Le Convivial

Le Convivial's chef Emmanuel Nozati did his magic again last night with his delicious five-course meal and a carefully selected list of matching wines.

We already knew of his braveness with local ingredients from a visit to the Auberge Hatley where he used to cook (it is with great sorrow that I announce that right after our visit the hotel burned to the ground. The terrible accident had nothing to do with us, I swear!). Anyway, it was good to feel that the fate of your Thanksgiving dinner is in competent hands...

The meal was off to a good start with a nice mousseaux espagnol (cava) and right away, my travel companion (who doubles as my wife) and I knew we were in for an unforgettable culinary journey.

The chef attracted our attention first with a melon-carpaccio amuse-bouche (my own terminology, don't search the menu for that), drizzled with basil-oil and light sour cream sauce.

The appetizer, a triade de fois-gras loves the company of a sweet but not cloying white wine. My wife, who doesn't appreciate the nobleness of fois-gras, asked for a substitution and as such, she was given a fricassée of wild mushrooms with cherry tomatoes. Both of our dishes made our mouths very happy and our minds somewhat curious as to what the next one would be.

The answer was baby squids bathing in more basil oil (the star ingredient of the evening), julienned fennel (and possibly some green apple?), with black pepper.

The main dish was a fragile tower of filleted breast of very tasty duck, with a side of red cabbage and a sprinkling of different mini-veggies and an abstract splash of port sauce dotted with cherries. This Pollack's canvas was accompanied by a California Shiraz.

Time for dessert! We were served sweet puff-pastry triangles arranged over a confit of fresh berries and whipped cream, right next to a pool of pan-seared fraises de Quebec with aged balsamic and topped with tart and creamy white balsamic gelato. The tartness of the berries contrasted with the very tasty French dessert ruby. The coffee is served in creatively hand crafted espresso cups.

But the biggest surprise of the night was that a delectable meal can be found after dark in the Victoria Village area of Westmount. Although a five course menu sounds like a lot of food, it turned out to be such a perfect combination of flavors and textures that we didn't even feel we'd just finished our Thanksgiving dinner. So, give it a try !

P.S. I discovered (totally by chance) that you could get a discount of 25% using a Visa card to pay. You just have to print out a coupon from the Visa Canada site and show it to the waiter.

I know it's valid until the end of October but regardless, I think they have more discounts you might want to look at. Otherwise, the 5-course tasting menu is priced at $58CND a person, and the wine accompaniment is $36CND.

P.P.S. We're talking about Canadian Thanksgiving, of course.

Le Convivial
4785 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest,
Westmount, (514) 933-1000

Posted by Alban in Montreal » Restaurants on 16/Oct/2006