Le Boulevardier Restaurant — Restaurant in Montreal

-Crème brulée aux pois verts, boudin noir, fenouil mariné, radis  (Green pea crème brulée, black pudding, marinated fennel, radish)  - The custard  was smooth and creamy as you  should  be looking for in a good crème brulée, its burnt  topping offering  the ideal  "resistance" (not soo soft, not too hard) to the utensil used to crack it while featuring a nice caramelized texture that was evenly browned, the overall having the  feel and taste of a crème brulée that was made using  a well judged  ratio of cream and eggs (not too eggy). 8/10

-Pieuvre laquée au citron, riz noir au safran, légumes à la barigoule, olive noire (lemon glazed octopus, black rice with saffron, vegetable barigoule, black olive - tender octopus with lovely  complex taste sensations  consisting of the acidity of the lemon, the delicate subtle  and enjoyable bitter taste coming from the char grilling process as well as the use of lemon  -- here is the perfect example of a situation where a bit of well judged bitterness adds to the enjoyment of a dish).  There was also a very subtle hint of  sweetness to be felt, as well as, naturally, a bit of smokiness (due to the grilling, obviously). Again, all pertinent additions to the enjoyment of that octopus. It takes some serious skills to take taste sensations that could easily clash when used together and turn them into this  harmonious affair that I was enjoying. 9/10

Rounded off the meal with two classic french desserts   that I hold near and dear to my heart: a chocolate mousse and a paris-brest. Usually, I do not like ordering such classics at a restaurant as I already have one or two pastry shops  that do them extremely well for me, here in Montreal, at, of course, lower cost. But I wanted to see how competent  their classic French desserts were at Le Boulevardier:

Chocolate mousse - Light, smooth and airy in consistency, covered by a layer of crème fouettée with bits of raspberries. As there are many variations on a chocolate mousse, we all have our personal preferences.  I prefer my chocolate mousse with nothing else, but this had the crème fouettée atop. I prefer it with a more intense chocolate flavour, but this had a less intense chocolate flavour. I tend to prefer a darker colour, for the chocolate mousse, which was not the case of this mousse. Eventhough this  was not the type of chocolate mousse that I prefer, there was still nothing wrong with their rendition of the chocolate mousse (Who knows - perhaps  a chocolate mousse like this one that they did would be way more popular, in this day and age, than the sort of chocolate mousse that I was looking for) as their idea was  to add more enjoyment to it (the crème fouettée, the bits of raspberries)  and they were successful at doing that (which is why my rating of this dessert will be high). Regardless of my personal preferences, what matters, here,  is that the eggs and the chocolate were of prime quality (as it was the case with all the ingredients they have been using all along this meal), the dessert delicious, the mousse well made. 8/10

Another well made dessert was their Paris-Brest which praline mousseline cream had enticing  praline flavours at the fore, a perfected creamy texture, the sugar input is carefully measured so that the delicious sweet taste sensation  of the cake is not compromised while avoiding the use of too much sugar. This  choux pastry  was hard to fault and you could see that it was made by a pastry team that did respect the classic recipe while thinking out of the box as in the nice touch of caramel on the side. And instead of decorating the choux pastry with flaked almonds, as it is traditionally the case, the almonds served as accompaniments to the caramel. To a distracted eye, this may sound like nothing, but people who are genuinely passionate about food  tend to appreciate such things as it reveals some 'wit' on the part of the cook. 8/10

It is certainly not cheap, but service, food and the dining experience were...

Le Boulevardier

Amile took care of us for the evening and I am so grateful to him for his knowledge of the dishes, their components and wine pairings.

My sister and brother-in-law got a Bordeaux to complement their meal and we tried a lovely wine from Alsace - a blended wine of white grape varieties from Alsace - Ramène tes Copains, described as harmonious, fresh and fruity.

To start we had 3 of the lobster and scallop carpaccio and one rabbit pie.

Old-fashioned, oat crust rabbit pie with pistachios and foie gras. It was served cold and when I first saw that the crust was hard and, dare I say congealed, I thought I ordered unfortunately but the chef knew exactly what he wanted and it was superb!!! The texture of the crust challenging me to begin with made me appreciate the foie gras aspect with the hardened crust even more. The rabbit was perfectly cooked and everything together was so soul satisfying - Like when Ego is served the ratatouille at Gusteau's. The more I ate it I realized it was exactly the way it had to be and I should like to eat it every day.

The rest of the table ordered the Scallop and lobster carpaccio, smoked garlic confit, asparagus heads and vanilla honey vinaigrette.

I'm not sure why so many of the seafood options this time round with MTL a Table have vanilla included. It seems like sweet on-top of sweet to excess. Also didn't really notice the smoked garlic confit - if there was more of it to balance out the natural sweetness of the shellfish with the added vanilla (which I know was probably more an olfactory sweetness, instead of an actual sweetness) I might have enjoyed it more. The texture of both the lobster and the scallops was perfect, and the asparagus, not overcooked or overdone.

For the main there were 2 orders of the Duck magret cooked at 51 ⁰C, coated with maple syrup, glazed turnips and grilled salsifies. It was delicious, perfectly cooked, not overly sweet and paired wonderfully with the Bordeaux.

The skate cooked at low temperature, sauce vierge with capers, parsnip mousseline and vegetables was very good and my husband thoroughly enjoyed it. Scraping all of the meat off of the bones was also fun.

The dorade filet crusted with tapenade, wild mushroom fricassee and fennel mousseline with grenadine was amazing!!! I would never put mushrooms with fish but it worked wonderfully texturally. The fact that the skin was soft was again on purpose to contrast other components of the menu. All of the flavors of the individual components working together was such a joyful experience. I love when I learn how to taste differently during a meal and this dish provided that. And the fennel mousseline could be eaten quite happily with a spoon anytime you were in need of comfort food. The color is happy, the texture is reassuring and the flavor is just a little of the astringency of the grenadine and the warming digestive of the fennel and the glorious fat/creamy from the cream and potatoes. I wish I could sit in the kitchen and watch the chef work just to get a feel for the way he experiences food.

Lastly we had one Sicilian tiramisu, coffee, amaretto, mascarpone with tea cookie, one of the Grand Marnier baba, kiwi whipped cream and candied lemons and two Pistachio crème brulées.

If you have the rabbit pie the pistachio crème brulée continues that flavor. It was texturally perfect and something I had never tried before but I should have got the baba like my husband. Big, bold happy flavors! While the Sicilian tiramisu was very good I'm not sure where the Sicilian part came in and I forgot to ask. I'm sure Amile would have known, and it would have made sense because he had an excellent answer for every other question I asked.

The food made me so happy I made sure I hugged the chef to say thank you, wishing again my school French was so much better and that I practiced more.

Le Boulevardier delivered a spectacular anniversary meal and we will...

Another wonderful experience at Le Boulevardier. I first discovered them a few years ago where they impressed me during MTL à Table and I've been back several times over the years as a result. I'm overdue to leave them a review.

One of the first things I remember impressing me was how they took my allergies seriously. For instance, one time in the past, I ordered oysters and told them not to bother bringing any hot sauce or anything spicy since I couldn't use it anyways. On their own initiative, they brought me a delicious pear-based mignonette instead that I still rave about. Much more special and unique than the standard onion and red-wine based mignonette that often comes with raw oysters.

I also took a chance in 2024 to try their Montreal en Lumiere menu and was totally wowed by the creativity and daring and unique menu they came up with.

Now I will focus on my most recent visit in July 2024.

I had the scallops in bacon cream sauce and it was delicious. The scallops were cooked just right and I completely cleaned my plate of all the sauce with the bread. It was the kind of dish where you stopped talking to people at your table because it was so delicious you couldn't focus on the conversation and just automatically tune everything out while you are absorbed in the taste explosion in your mouth.

The beef with foie gras and potatoes daupinois with asparagus was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I loved everything on my plate, and it all went together wonderfully. The beef was so tender, each bite melted in my mouth and the foie gras elevated it to another level of decadence. I normally don't order things like steaks, preferring to choose my own cuts of quality beef and cooking them at home, but I had no regrets at all ordering this dish. The knowledgeable servers told us it was a signature dish that they often keep on the menu even when other selections on the menu change. Now I understand why.

The dessert was also unique (it had mushroom ice cream) and beautiful.

The service was impeccable. Everyone we spoke with was so knowledgeable about the food and alcohol pairings, and knew everything about the menu, what to recommend, etc., and did so with obvious passion, professionalism and enthusiasm.

The ambiance is lovely, well decorated, and classy without being stuffy or arrogant. I always feel so comfortable and happy whenever I dine here. The staff are truly welcoming. I also appreciate that they don't cram tables too close together, so you can enjoy your conversations with your companions at your table without raising your voice and feel at ease without feeling like neighboring tables can listen in.

Please keep up the excellent food, service and experience! I will definitely be back to try those seafood platters, as well as other items on the menu I didn't get chance to try yet. Le Boulevardier has continued to deliver over the years and has landed in my personal top 10 in Montreal list. I hope they continue in this fashion and I look forward to...