Kodd brings you its new food section with blogger Cestquandquonmange for a Canadian getaway in Montreal.

A new section with the good addresses I brought back from my trip to Canada, and more particularly from Montreal. It’s an extremely cosmopolitan and dynamic city, especially on the gastronomic scene, where trendy new restaurants rub shoulders with long-established institutions.

I’ll start with a weekend staple: brunch! The queue outside Chez Régine is a testament to its success with both tourists and locals, but don’t be afraid of the Canadian cold, the tea and homemade cinnamon brioche that are kindly brought outside will make your mouth water and warm you up.

The restaurant, with its original decor combining black baroque chairs and wooden tables, provides a wide range of à la carte dishes: corn waffles and salmon gravelax, country-style bread with soft-boiled eggs and pan-fried mushrooms, omelette of the day, brioche with yoghurt and homemade Nutella crumpets! The drinks menu, especially the chocolates, is also to die for! You’ll leave Chez Régine with a full belly and already thinking about what you’ll have next time!

The next addresses are my three favourites of the trip and are particularly good for dinner.

First, and in a completely different vein, is the Little Sheep Hot Pot, a Mongolian fondue restaurant. The principle is very simple: you choose your broth, more or less spicy, then you choose from the sixty or so ingredients available which you will dip into the broth: udon noodles, beef, pork, prawn dumplings, Chinese cabbage, shitake or ravioli! The price is very reasonable, as it’s ‘all you can eat’, so the main problem will be not to bite off more than you can chew.

The second address is Pastaga, a small natural wine bar with a warm atmosphere and trendy decor. The friendly waiters take the time to explain the menu, and in particular the concept of biodynamic wines, which follow the seasons. The cuisine is friendly and based on sharing. So we had three courses and a dessert for two, and that was more than enough!

The first course was my favourite: pappardelle, foie gras, pumpkin cubes and guinea fowl, the result was creamy and perfect. The other two dishes were slightly more classic: duck breast with a variation on beetroot and a slice of maple piglet with pumpkin pancake. Finally, the dessert was also up to scratch: chocolate mousse, crispy sponge cake chips and caramel foam.

Finally, and undeniably my favourite, is Le Serpent. Located a stone’s throw from old Montreal, but in an area that looks more like Brooklyn. The decor of this former warehouse lives up to its name: exposed light fittings, raw concrete, an open bar and black furniture give the place a very trendy atmosphere, with a mix of executives having a drink, couples dining tête-à-tête and groups of girls celebrating their engagement.

Prices are slightly high for Montreal, but the value for money is incredible! For starters, we chose to share a truffled duck consommé with marinated carpaccio, garnished with daikon and served with shitakes and smoked tofu. It was simply a treat for the taste buds, with a perfect balance of flavours! For my main course, I had linguini, cauliflower, speck, almonds and truffles, and I think it’s one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever tasted. The pasta was perfectly cooked and coated with a creamy sauce and crazy filling. I took the small portion and it was enough.

The menu also features risottos, seafood and meats, including a tender and perfectly cooked veal T-bone. The only slight disappointment was the dessert: as I don’t like fruit, my choices were limited as they unfortunately couldn’t make any changes, so we opted for the tiramisu which, although very good, was inferior to the other dishes. As you can imagine, I’d go back there for dinner every night if I could!

Some of the other places I tried out were:

La Belle et le Bœuf: a vintage rock atmosphere providing a classic menu of burgers, mac’n’chesse and poutine.

La Brasserie Saint Denis: the best thing about this restaurant is its wide selection of beers from Quebec and Canadian microbreweries.

Grenade Bar: a cosy wood-panelled bar with a terrace that must be very pleasant in summer and which provides a menu of very good Asian-inspired dishes, some of which are a little spicy for my taste. A bit pricey in my opinion too, but I’d recommend it for a drink as the atmosphere is friendly and pleasant.

Finally, I couldn’t end this Canadian article without mentioning a few places where you can try the famous poutine, of which I’m a big fan! You should also know that there’s a Poutine Week every year when restaurants redouble their creativity to be voted best poutine, and during which a competition for the ‘biggest poutine eater’ of the week is organised, with some going so far as to eat 11 poutines a day!

In Montreal, it’s undeniably La Banquise that requests the best poutine in town. It’s open non-stop, and above all it’s never full, the combinations are endless, and in winter or after a night out, I guarantee there’s nothing better.

On the other hand, if you have the chance to go to other provinces, try Smoke’s Poutinerie, which is unfortunately not present in Quebec, but which for me is the best with, in particular, the best gravy (brown sauce)!