My friend Amanda was in town this weekend. Which means this was going to be a restaurant extravaganza.
I had heard a lot of hype about Les Héritiers, a “bring your own wine” restaurant located in a residential area. So we decided to give it a try.
It is not very large, I would estimate it can accommodate 35 people at a time…yet those other 33 made a hell of a lot of noise and it spoiled the evening for me. It was impossible to have a conversation; you had to read lips to understand what the waiter was saying. There is not carpeting, no drapes, nothing to absorb the noise, only walls to bounce it back at us.
Having said that, the “dégustation” menu was interesting. It started with a very tasty turnip and honey soup. I followed with a warm goat cheese dish, which was very nice, while Mandie had the escargots with baked Brie on a flaky crust. Next came a palate cleansing grapefruit sherbert. The main course was disappointing, mine was supposed to be chicken breasts with figs and Port wine…I found the meat but none of the other ingredients. My friend had rack of lamb with rosemary and roasted garlic…it was weak…For dessert, I had cheesecake with a Rum and maple syrup sauce, which was good and she had a chocolate mousse on a praline base which was very nice.
The price for this meal was a very reasonable $40.00. Not enough to entice me back.
Restaurant Les Héritiers
5091 De Lanaudière
Montréal
514-528-4953
The next evening my priority was to get a quiet, comfortable restaurant and we found it at “Le Convivial” in Westmount . I remember going there years ago when it was called La Transition. It is a comfortable, soothing room, is soft colors and lighting. The service was knowledgeable, efficient and friendly. A most pleasant experience…at double the price of the other place but then, we paid for the wine.
After we had ordered we were offered an “amuse bouche” that looked like a tiny crème brûlée, but it was really mussels in a wonderful saffron sauce with tiny pieces of shrimp….
We had chosen to start with a wild mushroom soup, that had smoked duck, truffles froth and parley oil in it. Talk of fancy!
For the main course I went with the fish of the day, which was swordfish, which was all right. What was really great were the vegetables: caramelized endives flavored with orange, cauliflower, green beans and something that had me stumped. It was white, smooth, with a bit more presence under the tooth than a piece of potatoes, it was cut in narrow strips and very flavorful but not strong enough to be garlic…after inquiring I was told it was parsley roots! A first for me.
Mandie had a seafood platter, which had lobster, scallops, tuna and shrimp served in a sauce homardine (lobster based). Hers was definitely the better of the two dishes.
The dessert menu was very tantalizing. I ended up choosing a nut pudding with prunes, chocolate, English sauce with pistachios. Mandie had a ganache au chocolat with a Baileys parfait and the most fragrant strips of gingerbread. It was sinful but oh so good!
When I asked for tea I was presented with a box that contained eight glass tubes of loose tea. Above each one was its name and description. When they served it, it was also presented in a glass tube along with a special teapot, which I found interesting.
Le Convivial
4785, Sherbrooke Ouest
Westmount – H3Z 1G5
Téléphone : (514) 933.1000