Pincette - Bar à Homard — Restaurant in Montreal

My last trip to Montreal coincidentally aligned with their restaurant festival, Mtl a Table, where participating nicer restaurants offer a prix fixe menu to invite people to try them out that may not usually otherwise. This brought me to Pincette - Bar à Homard, which turned out to be just a few blocks away from my hotel on Old Montreal.

It did take me a bit to find because of confusing Google Maps directions, but eventually I made it inside and was seated at the bar. I was offered the regular menu but when advised I was here for the prix fixe, they brought that one. There was a choice of four appies, four mains and three deserts for $68.

I had already pre-scouted the menu, as is my habit, so I got my order in quickly and service was fairly quick at the bar.

I started with the Magdelan Island scallops, seared, vegetables, coconut milk, curry and clam juice. This was an $8 up charge to the prix fixe, but I couldn't resist the chance for some local scallops.

This was probably my favourite of the three dishes I had. The scallops were large, fresh and juicy, and the curry sauce and veggies wasn't a pairing I would have thought of on my own but it worked well and it was creamy and flavourful.

I stayed with local ingredients for my main, the Manicougan halibut, confit in olive oil, root vegetables, bisque and black mullet caviar.

'm a big fan of halibut -- it's probably my go-to restaurant fish -- but I didn't like this execution. With the confit it was too dry and overcooked. Halibut is better grilled, or breaded and fried. The sauce and veg were fine and the plating was attractive, but it couldn't rescue the lackluster fish.

Finally, for desert I kept it simple with the mango sorbet. It was delicious.

Overall, while this was an OK meal it was not my favourite of my visit and will not be on my list for a return visit when I'm next in Montreal. For the price I paid, I expect a properly cooked...

We walked into this place as a complete coincidence, searching for a good place to have some seafood or lobster. And what serendipity it was, because we absolutely loved it! We will definitely be coming back, and have already recommended the place to friends :).

We ordered the large size seafood platter, the grilled calamari and the grilled octopus and loved every single one of them. The ingredients were fresh and delicious, with the highlight being an absolutely mind blowing scallop ceviche. I believe the secret ingredient is a splash of pineapple juice ;). The grilled calamari and octopus both elevated the experience of the seafood by adding in a contrast of texture and flavor, with crunchiness from the tabbouleh/chickpeas or the crispiness of the grilled bits, and an incredible achievement of smokey flavor from the grill. Truly an incredibly flavorful and satisfying experience. Not to mention, the price is absolutely acceptable for such ingredients and quality!

The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic as well. The restaurant was full, so we ended up sitting at the bar, which actually improved the experience. It was fascinating to watch the cooks and bartenders at work, and the service was made better by our closer interactions as well. We were served by the main drink mixer for the evening, Gabriel, who absolutely made our night :)! He recommended us an incredible bottle of white wine, and was the one who pointed us to those incredible calamari and octopus dishes. We had a great experience chatting with him, and even received some very pleasant surprises in the form of some incredible oyster shots and extra oysters on the house. We really appreciated it! The night would not have been the same without him :).

Overall, an incredible way to finish the day! I loved the entire experience, from food to atmosphere to especially the service, and will definitely come again....

My girlfriend and I have been looking to try this restaurant for a while and unfortunately we didn’t get to and never will. All due to the fact that the hostess was extremely rude so we left before sitting down. Right off the bat, as we stood in front of the entrance, the hostess was looking at us with an unfriendly face and didn’t greet us. I felt awkward and decided to break the ice and ask her “how’s it going?” to which I didn’t even get a response but a stare as if our presence was an inconvenience to her (even though the restaurant was almost empty and we were the only people in line), I thought that was very disrespectful. As we were walking in, my girlfriend asked if we could have a table in the shade as there was one available and the hostess stopped and turned around to look at her and responded in a very condescending and demeaning tone “The SHADE?? The SHADE?? I don’t see a table with SHADE. Do you see a table with SHADE? I don’t.” To which my girlfriend pointed it out and a nearby waiter also pointed at it. Th quickly went to the table, put two menus on the table and walked back passed us without apologizing for not having seen it or without a simple “enjoy your meal.” At that point my girlfriend and I immediately left the restaurant and went to another one. Quite frankly, we were stunned at what had happened. As a paying customer the very least I expect is to not be spoken to in such an aggressive manner especially over such a minor thing. There are many other restaurants nearby where the food is great, and most importantly, the staff is friendly and respectful. Maybe the food at Pincette is great but we will never be trying it because of our experience there today. We will also be warning our friends to not go there!

(This happened at around 2pm on...