By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up
www.globalgourmets.ca michael@globalgourmets.ca
Milos…when one hears this name uttered you immediately think of superb seafood served in luxurious and sophisticated surroundings, fabulous service and of course, prices to match.
I must admit, that having lived in Montreal since 1964 and being a great lover of fish and seafood, I have never set foot in this highly respected food emporium…until now!
Throughout my career in the food service industry I have always been doggedly averse to paying what I considered to be exorbitant prices for a piece of grilled fish, no matter the location or the quality of service.
However, Milos in spite of its pricy, but well deserved reputation, thankfully allows us more frugal foodies with decidedly shallower pockets the opportunity to soak up its seafood perfections and refined service at more than reasonable prices. If you are willing to delay your dining until 10pm you can partake in their “Late Evening at Milos” menu, a table d’hôte of three courses for only $20.13 (not sure what’s up with the.13 unless it is calendar related).
On the advice of a friend who actually works at Milos we decided to finally give it a try and to at last enter these hallowed halls.
The moment you drive up to its fairly inconspicuous location on Park Avenue you are met by a doorman who greets you and whisks away your car to park it for you (a huge extra, as parking on Park Avenue, especially on a Saturday evening, is almost impossible).
Upon entering you are immediately thrust into one of those idyllic villas found on those gorgeous sun drenched Greek islands: white plastered walls, distressed natural barn wood floors, tables luxuriously covered with not one, but two layers of immaculate white linens, servers smartly dressed in shirt and tie with embroidered black tabliers and two open kitchens, one dispensing salads and desserts and the other where all the fish and seafood are grilled and plated.
The service at Milos is exactly as expected, friendly, informative, very professional, but never over bearing.
The late evening menu includes a choice of three appetizers: Sashimi of Fresh Organic Salmon, The Milos Meze Platter, Tomato Salad. Four Main Courses: The Tuna Burger, Dorade, Pasta with Nova Scotia Lobster ($15 additional), Filet Mignon “Black Angus” ($10 additional). Three Desserts: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Baklava.
We started our meal with the Tomato Salad, a market fresh mix of plump juicy tomatoes, English cucumber, red onions, briny kalamata olives and crumbled creamy feta cheese, all dressed with Milos’s own “My Sister’s Olive Oil” first pressed extra virgin olive oil. I don’t think I have ever tasted a Greek salad so fresh and dressed so perfectly with such a fabulously fruity olive oil. For our other starter we chose The Milos Meze Platter that included tarama, tzatziki, htipiti, a stuffed vine leaf, kalamata olives and pita bread. The tarama, a smooth and creamy paste of fish roe and mashed potatoes combined with lemon juice, olive oil and in this version, just a hint of chillies, was wonderful. The tzatziki, the iconic combination of thick Greek yogurt, English cucumber, dill and garlic was equally unctuous and sinful. The htipiti was new to me, but it too was a wonderful mix of sweet peppers, feta cheese, herbs and extra virgin olive oil. This platter could, on its own, suffice as a late night snack, because as soon as you run out of the pita to mop up these delicious morsels you can switch over to the grilled Greek bread and the small dish of olive oil perfumed with fresh oregano supplied to all diners at the outset.
For main dishes we chose The Tuna Burger and the Dorade. The dorade was a whole fish expertly grilled to mouth watering perfection and displayed butter flied and deboned, simply dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, capers and fresh oregano…just the way fish should be cooked, simple, unadorned with heavy sauces and expertly grilled. After enquiring with our waiter I was informed that all the fish served at Milos is flown in dally from markets all over the world.
The Tuna Burger itself was a bit less successful, I was expecting a small slice of freshly grilled medium rare tuna, instead I got a patty of ground tuna meat, that when cooked was a bit dense and hard to chew. It was also a bit heavy on the salt. It was however topped with a very nice crunchy Asian inspired daikon salad and accompanied by some of the best zucchini fries I have ever tasted, delicate straw size strips of green zucchini lightly tempura battered and fried with hardly a trace of oil visible on the finished product. They were accompanied with a small bowl of homemade silky mayonnaise….yum!
We concluded our meal with a fresh raspberry sorbet and a delicious honey soaked CAVA baklava. To accompany our food we chose a bottle of Greek white wine: 2010 Malagousia, Gerorassiliou (Epanomi) $42.
All in all a fabulous evening in the lap of luxury, one that I would definitely live again.
Milos also offers a very reasonable daily lunch menu table d’hôte for the same price.
Estiatorio Milos is also represented in New York, Athens, Las Vegas and Miami and for those so endowed you can explore the mythic seas and Greek Islands aboard Milos’s luxury yacht…ah yes, next time perhaps!
The Late Evening at Milos menu is served from 10pm to 12am Thursday through Saturday.
Our meal, including two cocktails, wine and taxes came to $145
Milos
5357 Park Ave
Reservations: 514 272-3522
Website: www.milos.ca
Email: montreal@estiatoriomilos.com
