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| - What a way to start off my visit to Montreal! Delicious.
I called and made a reservation for two 45 minutes prior to our arrival to allow for enough time to stop by the SAQ and pick up some wine - BYOW, what a great way to dine! Buying wine at the liquor store we were able to drink VERY well - Chateau Margaux and Chateauneuff du Pape!! Must have saved over $100 compared to buying those wines in a restaurant.
On our way to the restaurant, my sister called and asked to join us, and O Thym accommodated no problem: we had to wait 15 minutes for a table for three to open up, but our waiter was happy to seat us and open one of our bottles while we waited for my sister to arrive and switch to the other table. Being Ville Marie (or The Village, depending on who you talk to) it is nearly all Francophone. The menu was chalked up on a board entirely in French, a lovely characteristic, but our waiter was happy to bring us an English menu - not even of a flutter of snobbery. Throughout the meal he made a much-appreciated effort to speak to us in English, and did a bang-up job at it, topping off our fabulous experience.
Now, to the food! Oh the food - scrumptious. I started with the sweetbreads while my fellow diners had the smoked duck salad and the salmon & avocado tartare. Forkfuls exchanged around the table, all quite tasty. We followed that with a palate cleanser of sorbet, and then I had the venison and the rest of the table the filet mignon. Once again, all delectable. For dessert we shared a cheese plate, the creme brulee, and the flourless chocolate cake. No let down here either! The meal was paced perfectly, and we were the last ones in the place.
Coming away from a meal like that without having broken the bank was just so refreshing. The BYOW along with mouth-watering food and top-notch service all in an unpretentious setting: this is bistro dining at its best!
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