900 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montréal, QC
(514) 499-2084
Tastiness Factor: 9.5/10
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Locavore Approved? YES-
As per their website, Toqué was born out of a desire to "to create a
restaurant based on market-fresh cuisine where the emphasis is placed on local
products". From the time they opened in 1993, this restaurant has undergone
many changes, including a huge expansion, but has always stayed true to
its local-driven roots. On their website, you will find a long list of
local suppliers that they buy from, divided by region, and when you dig into
the food you can appreciate the quality of the ingredients. Any
restaurant that is built on such an engrained locavore philosophy is bound to
be become the success story that is Toqué.
When the "Canada's 100 Best" restaurant awards came out this year, I was pretty excited to see that Montreal’s Toqué was rated #1 restaurant in Canada.
Although it would have been great to see a Vancouver restaurant take top
spot, I knew I would be spending a month in Montreal for work in April and, of
course, made plans to pay Toqué a visit during my stay.
I must admit, my first impressions
of Toqué were not quite what I had expected.
At first, I had a hard time finding it despite google maps telling me I
had arrived at my destination. While I
was hunting for the entrance, expecting a compact and snazzy sign, a gigantic
potted flower caught my eye. And, to my
surprise, there was “Toqué” written on it!
This seemed like a bit of an odd choice for the entrance of such a
high-end restaurant but it was certainly “unique”.
The inside, however, was much more in keeping
with my preconceived expectations. The
smartly-decorated entrance led into the main room, with a nice bar at the front
and a sprawling dining room at the back with dark wood panelling and red accents. We were seated in booth seating along the wall,
which was very spacious and comfortable.
The acoustics of the room were notably superior, as, despite the very
busy room with multiple tables on either side of us, it was very easy to carry
on a conversation comfortably without having to raise one’s voice.
Although our whole experience at Toqué was
wonderful, the aspect that stood out the most for me was the superb
service. Our main server was very witty, constantly making
jokes with us once he knew we were game for it (professionally of course), and
he came back to check on us often. Our water glasses were refilled
constantly and seamlessly, and our multiple dishes were brought out by several
servers so they arrived together. Although some of the servers had a bit of
difficulty explaining the dishes in English, they did their best to explain
them in great detail, describing each component. I can honestly say that our sommelier was
absolutely exceptional, to the point that he surpassed those that I had at any
Michelin star restaurant I have visited. I highly appreciated that he spent time
describing each wine carefully (sans pretention) and answering all of our
questions about the selections he had chosen to pair with the tasting
menu. I often find that sommeliers
sometimes speak at quite a high level, which is not always helpful for someone
like me who is not an expert wine connaiseaur, but this sommelier told us very
interested anecdotes about the wines (where they came from, what went into
making them) that really made his explanations captivating. At the end of the meal when the men began
asking his opinion of certain more expensive digestifs on the menu, he very generously
brought out a few bottles for them to try.
The icing on the cake!
So now for the question of the hour- does the food
at Toqué live up to all of the hype? After enjoying the most extensive option
offered, the 7-course tasting menu with 7-course wine pairings, I answer that
with a big resounding YES. Every dish
was well conceived, having multiple layers of flavor without being
over-complicated. The dishes were beautifully presented, using the colors of
the ingredients to please the eyes instead of using gimmicky plating
techniques. I considered the 7-course tasting menu to be perfectly portioned,
leaving us satisfied but not overstuffed.
It was all-around an expertly constructed, cohesive progression of
dishes.
Below is a little glimpse into our wonderful
meal. They graciously adopted the menu
to meet my pescatarian needs on last-minute notice, substituting the 2 meat
courses with fish dishes. The menu also gives the option for a foie gras
course or a fish course, and later on, a cheese course or an extra dessert. The
tasting menu changes nightly (the dishes differ from those on the a la carte
menu) so it was only thanks to the menu that they printed for us at the end of
the meal that I can provide the detailed names of the dishes and pairings (just
another example of the stand-out service!).
Feast your eyes on this!
Amuse Bouche
Sea urchin with ginger, sriracha, soy, daikon, shallot
Pairing- Vin de France 2012, Quartz, Les Cailloux du Paradis
Snow crab with dill mayo, white asparagus and pickle (my favourite of the night!)
Pairing- Bourgogne 2013, Chardonnay, Francois
Mikulski
Black cod "charbonniere" with orange
sabayon, crispy vegetables, buckwheat and young dandelion
Pairing- Alsace 2012, Bildstoeckle Riesling, Gerard
Schueller & Fils
Foie gras with orange brioche, hazelnuts, squash
mustard, apple reduction (the favorite of my dinner companions)
Pairing- Alsace 2013, Gewurztraminer, Vilain Petit
Canard, Domaine Rietsch
Lamb with red pepper puree, artichoke, foraged
oyster mushroom
Pairing- Cyclades 2011, Mavrotragano, Hatzidakis
Walleye with potato and baby onion (pescatarian
substitution)
Duck with parsnip puree, black garlic puree,
shiitake mushroom, madeira sauce
Pairing- Ceraiolo di Vittoria Classico 2010, Delle Fontane,
COS
Halibut with red pepper puree and potato
(pescatarian substitution)
"Le Troupeau Benit": Feta and Graviera
(cheese course)
Pairing- Crozes Hermitage 2012, Les Croix, David Reynaud
Guimauve a la baie de genievre- chocolate ganache,
citrus sorbet, black currant and almond biscuit
Pairing- Murcia, Vina Enebro, Meditacion, Juan
Pascual
Parfait glace au yogurt- blueberry mousse, granita
and fir meringue
Pairing- Maury Grenat 2012, Le Petit Baigneuse
(this last pairing blew me away!)
And if that wasn't enough- a few little treats for the road!
Overall Verdict?
There
is no doubt that Toqué has earned its title of best restaurant in Canada. The experience that they provide for their
guests is second to none, with all of the qualities that I look for in a perfect
meal- pleasant surroundings, polished service with a smile and without
attitude, and local ingredients prepared with a nice balance of simplicity and
creativity. Toqué nails it all, and then
some.
No comments:
Post a Comment