I decided this week to venture out to one of Montreal’s BYOW restaurants that have been multiplying like rabbits as of late. It’s a pretty daunting list offering a myriad of choices. While perusing the on line reviews (which may or may not reflect the truth) I stumbled on one that caught my eye that popped up continuously in almost every list I checked, Grenadine. So off we went last Saturday night with our bottle of Italian Valpolicella in hand!
Grenadine is located in probably one of the most unlikely parts of downtown, at the very bottom of Hotel de Ville where it shares a rather nondescript address with a garage, not your ideal surroundings. But trust me that is where this anomaly ends. Grenadine is most certainly a ‘diamond in the rough’ and the packed house we encountered on the night we visited brought to mind the iconic line uttered by Shoeless Joe Jackson in the movie “Field Of Dreams….”If you build it, he will come”.
Grenadine is small to be sure, probably seating no more than 35 diners at one time. It has a miniscule open kitchen that hits you in the face the moment you enter. As advertised on its smoked glass window Grenadine with its chefs and co owners Alex Duchastel de Mont rouge and Nicolas Beaupre have taken classic French cuisine and modernized it with creative twists using many local and exotic ingredients. To this extent and continuing the baseball analogy, they have hit a home run.
The size of the kitchen predicates a small menu but even so each dish on it offers many ‘twists’ both in creativity and in the ingredients used, most assuredly inspiring the ‘foodie’ in me.
It was a hard choice. They offer a table d’hôte that includes a soup or salad, a five course tasting menu ($55) with all course at the behest of the chef. There are also five appetizers ($12-$15) and eight main plates ($21-$34) with vegetarian options in both categories.
I should point out that I didn’t see any dishes incorporating their namesake ingredient, grenadine , perhaps on their cocktail list.
We started our meal with the table d’hôte soup, a delicious and piping hot cream of broccoli soup.
For appetizers we chose Foie Gras Creme Brulee with an Apple and Fruit Compote ($15) and Spanikopita with Spicy Pepperonata and Kale Pesto ($12).
The foie gras creme brulee was luxurious, rich and creamy and when spread on the homemade bread and accompanied with the caramelized apple and fruit compote it was divine! My spanikopita, that creamy mix of sharp and salty feta with fresh spinach was presented as a crisply fried phyllo pastry pocket sitting stop a spicy roasted pepperonata and a vivid green and delicious kale pesto like puree. I loved every bite and cleaned my dish very unmannerly with pieces of warm baguette. All around a mix of wonderful flavors, texture and creativity.
For main courses we chose Seared Duck Confit with Lentils and Black Currant Sauce ($33) and Crispy Braised Deer with Rosemary Onion Soup and Spiced Tomatoes ($34).
The duck confit was tender, rich and nicely crisped on the outside although a tad heavy on the salt for my taste. It was paired nicely with al dente green lentils and a well balanced black currant sauce that, if not handled correctly, can sometimes be over cloyingly sweet…not in this case. It was also accompanied with a medley of perfectly cooked fall vegetables including carrots, shards of winter squash, kale and zucchini.
My braised deer consisted of a perfectly braised medallion wrapped in a crisp ribbon of vermicelli style fried straw potatoes. As with most game meat the flavors were bold and accompanied by a robust broth of caramelized onions and rosemary it was delicious. It also featured the same medley of fresh winter vegetables.
They offer a choice of four desserts all priced at $8. We settled on a chocolate cheesecake and an interesting twist on the baklava.
The cheesecake was suitably sinful and rich sitting on a smear of creme anglaise. The baklava was very interesting. It was served traditionally with crisp phyllo pastry encasing a wonderful rich compote of dates and figs and sitting on top of a cloud of sweet whipped cream and garnished with crunchy shards of mixed nut brittle. A great ending to a wonderful meal!
Service at Grenadine is superb, very friendly and accommodating from the moment they presented us with complimentary amuse bouches of delicate quenelles of salmon mousse nestled on small garlic croutons.
Please don’t let their location preempt your choice. Grenadine lives up to its many rave reviews. These are two young and passionate chefs to definitely keep your eye on, their creativity and commitment to fresh and local ingredients augers well for their futures.
This is one BYOW at the top of my list for a return visit.
Our meal came to $121 (including taxes)
Reservations are highly recommended on Fridays and Saturdays
2004 Hotel de Ville
Tel: 514 287-0099
Wed – Sat: 17h30 – Closing
Sunday, Monday or Tuesday they may open for groups of 20+. Please contact the restaurant for more information
