a toronto food blog
Olive & Gourmando is always busy. It’s going to get even busier now that it’s been listed in Maclean’s controversial 50 best restaurants in Canada. We went there last summer for breakfast and found ourselves back again for the pastries after needing an escape from the heat. Iced coffee, a lemonade (or was it sweet iced tea?), an oddly shaped almond croissant, and the perfect chocolate chip cookie (thin, crisp, moist and slightly chewy).
Pictures from last year’s visit are here.
A black and white photo from the same cafe in this post; taken on the Canon AE-1. I wish I could remember the name, but even if I did, I’d have to dissuade you from having any of their drinks…it wasn’t very good at all.
Satay Brothers at Atwater Market breaks the monotony of the usual Euro-Canadian fares (lobster sandwiches, tourtieres, gelato) found at the Montreal markets. There are meat skewers, soups, pork buns (of course!), and a refreshing green papaya salad with a bite.
I don’t think it gets any more British than Burgundy Lion. Located in La-Petite-Bourgogne and a stone’s throw away from Atwater Market, Burgundy Lion is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which means you’ll never ever have to go a day without cod fish, roast beef, cornish pasty, scotch eggs, Yorkshire pudding, and whatever else that’s symbolically British.
Les 400 Coups would have been terrific during the day, but this charming and refined restaurant in Old Montreal only does lunch service on Fridays. The walls are black, the ceilings are high with light fixtures as modern as it can get, and the bar table is all marble. It’s sleek, but not intimidatingly so. Like a lot of restaurants these days, there’s a semi-open kitchen where you can see Chef Marc-André Jetté and Patrice Demers working hard, and the smartly dressed staff strike the right amount of casual friendliness.
This was the most elegant dinner we’ve had; not only in terms of presentation, but the colours, textures and the combination of flavours were just perfect with nothing on the plate seeming extraneous. Our dinner started with the Mozzarella di Buffala with peach, fennel, almonds and Espelette pepper, followed by a moist Roasted Guinea Fowl Breast with earthy chanterelle mushrooms and a delicately Seared Scallops and Suckling Pig. To end our night we went for the aptly named Green dessert (a mature take on a granita using shaved iced green apple, pistachios, and olive oil over yoghurt). It was all very lovely and beautifully plated.
Les 400 Coups
400 Notre-Dame Est (Angle Bonsecours), Montréal | Website
