MONTREAL
My Canada Day celebrations included dinner at Le Club Chasse et Pêche.
This place has been mentioned a lot by locals as one of Montreal's top
restaurant experiences. I was surprised by how formal it felt, it's a
small dark basement room, all leather and wood, it was a super hot day
and the aircon was on full pelt, it's not the nicest environment to be
honest. But onto the food.
I made the stoopid mistake (again) of ordering a
risotto for starter. Portions in Montreal, North America, are out of
control, so I should have known. Piglet risotto topped with shaved foie
gras($16) no less. Ooooof.
I actually found the menu really difficult to choose from. Though the waiter was brilliantly knowledgeable and helped inform us about all the dishes. Some descriptions are very vague, chasse et pêche for example. Hunting and fishing....hmm. Oysters with charisma? Please. We drank German wine, because I usually insist that we do, it was great. I'd definitely return, perhaps avoid the bread next time.
423 Rue st Claude
Old Montreal
H2Y
8/10
Ridiculous
picture but this is the best pizza I've had here so far. Need to check
out Gema obviously, but Magpie is the current front runner. I had the
goatscheese, pancetta, rocket and basil offering ($16). We were a big
drunken rowdy group, showed up late and this was just what we needed.
Pub then pizza. Will 100% be back. Service was lovely, except when
they sprayed us all with cava.
16 Maguire
Plateau
H2T
9/10
I went to Lemeac earlier this year but didn't take pics. On both visits I had the
menu 22H which is served from 10pm until close, you can have a starter
and a main for $25. Right bargain. This time I had the panko crusted
goatscheese with apple and walnut salad to start.
Really generous portion (as is the theme in Montreal)
and simple rustic dishes is the order of the day here. I had a sudden
urge for steak on this evening, I haven't found anywhere with meat
the equivalent quality of the likes of Goodman and Hawksmoor in London.
Might start the search at Moishes, an Montreal institution apparently. Anyway,
Lemeac's hangar steak with fries hit the spot, thought I was well and
truly beaten.
They have really good baguette here, so I'd filled up
on that. Following the meal, we returned to Baldwin Barmacie, scene of a
9 dirty martini fuelled Saturday night. I barely managed 2 on this
occasion. Definitely for the best.
Really like Lemeac though and it's near my flat, wooo.
1045 Laurier West
Outremont
H2V
8/10
Revisited
Biiru and tried their ramen and chicken liver yakitori. The tomato
salad was ace as well. Also their cocktails. Love this place.
I go here for lunch at least once a week, and they have a cheese croissant that has to make do in the absence of Pret. Had
a breakfast here before a spa day with the girls (thanks Sar!). Was
slightly hungover, couldn't resist the 'egg on your face' Panini.
Scrambly egg, sriracha, comte (YES - COMTE!) and tomato, all toasted and
gooey. Delightful.
LONDON
Bel
and I went here for lunch the day after I got back. LOVED IT! Art
claimed it to be the best souvlaki she's had in London, and it's
certainly the best I've tried, though I'm no expert. I went for pork,
Bel went for lamb. Every element was great, the bread, the meat, the
yoghurt, tomato and onion. I should have gone easy on the onion,
regretted that all afternoon, ha.
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I'm sure Art would want chips in it, we got a side of
feta and jammed some of that in. Awesome. Also they give you a
complementary bread and tsatziki starter. We drank tap water and paid
about £8 each, bargain.
Soho
W1D
9/10
Bel and I had
dins here last Friday after drinks in the new Clubroom at Bob Bob
Ricard. Let me begin by saying gorgonzola custard (£6) is a thing.
Just take a moment to look at it in awe.
Served with brilliant seeded bread, it looks like a
brulee type dessert, it's genius. Get it, it's on the small plates menu
served all day.
Zeppole (£4) were another
favourite, these are like little dough balls stuffed with Nduja, again
genius, love what they're doing here. Crab and avocado was fantastic, served tien style with
loads of lemon and bitter leaves sitting on top. Really fresh and zingy
flavours.
Also enjoyed the octopus with chick
peas and the anchovies and eggs. There wasn't a disappointing dish. We
loitered (to the dismay of the waiters who very clearly wanted to
leave) and sat outside finishing our prosecco. Really enjoyable meal, I
preferred it to sister restaurant 10 Greek Street actually. Lucky East
Londoners.
Hoxton
N1
9/10
Art and I popped into Rotorino for lunch on my last day in town.
We
started off with cocktails of orange infused fizz. The menu is
separated into first, second and third categories, we went for a couple
of dishes from each. Thin crispy bread type things splashed with olive
oil were presented while we perused the menu. Odd by themselves really but we ate them all. They're good snacks
for drinks I guess, but they're not bread, I'm not fooled.
From the first section we chose the peach, tomato and
ricotta salad. This was crying out for salt, which we had to ask for.
The tomatoes were brilliant, bit of a mushy consistency on the whole.
Not the greatest start, the croque n'duja was much better. Really felt
the kick of the spicy sausage, served on bread with a fried egg.
Lovely.
My second dish of mussel fregola was incredible. A
rich tomato sauce and an ample serving for £7.50, I really loved this.
Best dish of the day. Art's gnudi were nice too but the fregola pipped
it for me.
Then we had the pork and veal meatballs (£9.50) with a
side of fried garlic and rosemary potatoes which were really nicely
done. We were beaten and couldn't face dessert, a theme of my trip to
London, and overall were perhaps not as happy as we thought we would
be.
There were some standouts and we really lingered for
the afternoon, the bar is open all day, My friend Carly came to meet us
for some cocktails, we sat out front sipping on lemon possets and
negronis into the early evening. Really liked the place and the casual
vibe, would definitely recommend the pasta dishes.
434 Kingsland Road
Hackney
E8
7.5/10 
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