to the high walls, was not as noisy as I was expecting due to the amount of patrons in the dining room. I guess unlike New York City, Montreal buildings do have the space to hold a much larger amount of diners.
Just a note about Montreal taxes that they also charge a TVQ (Quebec Province tax - 9.975%) and a TPS (Product & Services tax - 5%). The total at this time of writing was 14.975%.
Food
The 4 course menu for this evening was priced at $125 CAD (~$93 USD) per person.
The Monarque (right - $17 CAD, ~$12.67 USD) came with jus de carotte au beurre noisette, pisco, vermouth blc, passion, vanilla, lime, and blanc d’oeuf. This cocktail has been on the menu since the day the restaurant opened. It was very smooth and had the perfect balance of sweet and citrus.
The Descregut (left - $20 CAD, ~$14.90 USD) was a natural orange wine from Orbites Improbables, Penedes, Spain 2021. This was very balanced, had good citrus and minerality, and not too alcoholic. On the palette, it’s fresh, energetic, and just slightly tannic. It was very delicious with my first and second courses.
The Bread was pretty good and came with just your normal room temperature butter.
My first course Tartlet came with scallop, truffle, nashi, horseradish, and black garlic vinegar. This was pretty good. It was light and the vinegar helps cut through the dish. The ingredients were a little more subtle than expected.
My partner’s first course Tuna Tartare came with foie gras custard, ponzu tapioca, and cardamom. This was really good. The foie gras custard gave it a nice creamy texture, almost like a mayo in a poke bowl, along with rich flavors.
My second course Black Cod came with miso, sake lees, squash, ginger, and Meyer lemon consomme. This was good, balanced, and light. The miso was very subtle unlike other places that I’ve had similar in NYC and LA. The cod was cooked perfectly and delectable.
My partner’s second course Potato alla Chitarra came with morels, scallop boudin blanc, mentaiko, and Jura wine sauce. This was simply amazing. The sausage was the star here. It was made with mashed scallop cakes (kind of like fish cakes), so the scallop flavors were concentrated but had an interested sausage texture. The win sauce was strong, but it complemented the sweetness of the scallop sausage perfectly. Between the cod and this, I would prefer this.
I had tried a sip of the Camy, Pinot Gris, from Quebec, St Bernard de Lacolle, 2022. This tasted way too watered down with hardly any flavor.
Instead, I went with the Folias de Baco ($15 CAD, ~$11.18 USD) was from Uivo, Vinhas Velhas Branco, Douro, Portugal 2020. This was great with my squab dish. It had a touch of sweetness, some minor earthiness to it, crispy with a slight acid to it, dry, and much more flavorful than the Camy.
Before the third course (entrees), they gave us a Palette Cleanser. This was had strong bourbon alcohol in it, little apple pieces, and was very chilled. The sorbet was sweet and helped take down some of it, but it was overwise very abrupt on the palette.
My third course Half Squab came with sea urchin, grapefruit, rutabaga, and swiss chard. The sea urchin was very mild in presence, and the squab was slightly seasoned on the saltier side. The portion side, as it appears, was fairly small.
My partner’s third course Venison came with matsutake mushroom, pomme fondante, blackberry, juniper, and grand veneur sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly, but it had a slight gamey taste, and the meat was a little grainy. The sauce was good though.
My partner’s final course Chocolate came with brownies, sorbet, crumble, and chocolate mousse. This was just simply amazing, and by far one of the best desserts we’ve had in Montreal in our visit. It had perfect sweetness everywhere.
My final course Passion Fruit Pavlova came with the pavlova, meringue, and real passion fruit seeds. This was just as amazing as the chocolate. It had very fresh ingredients, and the pavlova itself was extremely fluffy and delicious.
Final Verdict
Monarque was our favorite Montreal restaurant for our visit this year end of 2023. On a Michelin scale, I wouldn’t be surprised if this received one star. The food is very accessible and delicious, and the service is comparable to other NYC Michelin 1 star restaurants.
Yelp Jabs
I had upset stomach after ingesting pork chop that was pink inside. We had reflected this right away to the waiter, but received no apologies or acknowledgement.
That is unfortunate. I know that in some restaurants, certain pork chops (such as Berkshire) have been sous vide and appear pink, but they are actually cooked properly. Also, there are cases where other foods in the evening can cause a build up reaction. I think this Yelper should have told the waiter they preferred the pork chop to be more thoroughly cooked for them.
Told us we had to wait 2.5 hrs to get to a reservation time. When it was time, I received no notification, no text, no call, no nothing and when I called to see what was up they told me they were waiting on me and that I had 15 minutes to order.
This is why it’s easier to make the reservation ahead than to walk in and wait. Unfortunately, this Yelper who seemingly comes from Michigan, probably needs to understand that the restaurant likely has better agency to move on from them than to cater greatly to inconveniences.
Revisions
- Dec 31, 2023 - Initial revision.