Chez l'Épicier

Fodorite Reviews

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  Catastrophic

  On the recommendation of our hotel concierge, we chose this place to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Big mistake! It was to be an evening to remember, but not in the way we hoped. We sat down at 6.30pm and opted for the 7-course tasting menu. At 9pm we had still not got to the main course, and were kept waiting for 1 whole hour (!) between the 3rd and 4th courses. We finally got the dessert around 10.15 and managed to make our escape just after 10.30. The food? We were long since past caring by then! Our special evening had been comprehensively ruined and we had paid CAN $264 for the privilege (comprising food for 2 with wine accompaniment for 1). Take it from us: when in Montreal, avoid L'Epicier!

  by Yertuag, 10/6/12
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  Chez l'Épicier Review

  We usually dine at Bonaparte when in Montreal, but based on the the reviews here, we decided to try L'Epicier. What a disappointment. Firstly, it's not the "romantic" dining room we expected. It's noisy, and the tables are so close together, you can hear the conversations at all of your neighbor's tables. The service is attentive, but slow paced. After receiving our first course (my smoked salmon was exquisite, but my husband's salad was a pile of lettuce), we waited an hour for the main course. About half an hour of waiting, I said to my husband "the main course better be outstanding". Well, when it finally arrived, it was less than room temperature. We complained, and the waiter brought me a new plate (I sat there while my husband was eating his filet). Well, on the second try, the meat was warm, but everything else was just rearranged, and colder than before. Beautiful presentation, but for the price, I honestly expected better flavor, and certainly appropriate temperature. We'll stick with Bonaparte for our special dinners out in the future.

  by olgakrone, 4/23/12
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  Chez l'Épicier Review

  This was our favorite of three upscale restaurants in Montreal. Our concierge got us a reservation at this very popular restaurant, bagging the last two seats at the bar. Turned out wonderful, as the bartender was a conversationalist, along with the diners on each side of us. We had a delightful time here. The food: Amazing. Presentation: Wow! We both had a lobster dish featured as a special for the night. “Quebec lobster with aromatic butter garlic dill sauce. Paprika froth, salsify and herb potatoes.” I had a “Mars Bar” for desert, a concoction of chocolate ice cream, and various sauces. DW had a “Maple and Lemon Crisp donut stick.” Impossible to describe (but certainly not a donut), and very good. Recommend this place most highly.
  
  NOTE: Fodor’s restaurant map shows this restaurant incorrectly west instead of east rue St-Paul.

  by BillJ, 10/22/11
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  Creative food!

  FOOD
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  Started with the foie gras: not greasy at all and incredibly succulent. The accompaniments were a mix of hits (the fresh light taste of pear was an excellent and interestingly add-on to that succulent foie gras), but the few other accompaniments were just ok (at least you can see that they try pushing the limits of flavors/savors, which I truely liked).
  
  Main course was roasted scallop + braised pork:
  each bite of the pork was succulent and the scallop was of perfect tenderness with perfect flavors. Apart the accompanying curry (nice try..but I wasn't enthusiastic about it since it turned out irrelevant here and kinda killed a bit of the awesome flavors of both the scallops and pork), the overall dish was of mouth drooling experience!
  
  I can't say enough about the dessert:
  I picked the chocolate club sandwich which was more of an elaborate symphony of multi dimensional palate-teasing flavors -> The accompanying pineapple fries were simply lovely, the creamy melon was utterly yummy, and the fresh mint added a perfect heavenly enriched flavor.
  
  I am fond of chefs who pushes the limits of our palate. Although the results can turn sometimes disappointing, sometimes great, they have the merit of being original and passionate. And l'Epicier, from my own personal experience, is an awesome lab of creativity.
  Overall, a definitely great inspired high end cuisine.

  by aromes, 9/7/09
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  Pefect for a foodie like me.

  My daughter and I ate dinner here on Jun3 9, and it was wonderful. fun atmosphere, perfect service, and the food was delicious. I had mushroom pate and mushroom soup, and I wish I had the recipes.

  by shansen10, 6/16/09

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