Buvette gentille — Restaurant in Baie-Saint-Paul

Generally decent food, reasonably priced wine, and average service. We did not receive individual plates and so it was very awkward sharing/eating from common dishes that were placed in the middle of the tabletop. We made reservations many weeks in advance. The front room seating is very uncomfortable, as we were given the central high top facing each other. We ended up smelling very highly of the kitchen cooking scent as the open kitchen is not properly ventilated.

The arctic char dish was supposed to come with radish, but was instead covered in cauliflower. Mushrooms under toast dish was sadly underwhelming. We also ate the pasta with strong local cheese, and the (overcooked) beef dish, both of which were average/mediocre.

On the positive, my favorite dish was the ham in broth. And it was lovely to receive a complimentary pour of local cider on arrival.

We had a much, much better experience the next day at the excellent...

Dinner at La Buvette Gentille is a wonderful experience--creative locally sourced food, super caring and informed staffed and a terrific wine pairing program. There are only two seating so book ahead and order a lot. You can even sit at the counter and watch them do their magic!

Our favorite dish of the evening was the arctic char with bok choy over a savory lemon curd--one of the best dishes we have tasted all year. Another favorite was mushrooms ( lions mane and others) over a bed of pureed roasted eggplant and miso. Also worth mentioning is their foes gras made from geese that were not force fed. Super creamy and rich, just like in the Dordogne.

We really appreciated their approach to wine pairing, which is based on the dishes you select. You get to taste it selection to see if you like it. If it is not to your liking, they will bring you another to try. Really flexible, compared to most wine pairings...

Almost didn't go in because the website said there were no reservations. Very happy we decided to check in. The Arctic char was amazing. We had 4 sharing plates between the two of us and it was the perfect amount. Staff were casual and cool but very knowledgeable. Definitely on top of their game. Only recommendation is to update their pictures online. (I realize that a lot of your photos are from reviews and I feel dumb not taking any good ones to post.) Absolutely doesn't give the presentation justice. The food is gorgeous! My boyfriend and I looked at the reviews and agreed that most of the negative reviews were because of people who thought they were going into a spot that wasn't tailored towards sharing small plates. In which case those people are dumb and have no...