Cabaret L'enfer — Restaurant in Montreal

Cabaret L'Enfer turned to Hell quite literally. We had a reservation at 8h yesterday. First, the restaurant itself provides a decent look and feel but you can tell the investment was minimal and some corners were cut in terms of the interior finishes, furniture and above all the AC that couldnt keep up with the heat as we were literaly sitting in hell at 26 degrees +.

Where to begin? The first impression of our waiter was not great. He talked very briefly about the fix menu. I had to ask about the wine pairing. Came to find out it was mostly composed of natural wines. My fiance and I asked for the possibility of sustituting to a regular wine pairing but it was not a possibility. Instead the waiter made us understand that his wine pairing was "droit" and very good. Basically telling us that we were not at the right place. I asked for the wine list to find a classic white wine (Le Domaine d'Edouard Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre). The waiter despite me asking didnt provide any further recommendation.

Secondly, we started drinking our wine and it is finally at 9h10, yes 1h10 after we sat down that we could experience our first bite. Understand that this dining experience is planned for 2h. At our 3rd course, the Chef (Massimo) came to apologize about the delay saying they would pick up the pace for tbe reminder of the dinner.

Thirdly, we had chosen to pay 10$ each extra for truffle on our 4th course of Qc asparagus. (It is all show no taste and we knew but why the hell not). They forgot it. Solution was for the chef to come to our table for the 5th course (additionnal 19$ each for this course) and shave truffle on our lobster without even asking us if we wanted it on this course.

At this point our wine bottle is done. I had asked for a recommendation for red wine that never came to us so I asked for the wine list again. After a few minutes, the waiter finally understands I'm not familiar with his imports and it does not even say which wines are organic, biodynamic or natural on the list so very hard to make a quick pick. Waiter finally comes back to our table, 2 courses we had no wine because we had finish the bottle and it took foever to have them notice it, with a red Sancere. We tell him we yes right away as our lobster is getting cold in front of us. 5 mins later I tell my wife that I saw the 2 waiters laugh behind her and for some reason I didnt appreciate it. I find the wine very on the fruit compared to his description. He sees me google the wine and comes back to our table. He says he opened the wrong bottle of wine and it is not the sancere he proposed to us. He asked us if we wanted to open the Sancere now instead. It was the ultimate most uncomfortable awkward situation. We decided to keep drinking the wrong wine as we felt very unconfortable and simply wanted to eat in peace.

To end it, we were offered the extra truffle and the extra course of lobster. (60$ value) Dinner cost around 550$.

The food was actually very good except for a couple very salty courses.

We ended our experience at 11h45, 3h45 for 8 courses. We even received the email asking us to review our experience around 10h when we were half way into the menu.

It was disapointing to see the Chef have a cigarette outside with a customer when they were 1h30 late on our experience.

We won't repeat the experience but hopefully we were part of the few people for whom they really dropped the ball front and back of the house.

Good luck to all the team. But this review is sincere and to be at the top you have to play a big game every night, yerterday was not the case.

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Terrible experience. Wish we’d never gone here and wasted a night of dining while visiting Montréal.

We booked 2 weeks in advance and let the restaurant know in the provided section about food allergies, then followed up after the confirmation email was sent to ask that those were noted, no response. Then called the day before and left a message to make sure we did our part to notify, no response. When we arrived no one was aware of the food allergies. Not a good way to start.

Then we were tricked by the waiter into spending more money than we wanted to with menu choices that held a different price than the fixed one, but he sold as “options.” He also served me two $50 glasses of champagne, one that he called a sparkling wine to start me off before the tasting, and one that he said went with the scallop course and poured as if it was included. We had already paid for the wine tasting menu, and I was served the first $50 glass as part of the wine tasting menu at the end of the meal, why sell me a $50 glass of champagne if I’m tasting it later, but call it a sparkling wine? To cheat us out of more $.

I was also served 2 courses with dairy in it, which I’m allergic to, which we found out after we’d started eating them. The first waiter we had left halfway through, and the person who then took care of us was absent for the start of 2 out of 3 of our final courses, my wine pairing being topped off as apology, but we missed some information that could have been helpful to my health.

When we spoke to the owner Massimo about all of this the day after, he said he was embarrassed and apologized, he said it was distasteful and dishonest, it was. He promised to follow up, he didn’t. He then promised to send a gift card and a refund for the wine, he didn’t. It’s been a month. To be extorted than lied to has been a horrible experience. What’s most disappointing is being lied to by Massimo in the aftermath. I hope they do right by future customers, no one should be given this kind of run around.

To note- We paid the bill at the time and tipped 20% as we always do, but did bring up the issue with the 2nd waiter before we left. He offered to give us our tip money back ,which we refused, then insisted we take a bottle of champagne, $59 listed price online. We were traveling so the bottle of wine was a hindrance as we weren’t checking bags… we gifted it to the concierge at our hotel for taking good care of us. We believe in being good people, it’s too bad not...

Do you have an open mind about fine dining? Are you willing to be open to an engaging experience which is both edgy and comforting? If you are, I think you will love Massimo Piedimonte’s Montreal restaurant.

The first thing you will notice upon walking into the restaurant is likely the space. It is small and intimate. It feels like you have been invited into an eclectic downtown apartment with loud colors, artwork and punk music. Next you will likely meet Massimo who is a gracious, fun and lively host. Massimo is a bundle of energy- almost punk rock like - at one minute host, at another chef, at another he is at your table serving and describing and telling stories and then, flash, he is off doing other things. It’s energetic and fun and you feel like you are a part of something.

The rest of the crew are incredibly well trained, professional kind and calming the frenetic (in a good way) energy of Massimo. The wine service, in particular, was superb and knowledgeable. The sommelier is Argentinian and she has a deep/broad appreciation for wines from around the World. Fall backwards with her recommendations, she will catch you and recommend excellent wines to match the cuisine. While we ordered by the bottle, the wine pairings we saw were generous and clever selections. She is a really superb addition to the restaurant.

The food was wonderful. Small, expertly prepared courses that challenged your senses and taste buds similar to the artwork and music that surround. Acid, fat, umami, textures from soft to crunchy - all swirling and dancing and jumping and then combining for memorable bites.

I understand this experience may not appeal to all in the fine dining world. This is not a restaurant where voices are muted, service is reserved and you can hear a mouse fart. This is an edgy, energetic party with an eclectic host. But at its heart, Cabaret L’Enfer is full of love. I highly recommend it but please go with an open mind and a fun attitude.

P.S. some have described the pricing as expensive. I felt it was quite reasonable for the experience and excellent cuisine - particularly for a small restaurant that lavishes attention on its guests. With wine pairings included you should expect to spend around $200 US...