Newtown : Expensive restaurant that doesn’t live up to its award winning chef

As with most people in Montreal, I was aware of the existence of the Newtown restaurant, and had even been a couple of times for an after work 5 à 7 (otherwise known as happy hour).  However, when the chef of the Newtown, Martin Juneau, won the National Golden Plate award I was intrigued.  However, I wasn’t intrigued enough to check it out until I saw a travelzoo coupon for a special deal there announced recently.  100$ for two amuses bouches, two appetizers, two mains, two desserts and three glasses of alcohol for two people seemed like a great deal, and an excuse to check out the restaurant and its award winning chef.

We had reserved for a sunny Thursday evening in early summer, so the first floor was filled with business men and women enjoying a loud, happy hour.  We were directed to the restaurant on the second floor.  We were seated first in the “lounge” area.  I didn’t really understand the concept and asked to be seated at a table, I was told I would be escorted their for the main meal.  So, we decided to have drinks while we waited.  I had a bloody caesar, it was good though a little too spicy, as is often the case at restaurants.  My boyfriend tried to order a “Ricard”, a type of pastis, but our waitress (who didn’t speak very well in French) brought him a Rickard’s red instead…. hmm, this wasn’t starting of so well!

Next, we were surprised while, still in the lounge area, our amuses-bouche arrived, and it was an aragula soup.  Generally, amuses-bouches bring to mind small bite sized portions, not soup.  Nevertheless, the soup was excellent, it was thick and creamy, and the aragula was well represented.

We were then escorted to our table.  I didn’t quite understand the change of seating, especially since the restaurant was half empty, but I was still glad not to be eating in the lounge on the couch.  Next, we had a choice of appetizers and mains from their regular menu.  As an appetizer, I ordered the tuna salad with teriyaki sauce, tuna sashimi and fried onions while my boyfriend ordered the porkbelly with beet salad and caramelized pistachios.  Note that they change the menu frequently, so these choices may no longer be available.

The tuna salad wasn’t great.  The tuna had been shredded and had this strange, stringy texture.  Maybe because of this, I found the tuna didn’t taste like anything, it was too bland.  The taste that stood out from the plate was the teriyaki sauce and it completely overpowered this appetizer.

My boyfriend enjoyed his salad, but also found the salad dressing overpowering.  Nevertheless, he liked the cold pork, beets and caramelized pecans.  It was good, but nothing spectacular.

Next, I ordered the grilled catch of the day, served with lemon caper butter, braised fennel and sweet potato purée.  The grilled catch ended up being salmon.  The presentation was excellent, but the plate arrived cold.  The fish was lukewarm, and the rest of the items were actually cold.  So, even though the plate was good overall with the sweetness of the sweet potato purée blending well with the tartness of the fennel and the meaty texture of the esalmon, the fact that it was cold ruined it for me.

My boyfriend had ordered the grilled flanksteak with “pontneuf” fries and gremolata.  My boyfriend enjoyed his meal, his wasn’t served cold 😉  The meat was rare, as requested, and it was well accompanied with a cheesy sauce and some large fries.

Finally, for dessert, we enjoyed a chocolate mousse served with a chocolate crumble.  While the presentation was again very nice, the spoon I was given didn’t fit the dessert dish, and I had to request a smaller spoon!

Despite this small setback, I enjoyed the dessert.  I found it a little too chocolatey, luckily the chocolate crumble was quite salty helping to counterbalance the sweetness of the mousse.

So, all in all, I was disappointed with my experience at Newtown.  What with the award-winning chef, and the high price (regularly, without a coupon) , I had been led to believe that this meal would wow me, and that wasn’t the case.  Also, the service wasn’t what you would expect from a restaurant that’s trying to showcase its food.  The waitresses were all very pretty in tight red dresses, but they were understaffed for the restaurant and were not used to serving wine or apéritif (hence the Rickard’s…) and did not speak French all that well.  They seemed more like bar staff than actual waitstaff.  What was interesting too was that we recognized the sommelier from Européa who seemed to be acting as manager for the restaurant on this busy Thursday night.  When we spoke to him and mentioned that we recognized him, he promised us some dessert wine.  We were pleased, but he never delivered, so it just added another disappointment, in an evening that had missed all my expectations so far.

In conclusion, this is a place to see and be seen, not for a culinary experience.  I get the impression it’s a bit of a tourist trap on busy Crescent street, so I would avoid.

Bon Apétit!

1476 Crescent Street, Montreal, Qc

514-284-6555

http://lenewtown.com/

Bistro Beaver Hall: Classic French Bistro from reknown chef, Jérôme Ferrer

As a huge fan of Jérôme Ferrer from his restaurant Europea, I was anxious to see what his Bistro had to offer.  Via his monthly newsletter, I received an email announcing a “faim de soirée” 20$ menu at his Bistro to celebrate the 10 years of existence of Europea.  What with Mother’s day and this wonderful special, I decided now was the time to visit.

We had reservations for 7:30pm on the Saturday before Mother’s day.  The décor is quite laid back, with wood floors and walls, and with lots of red leather booths, creating a very “bistro” feel.  You could also tell the restaurant was quite family friendly, as there were lots of kids around.

The meal started off with some lovely french bread and tapenade.  It make for an interesting change to the classic bread and butter combo. The tapenade was good, but no more.

With our special 20$ menu, we had a choice of four entrées, four mains, and it also came with the dessert of the day and tea or coffee.  I was with my boyfriend and his parents, and we chose the cheese croquette, fried calamari, beef carpaccio and cucumber gazpacho as entrées.

The cheese croquette didn’t sound that appealing to me, I felt it sounded a bit heavy, I mean, after all, it’s fried cheese!  However, I was wrong, while fried, the batter was light, and the cheese was creamy but not runny.  It was served over some pesto sauce, with some salad.  The salad and pesto provided a good, fresh balance to the richness of the cheese.  This was my favourite entrée.

My boyfriend’s father chose the fried calamari, crusted with parmesan breading, and served with a tartar sauce and marinara sauce.  The calamari was the most tender fried calamari I’d ever had.  There was none of that rubbery effect you often have with calamari, and it was very fresh.  The only thing was I felt the parmesan taste could have been more present in the batter.

My boyfriend had the beef carpaccio entrée.  Thin slices of raw beef, covered with parmesan shavings, roquette leaves and balsamic glaze.  The mixture of textures and tastes was excellent; the thin, tender beef, the crunchiness of the roquette, the saltiness of the parmesan, complemented by the sweetness of the balsamic and a surprising lemon taste, which added to the depth of the flavours.

I had the cucumber gazpacho.  It was very fresh, the texture was a little thin, with small pieces of cucumber that added some texture and some thickness.  However, while good, it was my least favourite of the four entrées.

As a main meal, my boyfriend ordered the calf liver, served with some sautéed onions and some green vegetables.  This is a classic french bistro offering, and it was very well executed.  I’m not a big fan of calf liver, or liver in general, but my boyfriend often chooses this in restaurants as it is something he always feels is not as good when cooked at home.  The vegetables it were served with were original and delicious.  The bok choy were perfectly cooked, with the leaves still crisp yet not dry, and they provided an unexpected pairing.  The asparagus were also very fresh and had a nice crunch.

My boyfriend’s parents both had the mussels with a white wine sauce served with fries.  My boyfriend’s mother found that several of her mussels were closed (and therefore inedible), yet she still had too much and was unable to finish her plate.  However, my boyfriend’s father did not have the same problem, his mussels were all open.  The white wine sauce was delicious and was flavoured with nutmeg which was interesting and surprising for this french bistro classic.  The fries were large and tender, both crispy and soft.

I had beef carpaccio, which was as good as the entrée, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity of food in my plate.  All of the portions so far had been extremely generous, and this was no exception.

Finally, as part of this special menu, we all had the same dessert.  It was a layer of custard overlaid with some mascarpone cream and some small candied orange pieces.  The dessert was delicious, with the sweeness of the custard well complemented by the richness of the mascarpone.  The candied orange pieces, however, seemed out of place and I left them to the side.

The tea was served with a small biscotti which was a nice touch, however, by that time, I was stuffed, and did not even have room for this small biscotti.

So, in conclusion, the Bistro Beaver Hall is not as elegant or as original as Europea.  However, it does not pretend to have the same ambiance, being much more laid back and affordable.  What you have is excellent, classic french bistro fare, with excellent quality for the price and amiable and friendly service.

Great for a business lunch or a evening amongst friends, or even, with the kids (they even have a kids menu).

Enjoy, bon apétit!

http://www.beaverhall.ca/