Ferreira Café — Restaurant in Montreal

I had the pleasure of dining at Ferreira Cafe twice in four days, first for lunch and then for dinner. I have to tell you, if you are Montreal, this place is a must for at least a meal.

The restaurant is elegant and gives a real "sense of occasion" without being stuffy or uptight. The staff is warm and helpful and is able to accommodate both French and English. I am so grateful that staff were extremely patient with my French, I'm still learning and need the practice!

At time of writing, they still have the outdoor sitting, which looks very lovely but not my taste. The people looked very happy and it if decorated beautifully.

And the food. Wowowowowow. At lunch we were told the specials and they were doing one of my favourite things as a special - salmon tartare.

It was incredible. Probably the best salmon tartare I've ever had. The salmon was perfectly fresh, the dish was a perfectly balanced and seasoned and the intriguing garnishes were delightful.

I will admit that everyone I spoke to for the rest of my time in Montreal had to listen to how excellent the salmon tartare was. I kept replaying in mind how very perfect it was.

Our lunch waiter was extremely helpful with our wine selection - usually at lunch my dining partner and I would have white, but I've been having a palette issue and lost my taste for the more acidic whites. Our waiter suggested a rose that was the perfect companion to my meal and I greatly enjoyed it.

Now for our dinner. After that perfect lunch I had a lot of confidence dinner would also be incredible.

And it was!

We took a dear friend to dinner and he was thrilled with every moment of dinner.

We were so lucky and felt that we were seated at the best table in the house. My husband and friend indulged in a perfectly made Vesper and perfectly made Martini. I had a lovely glass of wine.

None of us opted for the daily specials, but it was a very difficult decision. They all sounded so good, so did the menu!

Our appetizers were all tasty, beautiful and so good to eat.

Our friend marveled at the beauty of the restaurant and how amazing our table was.

I have to make special mention of the sommelier, he was so very helpful in assisting us finding a white that was complimentary to all our mains and also one that I greatly enjoyed. I realize that losing the love of more acidic whites is a problem, and it was handled by the sommelier beautifully, thank you again.

The portions were incredible and I don't mind telling you I couldn't finish mine. Our meals were presented beautifully - I had the bouillabaisse and it was presented in a Le Creuset in one of their intriguing shades of blue. My husband was also served his main in a Le Creuset, in a different share of blue!

I'm trying to tell you, if you are Montreal or plan on being in Montreal, this place is a must for people who love fish and seafood. I'm already looking forward to the next time we are in Montreal and able to have a meal here.

For me, it's lunchtime. I'll be thinking about the...

Funny story. I was with a visitor, and it was time to eat but so late that many places were closed. I did a quick Google search as we wandered in the rain for a nearby spot that was decent but affordable. I chose this establishment, as I recognized the name and assumed that as it was Ferreira CAFÉ, that it was the simplified bistro/café within the Ferreira restaurant group. I was expecting a small selection of soups, salads, paninis, viennoisseries, coffee.

While I might have gotten clued in when we were asked if we had had reservations, I only fully realized my enormous mistake once we were smoothly seated, our wet coats taken to the cloak room, and I opened the menu and started examining it. 🫠😆

Omg. I was mortified.

I am currently at a point in my life where I am conserving the last few dollars on my Starbucks account as a special treat for myself for around the Winter Holidays. I am not at a point in my life where I can casually wander into one of Montreal's most famous fine dining experiences.

Fortunately, it was simply funny, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a pleasantrestaurantwith excellent service.

I ordered the bread basket... in part because I actually wasn't very hungry, and also because I wasso mortified and it was $5. It was a small sliced fresh crusty sourdough roll with a wonderful fluffy, soft crumb, served to perfection with little cups of herbaceous olive oil and seasoned olives.

We shared the tasting dessert plate of their Portugese specialties, which was simply everything I could have possibly wanted, tasty and beautifully presented. Rich, creamy chocolate mousse, delicate rice pudding, warm churros. Perfection.

Not only do I have a new amusing vignette to share in conversation, but I have finally been to the one and only Ferreira Café.

Which is not a café. Don't...

Ferreira Café promises "the essence of modern Portugal in the heart of downtown Montreal". The restaurant itself a bit feels a bit dark, but the covered terrace alongside Peel Street offers a bright, cozy ambiance and lively buzz among guests. Ferreira Café's dinner menu is not particularly extensive, and prices are slightly on the higher end. For this, our expectation was that each dish would be impeccably executed. We started the meal with the "ceviche of the moment": in our case, swordfish garnished with julienned red pepper and cured in a bright acid. The swordfish itself was clean, but somewhat lost amidst the peppers. I liked it for the fish, my wife found it lackluster for the combination of flavors. For dinner, we shared a course of porcini crusted roasted black cod, served with olive oil potato puree, sautéed mushrooms, and port wine sauce. This dish was fantastic. Beautifully executed, flaky fish, seasoned to perfection. We also shared a course advertised as Lagareiro octopus, roasted ‘grelot’ (small red) potatoes, onions confit, cherry tomatoes, and rosemary. Sadly, this dish disappointed significantly. The octopus itself was well prepared. The tomatoes were served slightly firm and pickled; these were enjoyable. The potatoes were decent. Onions were not confit but served rather firm and arrived slightly cold. Also on the plate was overcooked, bitter broccolini. And butter, and oil... so much butter and oil that it pooled and cooled on the bottom of the plate mid meal. The poor execution of the onions and broccolini spoiled the dish, and their smothering in heavy fats killed it. In addition to this our champagne first served in glasses with chipped rims--both glasses! Adding tax and tip, we ended up spending 225 CAD. Definitely for this money, one should...