Having dined at Michelin establishments in Europe, I have to admit that this comes pretty close to deserving at least a star if not more. We were visiting montreal for the weekend and had already made reservations couple of weeks ago. Reservations seem extremely hard to come by at a convenient time, so reserve early to avoid disappointment. As soon as we were seated the food mostly in tapas style started arriving. It was presented in a quirky way especially the prosciutto chips hanging on a clothesline. Some dishes did not hit the mark from a taste perspective but scored high marks on culinary genius and creativity. The initial barrage of tapas left me in a food coma and I was not quite sure how much capacity I had left in me to get to the main part of the meal. They offer 2 different tasting menus and I think it's a great value for the price, we chose the smaller of the 2 tasting menus. We were served by different servers throughout our meal and I only had issues with one of them since they did not handle my cocktail request very well.
Highlights
Lobster cream Cappuccino with truffle - How can you not like this combination? I was salivating the minute I saw this dish on the menu.
Goat cheese lollipops with parmesan - Heavenly, need I say more !
Scallops - Delicious crust and the risotto was a perfect pairing with the earthiness of the mushrooms
Ravioli - We cleaned up this plate upto the last tiny morsel!
Disappointments
Maple bark stewed pan-seared foie gras, caramelized on a river stone with ice wine - This is a test of patience especially when the end product doesnt meet your expectations. The presentation is fun and you have to wait for the foie gras to cook itself on the hot stone. Unfortunately the temperature of the stone was higher than necessary which had an overall impact on the flavors I could taste. I think their earlier combination with mushrooms looks more appealing to me.
The dessert was presented in a creative way (like a fried egg) but from a flavor perspective it did not pack a sweet punch. If you looking for a fun and adventurous dining experience, look no further than Europea. They change their menu every season, I can't wait to go back in the fall or spring to try out the inventive cuisine.