It is real treat to find a restaurant that is unabashedly without pretension, small and without fancy designer flourishes. A restaurant where the focus is solely on the food and the service.
Such a restaurant is La Recolte, neatly tucked away on a non descript block of Belanger St in the La Petite-Patrie neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Jean Talon Market.
Open for three years with chef and co owner Etienne Huot in charge of their small and critically acclaimed utilitarian open kitchen it has flourished with a cuisine that is ferociously simple, delicious and ultra creative.
Huot is unquestionably a very talented chef, his artful combinations of flavors and textures on every dish we tasted worked on every level!
La Recolte is easy to miss as you drive by. There is no fancy signage and its interior is small (about 40 seats) and unashamedly ordinary with no pretension in sight.
Open for three years, it is not only a neighborhood restaurant, but its reputation has spread and it now attracts a large crowd of regular and knowledgable diners from across the city.
The service at La Recolte is in one word ‘wonderful’. They make every effort to make you feel at home and are sincerely concerned that you understand and enjoy every dish and sip of wine you’re served.
With food and service so well coordinated success is practically assured.
The menu at La Recolte is small (four appetizers, five main dishes and two desserts), is seasonal and changes with what’s available at the market.
We both chose the Trout Tartare ($14) as appetizers.
Tartares are a bit ubiquitous these days appearing on almost every restaurant menu . This one however was one to remember. The absolute freshness of the fish, perfectly balanced seasonings and a variety of ‘crunchy’ texture combinations were all spot on.
Tender diced trout was mixed with fresh corn niblets, marinated celery root and cucumber and served with wafer thin croutons and a tempting, but dangerous dollop of fiery sriracha mayo quietly beckoning me from the side of the plate (I happily succumbed and lapped up every bit!). This dish was perfection and worth a return visit all on its own.
For main dishes we chose the Roasted Turbot ($25) and the Wagyu Beef ($36).
The turbot was perfectly cooked and was garnished with equally well cooked al dente cauliflower florets, grelot potatoes, radishes and greens. The sauce vierge, a fresh mix of diced tomatoes, herbs, garlic and olive oil, was a perfect foil. The food not only looked fabulous on their rustic ceramic plates, but the flavors and textures sang!
The wagyu beef, served medium rare and lusciously tender as one would expect from such top grade beef, was accompanied with equally fresh morsels of corn and seasonal vegetables and drizzled with a full bodied and delicious vinaigrette a la glace de viande that played off the richness of the beef perfectly.
We accompanied our meal with a suggestion from our waiter, a light and fruity Syrah from the Rhone Valley in France: A Table, Clos des Morurres ($46).
We each chose one of the two desserts offered: Peche Pochee ($8) and Gateau au Miel ($10). Both were delicious and not overly sweet, something I personally wince at when it comes to desserts. Final flourishes to our fabulous meal.
The warm and cozy atmosphere at La Recolte gives credence to the adage that it’s the food and service we come for and all else is just a bit superfluous . La Recolte delivered both in spades!
I can’t wait for their Fall menu.
The size of the restaurant makes reservations highly recommended and if you love fresh market orientated food you will be hard pressed to find anything better in the city.
La Recolte also serves an interesting looking Brunch on Saturday and Sunday
Our meal came to $196, including cocktails, wine and taxes
764 Rue Belanger
Tel: 514 508-5450
Wed – Sat 18h00 – 22h00
Brunch Sat & Sun 10h00 – 14h00
www.la-recolte.ca
info@la-recolte.ca
Catering services and restaurant rental also available
*Images courtesy of www.tastet.ca and www.gq.com
