New Montreal Restaurant Thread
- Thread starter EagerBeaver
- Start date
for the fan of daniel vezina is new restaurant is now open (the laurie raphael) at hotel le germain small place same great food and service
O.Noir
It has been reviewed here before, but I'm posting a somewhat more detailed review of O.Noir. As a result of a companion's instigation I ended-up going. Frankly, as intrigued as I was by the 'concept' I don't think I'd have gone without another person's urging.
The concept of O.Noir is immersing yourself, and dining, in darkness. Total pitch-black darkness. As if you were blind! The owners go as far as hiring blind staff. O.Noir, for the French challenged, phonetically translates to 'At Black.' Presumably this denial of sight enhances the other 4 senses...
The restaurant is located on St-Catherine across from the Faubourg in the Concordia area. The bar/foyer one enters first is dimly lit giving your eyes a chance to adjust to the upcoming darkness. We were asked to stow our coats into rather small lockers, of which they didn't seem to have enough of (we just ended up inelegantly stuffing more coats into fewer lockers), but more importantly they also request that watches and cell phones be put away so that dark dining environment isn't spoiled. Once settled, but before being seated, we ordered at the bar. Their menu is online. The (sighted) hostesses at the bar were very helpful, polite, and attractive! Too bad we weren't going to be seeing much more of them.
I ordered the 'Surprise entrée' and 'Surprise dish', hoping to fully benefit from the experience, and specifically requested the Viennese chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for desert. We were then introduced to our waiter and led into the dining area which is only separated by two heavy curtains that cut out the light. Since we were a large(r) party, we basically formed a conga line with the waiter at the front and were brought to our table. Once seated we ended up chatting while waiting for all the other parties to be seated and for the waiters to start bringing the food. It was a bit surprising that the conversation prior to the meal wasn't terribly stimulating. Not having the usual visual cues as to whether the person you are talking to is looking at you, interested, agrees, disagrees... made it a bit tenuous. This was noted during the conversation by everyone so I know it's not because of mediocre social skills. If you are only going as a couple then this 'effect' probably won't be as acute.
Finally the food started to arrive. It can take a bit of time for everyone at the table to get their meals since the waiters have to do multiple trips (only one waiter is assigned per table). Since they are blind they also call out to each other fairly often so as not to bump into each other. The night we happened to go, there seemed to be a handful of people celebrating birthdays... regularly, a table somewhere would erupt into "Happy Birthday" and the general 'tone' of the crowd was boisterous. This meant that the waiters had to shush the crowd a few times since they mostly used sound to navigate and couldn't hear each other's calls.
As for the food: all I remember of the entrée was that it contained mushrooms. It was appetizing and I looked forward to what would come next. The main dish, frankly, was disappointing. Not much of a surprise here. Steak, potatoes and gravy. Average; there's nothing else to say. Desert was much better; the chocolate cake was excellent and the ice cream along side was a perfect complement. Until then, I had no problem with picking up food with the fork in the dark and directing it into my mouth. Though now, the spoon, cake, and ice cream were not working together. Like all of my table companions, though some did this much earlier on in the evening, I opted to resort to directly eating with my hand. This was of course not something any of us would have done in a lit environment, but in this case it was acceptable.
I have no recollection what the red wine we drank throughout the meal was, but it was above average (at least to my limited wine palate) and reasonably priced. After desert we were offered coffee or tea. I opted for tea. When it was brought over the minty scent was particularly strong and we were all surprised to be reminded that we have a noses with which we can smell with! Of course one tastes food as much with the nose as with the tongue, but the olfactory sense just didn't 'come into play' during the meal. Also, judging from a quick tactile survey, the decor is absolutely inexistent (I guess as it should), but it's not because I can't see that I can't tell the table is poorly made and that the chairs don't match each other, and weren't particularly comfortable. Also, the place mats were made out of some sort of rubbery material. Evidently they must be easy to wash since a lot of food must get spilled, but it's not a particularly pleasant material to the touch. As I mentioned earlier, the place can get quite loud. And it's an unpleasant loud since the room is very reverberant. The sound of the room would probably be more pleasant with some absorptive material on the ceiling (and maybe also the walls).
Once we were done, we were led out by our waiter. As stated earlier, the waiters are blind, and it must be said that they do a fantastic job! The transition to the dimly lit bar was a bit abrupt everyone had to adjust to the light... after our pupils readjusted, it was revealed that I had a 'food mishap'. I was not the only person who had spilled food on themselves, but my spill was the most 'spectacular' Ironically, my stain happened when I switched to eating with my hands. Do not wear anything too fancy that would upset you if it were ruined by a stain. It is practically inevitable that this will happen.
My bill amounted to about $50 (including tip and wine). They do take credit cards.
Should you go once? Yes! Repeat? No. I don't think I'd be able to regain the novelty of the experience. Overall it's a great concept, but there's a lot of room for improvement. We live in such a visual society, it could have been particularly interesting to let the other senses flourish, but I don't think O.Noir cultivated them.
It has been reviewed here before, but I'm posting a somewhat more detailed review of O.Noir. As a result of a companion's instigation I ended-up going. Frankly, as intrigued as I was by the 'concept' I don't think I'd have gone without another person's urging.
The concept of O.Noir is immersing yourself, and dining, in darkness. Total pitch-black darkness. As if you were blind! The owners go as far as hiring blind staff. O.Noir, for the French challenged, phonetically translates to 'At Black.' Presumably this denial of sight enhances the other 4 senses...
The restaurant is located on St-Catherine across from the Faubourg in the Concordia area. The bar/foyer one enters first is dimly lit giving your eyes a chance to adjust to the upcoming darkness. We were asked to stow our coats into rather small lockers, of which they didn't seem to have enough of (we just ended up inelegantly stuffing more coats into fewer lockers), but more importantly they also request that watches and cell phones be put away so that dark dining environment isn't spoiled. Once settled, but before being seated, we ordered at the bar. Their menu is online. The (sighted) hostesses at the bar were very helpful, polite, and attractive! Too bad we weren't going to be seeing much more of them.
I ordered the 'Surprise entrée' and 'Surprise dish', hoping to fully benefit from the experience, and specifically requested the Viennese chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for desert. We were then introduced to our waiter and led into the dining area which is only separated by two heavy curtains that cut out the light. Since we were a large(r) party, we basically formed a conga line with the waiter at the front and were brought to our table. Once seated we ended up chatting while waiting for all the other parties to be seated and for the waiters to start bringing the food. It was a bit surprising that the conversation prior to the meal wasn't terribly stimulating. Not having the usual visual cues as to whether the person you are talking to is looking at you, interested, agrees, disagrees... made it a bit tenuous. This was noted during the conversation by everyone so I know it's not because of mediocre social skills.
If you are only going as a couple then this 'effect' probably won't be as acute.Finally the food started to arrive. It can take a bit of time for everyone at the table to get their meals since the waiters have to do multiple trips (only one waiter is assigned per table). Since they are blind they also call out to each other fairly often so as not to bump into each other. The night we happened to go, there seemed to be a handful of people celebrating birthdays... regularly, a table somewhere would erupt into "Happy Birthday" and the general 'tone' of the crowd was boisterous. This meant that the waiters had to shush the crowd a few times since they mostly used sound to navigate and couldn't hear each other's calls.
As for the food: all I remember of the entrée was that it contained mushrooms. It was appetizing and I looked forward to what would come next. The main dish, frankly, was disappointing. Not much of a surprise here. Steak, potatoes and gravy. Average; there's nothing else to say. Desert was much better; the chocolate cake was excellent and the ice cream along side was a perfect complement. Until then, I had no problem with picking up food with the fork in the dark and directing it into my mouth. Though now, the spoon, cake, and ice cream were not working together. Like all of my table companions, though some did this much earlier on in the evening, I opted to resort to directly eating with my hand. This was of course not something any of us would have done in a lit environment, but in this case it was acceptable.
I have no recollection what the red wine we drank throughout the meal was, but it was above average (at least to my limited wine palate) and reasonably priced. After desert we were offered coffee or tea. I opted for tea. When it was brought over the minty scent was particularly strong and we were all surprised to be reminded that we have a noses with which we can smell with! Of course one tastes food as much with the nose as with the tongue, but the olfactory sense just didn't 'come into play' during the meal. Also, judging from a quick tactile survey, the decor is absolutely inexistent (I guess as it should), but it's not because I can't see that I can't tell the table is poorly made and that the chairs don't match each other, and weren't particularly comfortable. Also, the place mats were made out of some sort of rubbery material. Evidently they must be easy to wash since a lot of food must get spilled, but it's not a particularly pleasant material to the touch. As I mentioned earlier, the place can get quite loud. And it's an unpleasant loud since the room is very reverberant. The sound of the room would probably be more pleasant with some absorptive material on the ceiling (and maybe also the walls).
Once we were done, we were led out by our waiter. As stated earlier, the waiters are blind, and it must be said that they do a fantastic job! The transition to the dimly lit bar was a bit abrupt everyone had to adjust to the light... after our pupils readjusted, it was revealed that I had a 'food mishap'. I was not the only person who had spilled food on themselves, but my spill was the most 'spectacular'
Ironically, my stain happened when I switched to eating with my hands. Do not wear anything too fancy that would upset you if it were ruined by a stain. It is practically inevitable that this will happen.My bill amounted to about $50 (including tip and wine). They do take credit cards.
Should you go once? Yes! Repeat? No. I don't think I'd be able to regain the novelty of the experience. Overall it's a great concept, but there's a lot of room for improvement. We live in such a visual society, it could have been particularly interesting to let the other senses flourish, but I don't think O.Noir cultivated them.
O.Noir
1631 St-Catherine West
(across from the Faubourg)
514-937-9727
Services only at 17:45 and 21:00
Lunch is available for groups of 15 or more.
1631 St-Catherine West
(across from the Faubourg)
514-937-9727
Services only at 17:45 and 21:00
Lunch is available for groups of 15 or more.
Thanks Chef! Yeah I was amused to consult their menu online and see pictures of the food... I am positive the plates are not arranged that way when you actually sit down to eat them in the dark. The tenuous conversation was also strange effect of the darkness.chef said:
'Professional' review of O.Noir
There's a professional review of O.Noir in the Montreal Mirror.
From the Mirror's review:
I think someone should take an SP and then post a real review of this place!
There's a professional review of O.Noir in the Montreal Mirror.
From the Mirror's review:
I think someone should take an SP and then post a real review of this place!
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That logical someone would be you, dear Consul, as you have already given us a prelude and set the stage in your initial review, and you would not be in virgin territory !!Agrippa said:...............
I think someone should take an SP and then post a real review of this place!
No SPs for me, thanks. A date, maybe. But, again, they would have to be ones who insist on going back to O.Noir. As for something raunchy happening... well I guess that also depends on the date.chef said:That logical someone would be you, dear Consul, as you have already given us a prelude and set the stage in your initial review, and you would not be in virgin territory !!
Agrippa said:I think someone should take an SP and then post a real review of this place!
I'm sure there is camera's placed inside set to "night vision" that people are constantly watching to make sure this type of activity doesn't take place...or maybe just to enjoy watching this.
Thanks for the review Agrippa, sounds like an interesting place.
Special K said:I'm sure there is camera's placed inside set to "night vision" that people are constantly watching to make sure this type of activity doesn't take place...or maybe just to enjoy watching this.
Thanks for the review Agrippa, sounds like an interesting place.
LOL, very true! I hadn't thought of that! If not for puritan (or prurient) reasons then they'd have them installed for security. Maybe there's all this incriminating footage of everyone eating with their hands (and bare torsos). I have been to Onoir and would say that is was an interesting adventure, but you don't go there for the food. The meal was okay, but I had the pleasure of being with some very tactile people when I went, and we enjoyed that part of it.
For the first time about a month ago, I went to Au Pied du Cochon... can I say, ummm, I just loved it?! I think after my poutine and burger combo, I think my foie was a foie gras! The service was great as we sat at the bar and watch the kitchen whirl. Fascinating. The cooks were always ready to explain what they were preparing and offering me a taste of this or that. Great stuff.
Recently I went back to a place called Isakaya on Park avenue. Lot's of people like this sushi place, but I am not so impressed. I am not a fan of Kaizen either, and the other night I went to Sakura and again... though I enjoyed the dinner, I wasn't wowed. Maybe it takes more to wow me these days? I have been more wowed by eating at home. hmmm.
Which got me thinking. What if someone here started a recipe thread? Do you think that would be interesting?
For the first time about a month ago, I went to Au Pied du Cochon... can I say, ummm, I just loved it?! I think after my poutine and burger combo, I think my foie was a foie gras! The service was great as we sat at the bar and watch the kitchen whirl. Fascinating. The cooks were always ready to explain what they were preparing and offering me a taste of this or that. Great stuff.
Recently I went back to a place called Isakaya on Park avenue. Lot's of people like this sushi place, but I am not so impressed. I am not a fan of Kaizen either, and the other night I went to Sakura and again... though I enjoyed the dinner, I wasn't wowed. Maybe it takes more to wow me these days? I have been more wowed by eating at home. hmmm.
Which got me thinking. What if someone here started a recipe thread? Do you think that would be interesting?
Just-ass-weet said:
Hi Anik! I already started such a thread long time ago:
https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=23575&highlight=recipe
Important notice for food lovers!!
I thought some of the food lovers on the board might be interested in this upcoming event in Old Montreal:
http://www.happeninggourmand.com/
It seems like a great chance to try out some decent restaurants at a more than decent price. When else can you have a three course meal at Mechant Boeuf for $15.00 or a three course at Verses for $25.00???
Techman
I thought some of the food lovers on the board might be interested in this upcoming event in Old Montreal:
http://www.happeninggourmand.com/
It seems like a great chance to try out some decent restaurants at a more than decent price. When else can you have a three course meal at Mechant Boeuf for $15.00 or a three course at Verses for $25.00???
Techman
Techman said:
Great discovery Techman.
A three course at Verses for $25.00...wow...that's a great deal.
How come Reuben's website never works? For a somewhat swank place like that, you'd think they'd have a functioning website?
bond_james_bond said:
Their website works fine for me, in both IE and Firefox:
http://www.reubensdeli.com/large/indexB2.html
Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed.
OK now back to the reviews........
Happening gourmand at Verses + Aux Cuisines du Terroir
http://www.happeninggourmand.com/en.html
It's being a while that I did not go to Verses + Aux Cuisines du Terroir.
Last time I went at both places, their cuisine was great.
But some buddies are telling me that at both places, things are not as great as they used to be (seems like Verses do not have the same Chef as the one I knew back then...hence the cuisine being less stellar). As for "Aux Cuisines du Terroir", I knew even by reading the critics on the web that their service was becoming more and more pushy. Anyway, I'll still give them a try this week end.
http://www.happeninggourmand.com/en.html
It's being a while that I did not go to Verses + Aux Cuisines du Terroir.
Last time I went at both places, their cuisine was great.
But some buddies are telling me that at both places, things are not as great as they used to be (seems like Verses do not have the same Chef as the one I knew back then...hence the cuisine being less stellar). As for "Aux Cuisines du Terroir", I knew even by reading the critics on the web that their service was becoming more and more pushy. Anyway, I'll still give them a try this week end.
Chao Phraya (full GFE) + Verses (Ymmv)
Finally went to Verses for the "Happening Gourmand":
the place is a beautiful as usual, but what I was afraid of..turned real:
the food is not as great as it used to be. Anyway, it was quite fun to go back there just for the atmosphere and beauty of the restaurant + the hotel itself (my type of hotel).
I also went back to my favourite Thai Restaurant, Chao Phraya (Laurier, Corner St Laurent): as usual, great service + great food (btw: for the Gents who want Asian cuties and would not mind crusing a bit, I saw 2 cute asian waitresses there) + charming restaurant. Chao has always been full GFE to me
Finally went to Verses for the "Happening Gourmand":
the place is a beautiful as usual, but what I was afraid of..turned real:
the food is not as great as it used to be. Anyway, it was quite fun to go back there just for the atmosphere and beauty of the restaurant + the hotel itself (my type of hotel).
I also went back to my favourite Thai Restaurant, Chao Phraya (Laurier, Corner St Laurent): as usual, great service + great food (btw: for the Gents who want Asian cuties and would not mind crusing a bit, I saw 2 cute asian waitresses there) + charming restaurant. Chao has always been full GFE to me
Phare du Nord (Laval): Overpriced restaurant, but for what???
I can't accuse the Chef of this restaurant of a lack of passion:
after all, his/her meals + desserts were decorated with great taste.
Now, You can have the best decorated meals...but as a restaurant, the most
important is how great is the meal itself. And that's where they unfortunately fail:
I ordered a Marseillaise fish soup $7 + Assiette du pecheur (mix of all kind of sea food) $40 + a $7 creme brulée.
My girlfriend had some $9 nails mixed with a tomato sauce + a $27 surf and turf + a $7 cheese cake.
We ordered a $25 Riestling bottle of white wine.
The fish soup: with no flavor, completely tasteless. Actually, the only flavor
you would get from that soup was a very stong dose of tomato paste. The sparse pieces of fish were completely overkilled by a taste of condensed tomato paste.
The "Assiette du pecheur": the sauce that's meant for the sea food was an awkward sauce very close to PHP sauce or somekind of barbecue sauce. Where did their chef pick that sauce???
Any chef in the world knows that you don't put a sauce for red meat on sea food! Their chef could have simply made a garlic sauce that traditionaly accompany very well sea food.
The sea food were badly grilled and very dry which took out all their savour:
how sad was that to confuse the taste of a $40 lobster with something close to the taste of a sponge!
As for my girlfriend, her surf & turf was also an unfortunate mix of very dry sea food with...and that confirmed to us how non-talented this chef is... a dry steak without flavor!
How, in a $27 surf and turf plate, could you offer a steak that's badly cooked, dry, spongy and without any flavor!
We spent our all dinner constantly trying to find the right dosage between salt and pepper for our meals in order to desesparately find a taste. That says a lot about the flavor of the meals.
As for the very well decorated creme brulée, it was tasteless as well, dry and I never bothered finishing it. And I had my 1st all time frozen Cheese cake (and I am not kidding!)
There's no excuse: you can't offer such a poor cooking performance when your restaurant offers such overkilling
prices (Total bill of $167 for my girlfriend and I!). Mainly when you're in an area where people are very well aware of what good food should be!
Overall: a restaurant that's got an eye-candy outside packaging (the decoration of the restaurant is beautiful mediterranean setup, romantic, the service is awesome, the owner of the restaurant welcomes you), but
the meals..yes the meals...the main reason of the restaurant...are simply not at the rendez vous.
I can't accuse the Chef of this restaurant of a lack of passion:
after all, his/her meals + desserts were decorated with great taste.
Now, You can have the best decorated meals...but as a restaurant, the most
important is how great is the meal itself. And that's where they unfortunately fail:
I ordered a Marseillaise fish soup $7 + Assiette du pecheur (mix of all kind of sea food) $40 + a $7 creme brulée.
My girlfriend had some $9 nails mixed with a tomato sauce + a $27 surf and turf + a $7 cheese cake.
We ordered a $25 Riestling bottle of white wine.
The fish soup: with no flavor, completely tasteless. Actually, the only flavor
you would get from that soup was a very stong dose of tomato paste. The sparse pieces of fish were completely overkilled by a taste of condensed tomato paste.
The "Assiette du pecheur": the sauce that's meant for the sea food was an awkward sauce very close to PHP sauce or somekind of barbecue sauce. Where did their chef pick that sauce???
Any chef in the world knows that you don't put a sauce for red meat on sea food! Their chef could have simply made a garlic sauce that traditionaly accompany very well sea food.
The sea food were badly grilled and very dry which took out all their savour:
how sad was that to confuse the taste of a $40 lobster with something close to the taste of a sponge!
As for my girlfriend, her surf & turf was also an unfortunate mix of very dry sea food with...and that confirmed to us how non-talented this chef is... a dry steak without flavor!
How, in a $27 surf and turf plate, could you offer a steak that's badly cooked, dry, spongy and without any flavor!
We spent our all dinner constantly trying to find the right dosage between salt and pepper for our meals in order to desesparately find a taste. That says a lot about the flavor of the meals.
As for the very well decorated creme brulée, it was tasteless as well, dry and I never bothered finishing it. And I had my 1st all time frozen Cheese cake (and I am not kidding!)
There's no excuse: you can't offer such a poor cooking performance when your restaurant offers such overkilling
prices (Total bill of $167 for my girlfriend and I!). Mainly when you're in an area where people are very well aware of what good food should be!
Overall: a restaurant that's got an eye-candy outside packaging (the decoration of the restaurant is beautiful mediterranean setup, romantic, the service is awesome, the owner of the restaurant welcomes you), but
the meals..yes the meals...the main reason of the restaurant...are simply not at the rendez vous.
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