French restaurants in Canada
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Lémeac
A well-respected name among the well-heeled Laurier crowd, Lémeac has a light and airy setting with huge windows overlooking the street, a lively ambience and beautifully turned-out plates. Culinary standouts include salad of smoked salmon (made on-site), lobster ravioli, Angus beef filet mignon, duck leg confit and the veal liver with caramelized onions. It’s a popular brunch spot on weekends, and at night –the after-10pm three-course prix-fixe menu is an excellent value at $22.
reviewed
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B
L'Express
This place is so fantastically French, you'd half expect to see the Eiffel Tower out the window, especially after guzzling too much of the excellent wines. The food's classic Parisian bistro – think steak frites, bouillabaisse, tarragon chicken – and so is the attitude. Reservations essential.
reviewed
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Le Cordon Bleu Bistro@Signatures
This sensational dining experience, housed in a Tudor-style castle, is the on-site restaurant of the prestigious Cordon Bleu culinary school. Fear not, your meal won't be cooked by fumbling students; the à la carte dinners are prepared by the well-seasoned instructors and the weekday lunches are crafted by the graduating students. Award-winning menus feature some of Canada's finest harvests, and the lengthy wine list looks more like an encyclopedia.
reviewed
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D
Bistrot Bistro
A charming, snob-free neighborhood bistro with a casual contemporary feel, the menu here combines traditional French recipes with seasonal local ingredients and simple, flavor-revealing preparations. Expect hearty nosh like apple-sweetened pork tenderloin still simmering in its skillet and the kind of robust boeuf bourguignon that makes lesser chefs weep. Great value, especially the Sunday to Thursday prix-fixe special.
reviewed
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E
Brasserie Métropolitain
This trendy hot spot puts a modern spin on the typical brasserie with a swirling zinc countertop, flamboyant fixtures and the subtle oompah-pah from a distant accordion – you'll feel like you're dining on the set of Moulin Rouge. 'Hill Hour' (4pm to 7pm on weekdays) buzzes with the spirited chatter of hot-blooded politicos as they down discounted drinks and $1 oysters.
reviewed
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Robin des Bois
Montréal’s own Robin Hood, restaurateur Judy Servay donates all profits and tips from this St-Laurent hotspot to local charities. Ever-changing dishes scribbled on the chalkboard could include a succulent venison steak or a creamy wild mushroom risotto.
reviewed
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Au Pied de Cochon
One of Montréal’s most respected restaurants (it’s so well known that there’s no sign) features extravagant pork, duck and steak dishes, along with its signature foie gras plates. Award-winning chef Martin Picard takes simple ingredients and transforms them into works of art. The famous and surprisingly magnificent canard en conserve (‘duck in a can’), for instance, is half a roasted duck magret served with foie gras, cabbage, bacon, venison and spices, sealed and cooked in a can – then opened tableside and dumped over celery root puree on toast. Dishes are rich and portions are large, so bring an appetite. Reservations essential.
reviewed
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Chez l’Epicier
Helmed by chef Laurent Godbout, Chez L’Épicier remains a solid choice when eating in Old Montréal. Inside the bright and cozy dining room with big windows overlooking the street, you’ll find a menu that changes regularly, but features handsomely presented dishes like maple-syrup glazed pork, duo of lobster and scallops with sweet potato risotto, or seared filet mignon with smoked red wine sauce. For dessert, try the famous chocolate club sandwich with pineapple fries. The gourmet delicatessen attached is a fine spot for assembling a picnic.
reviewed
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L’Utopie
L’Utopie is one of several critically acclaimed restaurants to open its doors in the last few years. Stylish yet refined, L’Utopie serves imaginative, artfully presented dishes by chef-owner Stéphane Modat. The menu changes regularly and features dishes like truffle risotto, scallops with warm foie gras, and grilled almond-crusted veal. The food-and-wine pairings are simply phenomenal. Everything is served in a bright, open dining room with an exposed wine cellar. Bunches of slender birch trees separate the tables and reach toward the ceiling.
reviewed
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Auberge du Pommier
A culinary college for Toronto's best chefs, graceful Auberge du Pommier is constructed from a pair of 19th-century woodcutters' cottages. Plates of roast lamb loin with olive tapenade and Provençal vegetables ($38), and butter-poached lobster glazed with citrus and tarragon ($40) look like they should be in a gallery (or at least a cookbook). Wine selections focus on French vintages, plus a few Niagara labels. It's a long hike from the city centre north of the intersection of Yonge St and York Mills Rd, opposite William Carson Cres.
reviewed
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Le Lapin Sauté
If you only splash out once in Québec City, do it at this cozy restaurant specializing in country cooking. Naturally, le lapin (rabbit) lasagna and sausages are available, but so are duck, salmon and chicken, and there's maple syrup crème brûlée for dessert. In good weather you can sit on the flowery patio, overlooking tiny Félix Leclerc park.
reviewed
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Toqué!
Chef Normand Laprise has earned rave reviews for his innovative recipes based on products sourced from local farms. Even his desserts excite, created around fresh fruit with surprises like basil highlights. The bright, wide-open dining room has high ceilings accented by playful splashes of color, with a glass-enclosed wine cave with suspended bottles looming front and center. The seven-course menu dégustation ($92) is the pinnacle of dining in Montréal – allow three hours for the feast.
reviewed
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M
Le Crocodile
Tucked along a side street in an unassuming building that resembles a cast-off from a shopping mall, this surprising Parisian-style dining room is right up there with the city's top-end best. Instead of focusing on experimental shenanigans that only please the chefs, it's perfected a menu of classic French dishes, each prepared with consummate cooking skill and served by excellent wait staff. Try the braised veal shank with wild mushrooms, washed down with a smashing bottle from the mother country.
reviewed
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Le Gavroche
Hidden along a residential side street, it's easy to overlook this lovely heritage-home restaurant that fuses West Coast ingredients with an array of classic and contemporary French approaches. Emphasizing les fruits de mer with practiced flair – check out the Alaska black cod with burnt orange and anise sauce – it's an excellent choice for a romantic dinner. Wine lovers should also rejoice: there's a fantastic selection here that might just have you crying into your glass with gratitude.
reviewed
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Salade de Fruits Café Bistro
The simple, well-prepared ethos that prevails here is deceptive: it looks like anyone could chef up that steamy pan of mussels with fries and mayo. Don’t be fooled. It takes years of artful practice in French peasant cooking methods to make things look this easy. A real taste of the old country – the staff here chatter away in French to keep things authentic – this is an oasis of fine cooking at a bargain price. Cash only.
reviewed
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Celestin
Chef Pascal Ribreau's imaginative French cooking triumphs inside a converted 1920s bank, where tantalizing amuse-bouche (amusements for the mouth) precede artful mains of succulent duck confit, pan-seared giant prawns with smoked pepper compote or roasted Québec squab. Celestin's atmosphere induces serenity, with widely spaced tables and superb waitstaff who are on a first-name basis with the wines cellared in the old bank vault.
reviewed
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Le Local
On the western edge of Old Montréal, this captivating newcomer (opened in 2008) serves delectable fare in an architecturally stunning dining room. Well-moneyed 20- and 30-somethings feast on inventive (critics say overly complicated) dishes with rich, market-fresh ingredients to the backdrop of unobtrusive electronica. There’s an outdoor terrace and an extensive wine list (and an award-winning sommelier). Reservations recommended.
reviewed
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Le Caveau
Nestled amid a forest of skyscrapers, this Victorian villa has been a Montréal institution since 1949. A few popular dishes include bison with wild berries, duck confit, grilled marinated salmon and rack of lamb, plus escargot to start things off. The upper dining floors are most atmospheric, stuffed as they are with paintings and antiques, though in the summer you can also dine alfresco on the front terrace. Reservations recommended.
reviewed
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Le Club Chasse et Pêche
One of the pillars of Old Montréal’s grand dining scene, this elegant restaurant serves fantastic new-wave French fare, including grilled Wagyu beef, sautéed scallops with fennel and a succulent lamb. Given the prices, it’s a favorite among lunching execs, and Montrealers celebrating a special occasion. In the summer at lunchtime, dine alfresco in the historical Château Ramezay garden across the street.
reviewed
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Lumière
With Iron Chef Rob Feenie's 2008 departure, few thought this multi-award-winning eatery would survive. But superstar New Yorker Daniel Boulud rolled in and reinvented the top-notch French and West Coast fusion eatery with dishes like Redbro chicken stuffed with truffles and the celebrated six-mushroom ravioli. The menu comprises multi-course tasting selections intended for savoring and the best way to go is the $65 three-course seasonal menu (you can add wine pairing for an extra $35). A sophisticated eatery, this is dining as an event.
reviewed
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Chez Lévêque
This classic bistro attracts the beautiful people of Mile End and Outremont to chat about fashion, movies and business under irreverent religious art. Paris-born owner Pierre Lévêque presents a superb choice of traditional French cuisine with grilled meats (rack of lamb or caribou) and fresh seafood (red snapper, Atlantic salmon or bouillabaisse). Many of the fine wines are sold by the glass.
reviewed
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Les Chenêts
Magnificent French food is served here by chef and owner Michel Gillet in an intimate, ornate dining room. Gillet is also owner of the world’s largest cognac collection (830 different labels). The menu is written out on the chalkboard with classics like herring appetizers and mains like steak frites (steak and French fries). For dessert try the highly addictive chocolate profiteroles.
reviewed
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Nuances
Just past the roulette tables and slot machines inside the Casino de Montréal, lies one of the town's classiest restaurants. One highlight is the roasted pigeon, succulent with crispy skin, served with gratinéed potatoes and a stew of giblets and chanterelles, all bathed in a delectable sauce of veal and chicken stock. Reservations and business attire are essential for both men and women.
reviewed
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Chez Queux
Housed in an historic warehouse from 1862, with stone walls, polished paneling and Third Empire furnishings, this gem offers the epitome of old-fashioned French cuisine. Settle into a thronelike chair, order the delicious chateaubriand and prepare for a pampering. The little-known rear terrace overlooking the Old Port is a lovely dining spot in summer. The wine list features 300-plus varieties.
reviewed
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Au Petit Extra
This sweet little place serves traditional bistro fare to a garrulous local crowd. The blackboard menu changes frequently but features simple, flavorful dishes ( steak frites, foie gras, duck confit, mahimahi), and staff can expertly pair wines with food. Reservations are advised, but you can linger over a glass of wine at the handsome wooden bar if you have to wait.
reviewed