This is supposed to be one of the top 5 restaurants in Montreal right now. It was my friend’s birthday, I wanted a memorable celebration so I booked well in advance at the Club Chasse et Pêche.
It is located in Old Montreal, in what used to be a very good Portuguese restaurant called Le Fado. I remember going there with my dad when I was a young.
The decor is described by some as masculine, I would call it dark and nondescript, with a few winks at the restaurant’s name ( hunting and fishing club), but nothing striking. The one thing that I noticed first was how close together the tables are. Right away a bad sign. To me comfort is a big part of a pleasant restaurant experience and when you can feel your neighbors’ every move it is not a relaxing environment. As I sat down I could hear the waiter blasting the day’s menu three tables down as if he was a priest doing his sermon without a microphone. I quickly understood why… the noise level in this place is so high that nothing less than shouting will do…and they had loud throbbing, irritating music playing all night long. Before I get to the food, I have to mention another irritant although that may or may not have been under the restaurant’s control. There is a bar in the back of the restaurant…not sure if it is meant to attract bar hoppers or to have patrons wait for their tables (but I doubt it). And at this bar were two young girls, who sat there the entire time we were there. The barman refilled their drinks non stop and they got noisier and more outrageous by the minute…Hugging, and touching and shoving each other, letting out yelps and screams…Who were they performing for I wonder?…I did not see a single table of men. It was all couples…But it sure as hell did nothing for me or my guest! It got so bad we ate in silence.
Now the food, because ultimately, that is what we came for. The menu is not very long. It is not generous either. There are no amuse-bouche, everyone gets only one identical slice of bread, you have to pay extra for a dish of vegetables, and the prices are high. (It cost us close to $100.00 each (including taxes and tip) for an appetizer, a main course, a dessert one glass of wine and a cup of tea).
The descriptions are creative, and the waiters know their lines by heart. But the food itself was disappointing. The best course was the appetizer. I had 4 tiny scallops that were exquisitely cooked, but there was little else in the plate. My friend had a risotto, that was nice and tasty. Both our main courses were disappointing I had boar and my friend had duck. The duck pieces were very hard as was my meat and there was little flavor to either of them. I held on to the hope that dessert could leave us with a nicer impression but mine was possibly the worse piece of cake I have ever eaten ( and I normally love anything sweet). It was supposed to be their take on the traditional Elizabeth cake, which is normally spicy and moist, but this one was a stale while cake, with a date sauce and some stale coconut shavings on top. Even the dollop of ice cream could not moisten that one. The other dessert, an almond apple roll, was slightly better, but nothing to write home about and the maple ice cream flavor was totally obscured by the honey they poured over it…
All in all a huge disappointment. Once outside and out of the deafening noise we were reflecting back on all the other wonderful restaurants we have tried over the years and were already looking forward to trying something else…as this one has been crossed out list forever.