Le Troquet — Restaurant in Gatineau

July 2022 update.

Considering it’s prime location, it’s a 3.5- 4 star. ( factors evaluated are ambiance , service, food quality and location)

Location - 5*. Does not get any better than this resto/ cafe offering front outdoor terrace for people watching, garden Terrance for intimate dining or coffee and indoor restaurant space for hip and casual ambiance.

Ambiance - 4.5*. its casual and relaxed. Mix matched furniture offering shabby chic interior which is Always laid back and comfortable each time I come here. They don’t rush you and let you pick what’s most convenient for you as long as there is room. Most menu and drink items are written on the wall. ( price is only written on the menu tho ✌️). Could use more air indoor in the summer time when it gets stuffy.

Service - 4*. Bilingual service as usual. perhaps staff shortage or new staff training. It took a long time to order, get drink and food. Whilst asking for service, there was a long delay and the restaurant was less than a 1/3 filled at 6 pm.

Food quality: 3.5*. Most popular item on menu seem to be burger. Fries are traditional French Canadian style…. Skin on, juicy and sweet. QC style …..😘Plates are stacked with a good portion of fries. However, for $19-$23 / plate; I expected a more succulent burger both in taste and size. Final critic is actually the Apéro platter. At best, one can call it a small ( piccolo) appetizer plate. 4 pieces of bread rusks ($2 extra charge for more). , with 3 slices of Brie, some goat cheese etc….. mixed with pickled 1/2 egg and olives…… for $24. Pretty disappointed. But I guess this is new post covid dining to its best.

Last but not least: a pint is 20 oz in UK and 16 oz in America. their pint drink does not seem like a 16 onze ( American pint ) but rather 12 onze ……. But what do I know. It just seems much less than usual.

Et voilà. 4* is my average best final score.

My review...

Went for lunch, usually doesn’t take an hr + for food so that was disappointing. We were seated for 15-20 mins before any staff came to our table. We had a reservation for 12pm, they mixed up who went where so they thought we were a different group, but got a seat nonetheless. It was quite busy but that’s normal for this place given its proximity to the public service buildings. With the mix up of tables, we would have had a table with much more space but instead we were crammed into one near the back, which luckily we had less people than they put utensils out for otherwise we’d barely have any elbow room.

I’ve had the burger for the last 2 years that I’ve been going and the last 2 times (last winter and this winter), it’s been incredibly thin so they are definitely trying to save money by using less meat. I could get past this “smash style” burger as long as it was tasty, however the 3 burgers at my table were burnt on the edges, very dry and incredibly overcooked, and the bun was also burnt in some spots. The onion soup looked delicious but the two pieces of cracker were very crisp (almost hard) and the soup of the day was good but the baguette was clearly frozen and when it was served, half of it had black grill marks and the other half looked like it was never toasted.

Having people at our table who have experience in the food industry, they also commented that the oil for the fries was clearly very old given the dark colour the fries were.

Unfortunately, given the last few experiences with the food and decline in service we will be going to a different restaurant when we go out for lunch as a group. We were here for 1.5 hrs start to finish when it’s usually under an hour for a bigger group. We all walked away...

We went to Troquet on Sunday the 28th. Let me start by saying that we went there for their fantastic French onion soup and it was, indeed, as good as people have told us! It’s all the broth that their chef makes! Just the perfect amount of salt! You won’t find a French onion soup like this on Ottawa side! Pro tip: make sure to ask for extra cheese on your soup and an extra patty on your burger. Delicious. Now, the ambience was very cozy and intimate. They have a bunch of beautiful art pieces of space and galaxies which you can purchase. I will have to go back to get the name of the artist because his work is a pleasure to look at and the website have posters available as well. I am planning on purchasing one :) Now, what really made it a five star experience was our server! My dear, I asked for your name and then forgot it! I’m sorry about this! However, he was the only guy working FOH that day at 6 pm. What a wonderful human and an excellent server. People like this are the reason why I and my partner still go out for dinner. And he is the reason we will be back to Troquet for sure. First, he mixed me a perfect mocktail, guided us through the menu which was all in French, made amazing suggestions, changed the lighting to red after asking for our preference and, overall, was one of the most patient, courteous, professional and accommodating servers we have dealt with in Hull! On top of that, he was extremely pleasant and funny. Excellent service....