Le Mousso — Restaurant in Montreal

4.5 stars (if I could) as the flavor palette for several dishes overlapped a bit too often, and the price (250 CAD) is the highest for any tasting menu in Montreal, while not being the best restaurant in Montreal (Bouillon Bilk would get my vote there). That being said, Le Mousso is still a treat and an experience, and a really solid fine dining option for Quebec at large. What I liked the most:

1. In 138 Michelin restaurants, I have never ever been to one in which the chef and the sommelier will come out and make a speech in front of all diners about every single dish and drink you are served. I loved the theatricality of this!
2. Some of the dishes are completely eye-gasmic.
3. Even more importantly, several dishes are completely taste-gasmic! The onion cream caviar dish was one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had anywhere. The lobster taco, the cotton candy foie gras on a stick, and the 1st dessert (I forgot the name though the milk cream/custard was infused with a smoky-ness that was amazing, especially for a dessert!), were also exceptional.

What I liked the least:

1. We arrived on time for our reservation, and the first course did not get served until nearly 1 hour later. The reason for this is the meal couldn't start until all diners were present in the restaurant, as diners are all served each course simultaneously. Not only did this delay the start, but throughout the meal, we would wait and wait for slower diners to finish their courses. When some diners are seemingly more interested in conversing than eating, that especially becomes a bit annoying.
2. As mentioned earlier, some of the flavor palettes across dishes were too similar. Both of the desserts were similar white cream/custards (one milk focused, one corn focused), and I would have liked to try something different for the 2nd dessert (something fruity, or chocolate-y). Several of the mains also had the same savory bourguignon sauce/taste, and I'm not sure why each dish wasn't more unique.
3. Each dish that just had one stand alone item (a piece of meat, a piece of fish, duck) was lacking. Clearly, the chef's intent is for you to focus on that item (since there are no sides), but when that item doesn't blow you away, you end up eating one block of meat or fish that isn't that special, and wish there was more creativity and ingredients in the dish.

Overall, this still gets 4.5 stars from me, and I don't regret eating here at all, I just wish Le Mousso did a few things differently to go...

In short - I'd give it 3.5 stars. This is strongly influenced by the price point.

My partner made our reservation kind of by accident. We didn't know anything about the restaurant prior to arriving, including is being a high end dining chef's tasting menu only. So we went in with no expectations, but we've had plenty of fine dining experiences before so we were down for the experience. I'm actually shocked we got a reservation only a couple hours prior to service. (To be clear the restaurant's website and Resy were very clear about their menu. My partner just didn't pay attention.)

Where the Le Mousso shines is in service, ambience, and visuals of the food. Every dish was beautiful and must take a very high technical ability to pull off. While we don't speak French the staff gave us a full explanation of every dish from inspiration, to sourcing, to execution. A lot of thought goes into every dish and wining pairing, and the entire staff seem super passionate about their work. Stand out dishes including sea urchin, scallops, boar.

However, I thought many of the dishes over promised. They couldn't totally live up to the hype. They might do themselves a service to tone down the build up to the actual food in my mouth. I would say 1/3 of the dishes were truly phenomenal. Some of the dishes were so delicate that they didn't leave an impression (gin cocktail, oysters), and the duck was a disappointment since I otherwise love duck. Also, because all 30 plates are prepared together and there is a somewhat lengthy introduction to each course some of the dishes lose heat.

I must disclose that I really do not care for natural wine. I think they all taste like juice/cider and lack depth/complexity. The entire wine pairing was natural wine. I wish I had been told that before agreeing to it. I may have passed and saved myself some money. They did pair well with the dishes. But again, a lot of flowery descriptions for wine that can't live up to the hype. I was kind of shocked there was no alternative to wining...

While I've been in plenty of "fancy" restaurants across the world, including a bunch of Michelin Star ones, Le Mousso really stands out in a unique way:

As other reviewers have mentioned, they do their absolute best to make you feel like part of a big family dinner with the owner and staff. The way it's presented, explained, the jokes, the very cute "Santé" that they shout before every meal and the list goes on and on and on - everything they do is to make you feel welcome and that they're overly joyed at the fact that you're there this evening to eat at their "home". It's not an easy feat to accomplish, but they do it in a masterful way.

In fact, I was really happy at all the text messages and follow ups I received after I reserved - it really feels like the restaurant deeply cares to make sure your experience is impeccable.

Of note (as of writing this): They only have 1 service per evening, are not open during most days and don't have too many seating. I highly suggest you reserve well in advance. No worries about sitting at the bar or table though - they both work great and I actually prefer the bar, you get to watch live the kitchen and wonderful coordination between the staff. As other reviewers have mentioned, if you starved yourself the entire day, it won't be enough to fill you up - but if you ate a good lunch, you should be fine. Don't save your stomach space just for the meal. They offer excellent mocktails if you can't drink alcohol - just ask. I saw one reviewer misunderstand the tongue & cheek of the owner's speeches as an insult, but DON'T! It's the usual "Quebecois" humor and the last thing they want to do is to make you feel insulted. What they mention is really in playful humor and any instructions is to make sure every guest gets the best experience ever. Enjoy and don't take things too...