Petit Poisson Dumpling — Restaurant in Montreal

When we discovered Petite Poisson, we weren’t looking for a new dumpling place. We already had our favourite place. But the MTL Blog ran a story about it and since we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to give it a try.

The only reason I didn’t give this place five stars is due to some pretty petty reasons on my part:

1. as previous posters have said, this is a brand new place and they’re still gaining their footing so the service is a bit hectic and disorganized. The waitresses were actually running back and forth across the restaurant which makes it look like they are not in control. She also came back to verify my order three times before telling me that they no longer had any of the dumpling flavour I’d asked for. I chose something else. No big deal. It happens. But I’d overheard the waitresses telling other tables that they had no more stock of their dumplings of choice either so mine wasn’t an isolated incident.

2. Their menu is very limited compared to other dumpling joints around the city.

3. They close at 9pm which is very odd for a restaurant in downtown Montreal on a Saturday night.

4. The seating arrangements is a little off-putting. They have long group tables instead of individual ones so my boyfriend and I ended up sitting at the end of a table where six strangers were already sitting. It was a little awkward!

But despite the fact that the service was disorganized, all the servers were very friendly and the food arrived quickly. And these were some of the best dumplings I’d ever eaten! I chose the beef and onion flavour after the chicken were no longer available. The flavours were exactly just right without being overpowering and I’m still undecided if I like them just as much as the ones at our favourite place or if I like them much more.

For a little Resto that just popped up a few days ago, the food impressed me and we will definitely go back! Give it a try for yourself. This little gem is...

We went to the one on St-Laurent for lunch. We had this one little woman server who pushed items on the menu. The more expensive dumplings which was the lamb coriander dumplings. I don't like to feel pressured on ordering food. The chicken dumpling soup broth was a disappointment. You eat all the dumplings and the broth is tasteless. I told the server no coriander in my husband soup since he doesn't like it, yet it had some in it. I found that the lamb coriander dumpling had barely coriander in them. My husband ate them like crazy probably because they're wasnt any in them? The service was ok before the bill. Usually the server gives you the bill no? I got up to pay my bill wondering when or where is she going to give it? She never did. There I was standing at the cash register and I see the amount of 95.00$ for 4 people. I stood there wondering ok? Waiting not knowing to what to do next. Then our server at the cash she says..THIS ISN'T WITH TIP!!! (In others means, pay me a tip now!!) There I was standing next to my daughter looking awkward because the server is demanding a tip!! This is very unprofessional as a server to demand a tip. It's not an obligated thing. BEWARE OF THIS!!! I was maybe going to come back to this place but I'd rather go somewhere else to get better service...

This place was new to me and I arrived with 19 other friends around 2pm. So our experience probably wasn't the standard. Usually staff are fewer between meals and the kitchen is prepping for the next rush. And they probably don't receive orders over 6 people at the same time.

Luckily there was enough space for everyone, as we arrived in different cars there was a bit of time for tables to clear. We all ordered different dumplings and everyone enjoyed the flavour of their order. The staff were very attentive to our water glasses being full and they gave us a free dish to apologize for the wait time for our orders to be made. But considering the circumstances, the handmade dumplings were prepared quite quickly!

One critique of all of the xiao long bao in town is the thickness of the dumplings. I know that it is an art, but paper thin skins akin to those in HK are amazing - and I wish I could find it...