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| - What a great hidden gem in Old Montreal! We stopped in for a late night snack on a Saturday night. The entrance is just off Rue Notre Dame, on a narrow side street. Walking down the stairs, you enter into a true Quebecois restaurant. L'Orignal, which means "moose", is decorated like a hunting lodge, with moose heads, wooden floors and walls, old-timey knicknacks and dimly lit with candles. At 11 PM, the dining room was still buzzing with activity, but it wasn't hard to get a table. The late night menu includes oysters on the half shell, tuna tartare, mini burgers, mac and cheese, and poutine. I chose to start with a selection of six oysters, from PEI and Massachusetts. Served simply with lemon and a little ground horseradish, they were perfectly fresh and briny. I followed that up with a hearty portion of mac and cheese, dense with cheddar and sprinkled with chopped scallions. My wife had the tuna tartare, wonderfully balanced with avocado and a punch of chili and ginger. Overall service was fast and attentive, and the drinks were nice and strong. Fortunately for us, we were staying right around the corner. We definitely will be back to try the full dinner menu.
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