The border is still closed for non-essential travel, plus 14-day quarantines are required for anyone coming into the country. That may change by August, but if you book anything, ensure it can be cancelled with no penalty.
Last time I was there we had a great meal at Restaurant Le St Amour, and they’ve been pelting me with emails since COVID. I wish I could return and support them, hopefully not too much longer.
I am clueless about Quebec City. So very little help… but, popular recommendations from local food and/or wine enthusiasts are:
Le Clocher Penché, Le Quarante 7, Patente et Machin, Bistro B, Battuto, Le Petit Creux, L’Affaire est Ketchup, Albacore, Kraken Cru, Chez Muffy, etc.
And then the classics: Tanière, Laurie-Raphaël, La Planque, Le Continental, Le Saint-Amour and Champlain.
Googling those should give you a good list to start from.
If however you plan on visiting Montreal, I can definitely help with personal recommendations this time.
We did Montreal/Quebec City driving trip three years ago, so I’d imagine much has changed. Montmorency Falls and Cassis Monna on I’lle d’Orleans were memerable. Chez Muffy was good but not as good as Pearl Morissette or some places in Montreal. We stayed here, which was a perfect location: https://royaldalhousie.com/en/
About two or three years ago Chez Muffy was excellent (top wine service too, unlike Le St Amour). Overall best of our three dinners.
Le St Amour was good but overall experience not quite as good as they think they are (food very good to excellent, service a tad on the arrogant side). Maybe our expectations were too high.
I suffer from looking for the total package in a restaurant not just great food.
There’s a tourist trap offering ‘traditional fare’, I forget it’s name I’d have to look it up. AVOID.
There’s another QC thread here somewhere I think, check that, see if it’s been updated.
Is your offer still open for Montreal recs? If so, I’d appreciate some. I did look elsewhere on the site, but, unless I am mistaken, I did not find so many from you.
It is but, there is a but, my offers will be 2 and a half years old (since I left for France)! I could still poke a few friends and ask what has changed in the last 30 months though.
What are you looking for? Restaurants, hotels, things to do?
The above list is pretty good from the Eater, on that list I would recommend Le Clan, which even though the food is quite minimalistic, they use local products and really try to elevate the Quebec cuisine. Chez Muffy is more bistro/pub style and even though is not a high end restaurant, the food is well executed and tasty. However one restaurant they missed which is probably the closest you will get to a Michelin * in the whole of Quebec is Le Saint-Amour. The service is fine, wine list is above average (this is coming from me) but it is the food which goes above and beyond.
I wrote this and then realized, are we talking about Montreal or Quebec?
The confusion is my fault. I sort of highjacked the thread, picking up on Phil’s comment from a year’s back. FWIW, we made a res for Chez Muffy last night; we’re going to Quebec City after Montreal (and then on to Montreal).
In any case, on Montreal, right now we have reservations at Lemeac, Montreal Plaza, and L’Express. I guess the concern is that many of the restaurants seem a little old school and on the heavy side, including the first and last mentioned. I’m in my 60’s now and I just can’t handle so much serious food. Montreal Plaza looked a little more in our wheelhouse–a little more improvisatory and the seasonal specialties seemed to go in our directtion, but would love some suggestions from knowledgeable folks like yourself–good wine list is also a thing. We are staying near Little Burgundy, so anything there–with a good burg list–would be great!
Thanks to you both in advance (and I noted you were in France, Phil, but you seem well-connected?),
ah ok! So yes the above list is still pretty good. Chez Sophie closed last year, Maison Boulud is expensive but very good, none have good new world offerings in terms of wine selection, don’t expect any good Napa offerings But most have a good old world representation. There is a great selection of BYOB and I tend to take clients to Etat Major in the East, there are others prunelle, Pegase etc. Lemeac Salmon tartar is pretty good and the wine list is very solid. La Chronique is worth it as well… hope that helps.