Au Comptoir MarCel — Restaurant in Magog

Very cute restaurant with some really good dishes and some small misses which prevented it from being a full on 5 star experience (I would consider this a 4.5 rating):

Friendly service and the meal started off on an amazing note. We were served a delicious amuse bouche which consisted of a truffle crema with some pureed potatoes as well as complimentary focaccia bread which in itself was very good as well.

For our starter we had the calamari which was seasoned perfectly and just a touch overcooked. Loved the smoke almonds which elevated and complimented the dish nicely and the tomato chutney was a great pairing.

For the mains, highly recommend the steak. It was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and the sides almost stole the show - the polenta was truly divine and could be a starter on their own while the carrots and bok choy also added to the dish. The compound butter was another element that took the dish further and was consumed wholly. This dish was perfectly executed and alone garners the restaurant a 5 star rating. Compliments to the chef!

The seafood tomato rice, while not bad by any means, was lacking a bit in execution relative to the first main (and we are huge seafood people). There was a bit of "grain" or "sediment" (I imagine from the mussels) that made its way into the rice so akin to having a bit of sand in the rice...feels like something got missed in the prep stage perhaps. With that being said, the seafood itself was quite good and prepared well (clams, mussels, catfish, calamari and catfish). The lobster bisque flavor profile took a back seat and was missing.

We finished off with their dessert in the form of molten chocolate cake which was accompanied with what I believe to be homemade ice cream. We found the cake to be overly sweet and lacking that rich chocolate flavour compared to better variations we've had but our kiddo loved it and demolished the whole thing.

In the end, despite some small quibbles, it's such a charming restaurant with a lot of soul and well deserving of its ratings especially when you consider the accessible price point for the quality of food they are serving.

We look forward to coming back and exploring the rest...

Cute little restaurant by the water in Magog with great food and lovely staff. The plates are presented beautifully and the portions are a good quantity, not too large and not too small. The ingredients used can be unusual paired together but taste delicious. View of the open kitchen and a nice large bathroom with a large counter for diaper changing. We were glad we chose this restaurant. It was worth it. We took the table d’hote menu and the chef’s choice dessert platter. They offered an amuse bouche of homemade focaccia and a potato mousse with confit onions. I had the calamari with toasted almonds, and tomato chutney. My friend had a butternut squash soup with a runny egg, cream, sunflower seeds and tiny croutons. For the main dish I had herb and sunflower seed crusted trout which had a nice crispy skin. My friend had the mushroom risotto which had different mushrooms with each bite. The dessert platter was delightful. The chef, Marco, brought it out to us himself. It had churros with dolce de leche sauce, chocolate molten lava cake, some type of Chantilly cream puff pastry, a Portuguese egg tart and homemade meringues with raspberries, blackberries and candied walnuts. We finished off with herbal tea with verbena and lemongrass which unfortunately is no longer being produced. Service was at a nice relaxing pace, giving us time to digest in between and not feel rushed or left waiting. Fun fact: the name of the restaurant is the combination of...

Our group of six friends was impressed with this restaurant. We chose to be seated on the terrace which was nicely heated on this cool day. We would have loved to order the table d’hôte (three courses for $51) because the menu offers tempting selections for each course. But having overindulged the day before, we could only manage a main and coffee, with drinks. After our drinks arrived, we were treated to a complimentary amuse bouche – a mousse of carrots over a macédoine of carrots and halibut, served with house-made focaccia. It was out of this world – an explosion of flavour and textures – foamy mousse with chunks of sweet carrots and halibut. The focaccia was the perfect counterpoint, soft, chewy and slightly salty. The mains were delicious – some of us had the fresh tagliatelle with lobster and lobster bisque with lardons. I had expected the pasta to be served in a soupy bisque. It was not but was nonetheless loaded with chunks of lobster, lardons and sautéed kale. It tasted very lobster-y. Others had the Gaspé halibut in a coulis of asparagus with sautéed asparagus and basil. They said it was yummy – the halibut was cooked perfectly and the coulis was a bright fresh green purée with plentiful chunks of sautéed asparagus. The service is very professional, friendly and attentive. The wine list is extensive and well-curated. The dirty martinis are excellent! We all loved our meal at au comptoir MarCel and will return next time we...