Café Miracolo — Restaurant in Montreal

Having walked by Miracolo countless times, drawn by its charm, we finally decided to stop in for a birthday supper. The restaurant’s interior design is quirky and densely decorated in a way that feels intentional yet unique—a style that might not suit everyone but worked well for me. We were greeted warmly and given a choice of seating, which was a nice touch. Opting for a cozy table by the windows, we enjoyed a view of the lively street outside. It quickly became apparent that Miracolo’s atmosphere draws as much attention from passersby as it does from patrons inside; people often stopped to peer in, some even taking photos, which only added to the restaurant’s sense of allure.

The service was friendly, though it seemed the staff might be fairly new, as our server needed to consult the kitchen several times when we had questions about the menu. I do appreciate their honesty and willingness to find answers instead of improvising—a small thing that shows a commitment to quality service. We arrived at around 5 p.m., when the dining room was still quiet, but it quickly filled up as the evening progressed. Thankfully, even with a full house, the noise level was manageable, allowing for comfortable conversation without feeling like we had to raise our voices—a definite plus in my book.

Our dining experience began with the “mortadella, salsa verde, provolone, and pistachio” starter, which we ordered with a mindset of sharing. Expecting a charcuterie-style presentation, we were surprised to receive a rolled dish with all the ingredients combined into a single structure. This was a bit of a misstep for us, as the rolled format prevented my vegetarian partner from enjoying it, and I ended up eating it solo. In retrospect, we should have asked more about the presentation to avoid any surprises.

For the mains, I ordered the lasagna bolognese with béchamel and pesto alla genovese, along with a side of scarpetta and focaccia. The lasagna arrived as a generously sized yet quite thin slice, baked to perfection with a great balance of textures and flavors. The focaccia was beautifully soft and fresh, but unfortunately, the sauce served alongside it was so salty that it was virtually inedible. The heavy-handed seasoning left the sauce untouched for the rest of the meal. My partner ordered the eggplant with salsa pugliese, labneh, and pangrattato, but sadly, it suffered from the same issue: the seasoning was overpowering, with salt dominating every bite. It’s unfortunate when the richness of a dish’s flavors is drowned out by excessive salt, especially with ingredients as promising as these.

Thankfully, dessert saved the day. We opted for the tiramisu, and while its presentation was modest—almost humble—it was wonderfully executed, with a smooth, creamy texture and balanced sweetness. It was a true standout and showed that Miracolo has the potential to deliver quality when everything aligns.

Our experience with the drinks was mixed as well. An espresso martini that was delightful, bold yet smooth, and a cider that was crisp and refreshing. However, the long island iced teas left much to be desired. Mine tasted unexpectedly of ginger, while my partner’s tasted oddly reminiscent of cough syrup. Neither tasted remotely like a classic long island iced tea, which was a bit disappointing given how well they did with the other drinks. I should mention that I don’t think this drink is on the menu, but they fulfilled our request for them - a greatly appreciated touch.

At around $160, including tip, the price point felt completely reasonable had the food consistently met expectations. However, with the number of hits and misses, it was hard to walk away feeling completely satisfied. Miracolo has an undeniable charm and an ambiance that’s both unique and inviting, but when it comes down to it, we visit a restaurant primarily for the food. While I enjoyed parts of the experience, the meal didn’t quite hit the high note I’d hoped for on a special occasion...

First let me say that the restaurant is beautiful and has a really cool decor and vibe. Unfortunately the food and especially the service doesn’t match the looks, far from it. We went for my girlfriend’s birthday on a sunday night. The place really wasn’t busy at all, maybe six or eight small tables were occupied inside. It was only my girlfriend, our daughter and myself. We ordered 3 appetizers (a small pizza for our daughter, fries with cacio e pepe mayo, and an arancini). The margherita pizza was very simple but the cheese was tasty. The arancini lacked flavor and was pretty bland, sauce on the bottom of the plate was ok, the small piece of prosciutto on top had barely any flavor. The fries were all small broken pieces like they gave us what was left at the bottom of the fryer. For mains we ordered the grilled octopus which was cooked well but was pretty unidimensional in taste, just spicy which I like but needed something more, a bit of acidity maybe? The pasta with lamb ragu barely had any meat and even less flavor, very bland. When I ordered I mentioned that we were going to start with those and probably order more. I also told the waitress that it was my girlfriend’s birthday and she said no problem she would remember when it would be time to order dessert. Once we received our main dishes, she disappeared for a good 30 minutes and was nowhere to be seen. She never checked on us to see how the food was, if I wanted to order more food or a glass of wine (which I did) or if we wanted to order dessert. I had to ask a different waiter (who looked completely uninterested) to bring me the bill, which took forever. Once he finally did, he dropped the bill and the machine on my table and left. I paid, took my receipt and left without the guy ever showing up again. We were very disappointed as I mentioned it was a special occasion and they couldn’t have cared less. We won’t be going back that’s for sure. Too bad because I really wanted to...

Theres potential, but it need much work.

The decor is very unique, our waiter was very down to Earth and friendly and was able to slide into our conversations with ease.

He told us the food concept was to share, but when asked if it meant larger portions, he said, it's the contrary. So smaller portions, more expensive pricing. Big red flag.

I shared a focaccia and mortadella as entrees and scallops and tuna as main.

The focaccia isn't authentic italian , it's shaped more like bread, a bastoncini, more québécois, very light, paired with a sour olive oil dip, mortadella on the other hand is on a skewer, with a sweet olive oil sauce.

The tiny amount of tuna and the scallops for the main were all put on a variation of a sour vinaigrette sauce, drenched in olive oil.

I know olive oil is expensive but the amount that was used feels like it was there to make the plate look fuller instead of elevating the taste of the meat.

Speaking of taste, there was none. Everything tasted bland at best, the only taste you get is olive oil and either balsamic vinaigrette or the sweeter version. I didn't taste the freshness of the tuna, I didn't taste the butteriness of the scallops, focaccia was flavorless and mortadella is processed meat. They all tasted the same, mid.

On the press release, it was written that miracolo was made for "people paying 700$ for rent and those owning 2.5 million condos" From my first hand experience, this place is more for the latter, at over 20$ average per dish with the portion size that can't even satisfy a child, this place isn't for everyone.

Add flavor, add uniqueness to the dishes, stop drowning everything in olive oil to call it "Italian" and there might be hope.

But for now, at over 60$ spent, i was still craving for Schwartz when...