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| - There seems to be a lot of Italian food in Montreal, and I'm not totally convinced that this is the best. It's very solid food, authentic, and tasty but it's a bit on the pricey side. I suppose with all the celebrities touted on the wall, they can rest on their laurels a bit and command a pretty penny for their food. Don't get me wrong, the food was good, but I think I could find a better meal or better Italian food in Montreal for cheaper.
The ambiance is pretty cool, as it was in what used to be a women's prison. There are no printed menus, so don't go searching or asking for one when you sit down - they will bring you a written menu on a chalkboard to your table (all written in Italian), and will explain it to you. They will also bring you a piece of bruschetta to start your meal.
We were a party of 4 and shared all the dishes family style, which I would recommend so that you can try a little bit of everything.
The best dishes were the eggplant parmigana, fettucini with porcini mushrooms, and the shrimp. The eggplant parmigana had really good flavor and was decently sized. The pasta was homemade, fresh, and you could just taste all the flavors of the porcini - don't leave without getting this pasta. The shrimp was very fresh, large, and really dense. Well seasoned and perfectly cooked.
We also got the caprese (good, but not outstanding), the smoked salmon carpaccio with arugula (good, but I can make this at home), and the veal ravioli (good, but just tasted like a pretty standard meat ravioli to me with tomato sauce).
All in all, good food, authentic, and delicious. Some of the dishes were certainly better than others, It was pricey for Italian food - we each paid about $75 CAD and didn't drink any wine. I enjoyed my meal but don't think I'd come back here again and again.
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