ALMA — Restaurant in Montreal

This review is written from a Mexican perspective and specifically regarding the taco omakase: YMMV.

0. booze selection: seems like the sommelier said "I am in charge of the booze and I don’t care what anyone thinks" “Il y aura aussi des margaritas, des mezcals et des bières disponibles pour cette occasion! ” “Une selection de jerez, tequila, mezcal et vin doux est également disponible ainsi que des margaritas”. Lies… Jerez: I don’t even think they know what that is. Mezcal: cheapest SAQ option, 1 option. Tequila: cheapest SAQ option, 1 option. Cerveza/beer: most commercial Spanish beer, 1 option. Cocktails: margarita (1 flavour) or mezcalita (1 flavour).

1. First dish was agua de tortilla. Just tortillas mixed with water, sugar and cinnamon. Minimal effort but fine…

2. Second dish was an aguachile with tortilla chips. Very delicious aguachile but only 5 tortilla chips. At least give me an even number of chips if I they are meant to be shared between two people. Also, nowhere near the proper amount of chips for the amount of aguachile which was very generous.

3. Third dish was A tostada… to share between two people. First time I had ever have to share a tostada. Not even physically possible to do it cleanly unless the tostada is getting soggy… which it was getting there…

4. Fourth dish was an octopus taco. I was afraid I was going to share one taco with my partner but we each got our own and it was delicious so nothing to complain here.

5. Fifth dish was a filet mignon carpaccio taco with a black garlic salsa; each our own. The filet mignon had 0 seasoning and it was placed on top of the garlic salsa covering the entire tortilla. Who in Mexico hides their salsa?!?! Besides not appreciating the salsa itself and making the tortilla soggy, in this particular execution, you take a bite and it tastes like tortilla + unseasoned beef and suddenly... boom! Garlic bomb! I was surprised no one internally picked this up.

6. Fish “Zaranzeado” with A tortilla. Surprisingly, the misspelling wasn’t the worst part since what I was fearing the most happened: a single tortilla to share. I asked for another one and I was denied my request. FYI: in Mexico we get a side of tortillas with tortilla-based dishes. It kept getting worse: the tortilla had imprinted the name of the restaurant, which they obviously had to do in advance, so the “special” tortilla was soggy and room temperature. (Second) First time ever in my life sharing a tortilla which is pretty sad because the fish was seasoned and cooked perfectly.

7. The dessert amazing! Check Chef Mariana’s Carlota Boulangerie Mexicaine. My favourite spot in town for Mexican pastries. She even went to our table to say hi and ask for feedback rather than having mezcal shots like the head chef did between dinner services.

We are a generous culture. My blood is made mostly of corn. I am sorry, but I cannot have a lot of sympathy for a Mexican owner of a high-end restaurant who denies me an extra tortilla in QC while I can get it for free from any señito in MX selling way better...

We were met by a brash hostess/owner. Firstly when she greeted us she was more concerned about finishing setting tables than seating us as a priority so we just stood there outside the place! Then after we waited, again very brash said we can sit outside or inside and we chose inside. Then she asked for vaccine verification to which I responded that I have mine but my daughter forgot her phone so she proceeded to say sorry you can’t sit. Now we are sept 5 and the Québec government said there is a grace period till sept 15 which I tried to explain to which it was no no no I do not want a fine! Here is the government decree “ As of September 1, 2021, Québec’s vaccine passport rules are in effect. However, during the grace period from September 1 to September 15, no penalties will be imposed on businesses for not requiring the passport to use their services or enter their premises.”

She then had the audacity to proceeded to complain that we made a reservation and it’s very bad as tables are in high demand! and almost suggesting we were causing her missed business opportunity! The missed opportunity in my opinion is that she did not understand the government rules of enforcement! I obviously did my research and know the government is giving a grace period when I realized my daughter forgot her phone and i said to myself surely the restaurant will not turn us away because of the grace period! She on the other hand did not bother to research, saying " I am personally not interested in serving people without vaccination papers! I believe at this stage its more discrimination than genuine concern! Or worst she is not interested in our business!

She did not want to hear it to the extent that we ordered an Uber and we’re waiting for it on the side walk she came out asking us again are you waiting to get served!!! No we are waiting for an Uber I said! If you want to have happy clients I suggest you be a little more friendly and accommodating! You are in the hospitality business I suggest you take a course in how to communicate with people with empathy and understanding. Given the reviews on this place, if I was the owner I would be concerned that there is a trend of inadequate customer service at this establishment (I am not the only one complaining thank god) Not coming back vaccinate passports or not!! Also based on the response below you lack what it takes to have HOSPITALITY as you #1 priority!! I respect all kinds of people so do not lecture Me of a flawed implementation program! The policy is being implemented on Sept 15 and not Sept 1 but clearly you can’t read understand or both! And if you were so concerned about you customers and respect them so much maybe you should have implemented a vaccine policy before Sept 1 (as you know business can refuse clients) have I sat in your restaurant on august 31 vaccinated or not you weren’t going to lecture me about respecting the clients so don’t...

We had a catastrophically bad experience at Alma last night. I always loved this beautiful little place but something has gone seriously awry with their food quality and quantity. Prepare yourself: $79 for “5 courses” one of which was (I kid you not) 4 miniature slices of cold potato on a plate…yikes. The scallop tacos were over salted, underwhelming, and the remaining dishes seemed texturally and compositionally confused in a way that left us thinking - fine dining??? The star of the 5 dishes was the crudo, which was excellent, but everything else was a swing and a miss. Montreal has some AMAZING places to indulge in gastronomic experience and let me tell you Alma is not up to scratch with other similar establishments. At one point we asked for bread and received ONE piece of bread cut in half ($6?!) while the table next to us mysteriously received an entire bowl. There’s fine dining land then there’s just plain offensive. Really toeing the line there with a $6 slice of bread in my opinion.

The cherry on top was being served half glasses of wine at the suggestion of our server which naturally I presumed would be HALF the menu price of a whole glass (priced at $18-25). Wrong. I had 3 x half glasses of wine for $14-15 each so $44 for 1.5 glasses of wine. Were the wines excellent? Yes. But transparency is of the utmost importance so that clients are not left with an unwelcome surprise. I was caught off guard when I saw these prices on my bill and thought it was a mistake. When I tried to politely address this with my server I was briskly and rudely informed by the manager that it was MY fault. She said the waitress had clearly” explained everything to me and then implied that I don’t understand what fine dining is. This person really needs to learn a thing or two about managing situations with unhappy clients. They 100% exacerbated the situation, as I became increasingly upset, instead of apologizing for the confusion and attempting to smooth things over.

After my 1.5 glasses of wine for $44, my partner’s $12 beer, and the comically small portions of food - our bill was $252.95! We left hungry, dissatisfied and with a prickly, lingering “I’ve been robbed” sentiment. We love food and wine, have travelled all over the world eating in everything from hole in the walls to Michelin star restaurants. We know food and we know service. This simply isn’t it period. We will not be returning and will advise others to steer clear....