Kwizinn Vieux-Montréal — Restaurant in Montreal

I recently had the opportunity of dining at Kwizinn, a charming spot that boasts a beautiful ambiance and a playlist that sets the perfect mood for the evening. The setting itself is inviting—warm lighting, sleek decor, and a cozy yet sophisticated vibe. It’s the kind of place you’d want to bring a date or catch up with friends.

Let’s talk about the food. The appetizers were absolutely fantastic—bursting with flavor and creativity. The oxtail patty was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and paired with a subtle sweet dipping sauce that left me wanting more. The deconstructed sushi roll was refreshing, and the mix of citrusy tang with delicate seafood that was spot on, which my colleagues raved about. The drinks had the pure essence of Caribbean culture that really helped tie in the whole start of the meal. I was definitely excited to see what the main dishes had in store.

As for the main dishes, they were a bit of a hit or miss. Some were absolutely delightful, like the griot dish with riz collee and plantain—juicy, rich, and all around complete full meal with good portions. On the other hand, the Picahna dish, while tasty and well cooked, it was lacking on the fullness you'll find in the griot dish. Let's not forget the 4 meat plate dish, that sadly was the most disappointing of all, the chicken served was completely charred than anything and the sides lacked in flavor. For the price it was truly a lost opportunity to really hit the spot. Still, nothing was truly disappointing, but the consistency wasn’t quite there, aside from the chicken.

Now, what really soured the experience for me was the service. Our waiter, Justin, was incredibly subpar and fairly rude. From the moment we sat down, he seemed disinterested and unapproachable. He was curt with his responses toward us and made no effort to engage or make the meal more enjoyable. There were many moments where he seemed bothered by simple requests, like taking our group picture, and the overall attitude he projected was unpleasant and uncomfortable. To tell a group of people he will only take a single picture of us, truly shows how he did not want to be around our table or have to serve us a minute longer, which was amplified by how little he asked about our drinks or advise us the delay for our desserts. Any questions or follow ups from our end, were met with push back and fake smiles. For a restaurant that otherwise excels in its atmosphere and food (somewhat), this was a huge letdown.

In the end, Kwizinn offers a nice varied dining menu if you’re looking for delicious appetizers, a solid main course (depending which one you take), and a vibe that’s both relaxed and chic. But, I hope they pay more attention to service in the future because it really detracted from what could have been a perfect evening. A little warmth and attentiveness from the staff would...

Fall-off-the-bone kabrit! Where to begin? It was honestly such a fun night. The place looks amazing. It's very immersive and it feels like we're entering a fancy grave. I loved the music by A$h Banks; it was top-tier selections nonstop! The food was so tasty, really well-seasoned and exceptional. Each dish was so unique and well-executed. We had 2 cocktails which were very delicious and potent! The mac & cheese was baked and creamy, and it didn't taste like water, as opposed to 99.9% of other places where they serve mac & cheese. It was really authentic and comforting. My discovery is the octopus carpaccio - let me tell you this one is a show stopper. SO fresh. And it was topped with a bruschetta-like sauce and focaccia. It was so unexpected and daring to compose a dish like that, but the tastes blended so well together, and it was also topped with mashed avocado. SO creative. I recommend this dish to everyone! The kabrit was G.O.A.T. It came with shishito peppers and it was literally the most tender kabrit I have ever tasted in my entire life. It just fell appart and melted like butter in my mouth. The griyo was outstanding! This dish is very authentic and simple, but it is executed exceptionally by Chef Mike Lafaille. The pikliz was pikliz! Very delicious and it's just what you hope for and more. We also ordered allocco which was just a delight! They use the sweet, ripe plantain and it was such a perfect addition to our dishes. I find the the menu is ecclectic and unexpected, but there is definitely caribbean tastes and influence in every dish I've tasted. I find it so rare to find fusion restaurants that make sense and Kwizinn makes sense! It's really well-executed and it was worth every penny. Don't go there without an open mind. It's truly an experience and they also do brunch and have fun events. I also appreciate that they were very family-friendly. We came with a baby and they didn't make us feel uncomfortable, which some fancy restaurants can sometimes make you feel like and inconvenience if you have a family or young baby, but it was not the case at Kwizinn. It's very welcoming. The service was great! I could feel the passion in every person who served us. It shows that they love what they do. They tended to our needs and were super friendly. I love that it's a chic environment, but it's also very warm and loving. A huge shoutout to Claudia who is such a great host and made me feel at home! This one is already a staple in the city. It's so worth it. I can't wait to go back and try more dishes. I'm really proud that we have such an institution here in Montreal. Bravo to everyone involved! Fantastic experience. Will recommend and...

Update location in the Old port The decor and the bar was really nice Service was good, the waitress was nice, the oysters were lovely. We got the bao bun, it was really good, the griot and the goat, we were surprised that the goat didn't come with anything and for it to be 45$, i wasn't able to eat it because of the harsh smell. Ive eaten goat before and the smell was bever this harsh, waitress didn't recommend us to get sides, the only side we had was 3 pieces of plantain with the griot It would have been nice for her to let us know maybe we wouldn't have ordered 2 meat plates

Also we were the last ones there and we felt like we were getting stared at to leave by all the employees, and it made us feel uncomfortable even one of the employees asked my friend if she can move from her chair because they wanted to clean and rearrange the table while we were still there. After having to pay over 200$ each I think they could have been abit more courteous towards there clientele

Cute little Carribean place.

We were 2 ppl and we got the shared plate for 2 but it was alot. It was nice to have different stuff on the platter to try but definitely alot to share for 2 ppl, I wish they had told us that the portions are insanely big. The food itself was so good, the only bad part was that the crab was overcooked. They have the meat or the seafood platter that you can chose from, we chose the meat,on the platter we had okra, plantain, griot, lamb, steak, crab, octopus, arrancini, rice, salad and a few dipping sauces. We got mojitos as drinks, the drinks were average

If we do go back with will probably be a bigger group to share the platter, or we would get out own plate. Plus it would cost you cheaper if you get your own plate. The sharable plate was 130$ and it was expensive for just 2 ppl

This place was full when we went and it was very noisy you can hear other ppls conversation because everyone was talking to loud and can't really hear the person in front of you.

This place is good for big groups I find They have a very small bar area. The cocktails were ok The service was pretty good,...