L'Échaudé — Restaurant in Quebec

(for those looking through multiple search-engines, I am copy pasting my reviews)

I'm going to start off by saying that I'm never going to find Salmon Tartar as good as theirs ever again (the curry ginger sesame one)... and l'm a little sad about that. Now for my review.

I can only say it was a pleasant experience from the moment I stepped in until the moment I was saying my goodbyes. Every staff we dealt with were super pleasant and most importantly were not annoying. It was a perfect balance of meeting our needs without them being in our faces. The fact that it wasn't a big and rowdy resto, was even better. I didn't need to fight for attention nor did I need to feel like I should pop two pills and put in ear plugs.. I know i'm exaggerating, but, when it gets loud and rowdy, it can be very unpleasant.

As for food/drinks,

1. Entrée: Goat cheese with dried tomatoes. Yum. I have to say it was really good, and they gave a generous size on a plate. I may not order it again only because I am curious about other foods. This may sound a little crazy because I am not sure how exactly to word it but.. Thankfully they put a small salad on the side of the cheese. The tomato and cheese was very "warm" and I needed something fresh like a salad to cool the mouth.

2. Salmon Tartar: omgiwanttodrive3hourstohavesomemoretartar. Like I mentioned it was the sesame/ginger tartar. It was really really really good. The only down side.. I wish there were a bit more of it. And by a bit, I mean a lot more of it.

3. flank steak/Bavette: PRO: ohh my my my. When I told them I wanted it Medium, with no blood on my plate... they really made sure to cook it that way. Not every day you can find places that know how to properly cook steak. The portion size was perfect CON: I wish I had known that they put lots of caramelized onions on top of the steak. I removed them and my boyfriend happily ate them... but that was my only itty bitty comment I had about that.

4. Veal with lard and a melting a piece of brie (not on menu.. special of the night or something). was AMAZING. everything about it was great and you get a good size portion of meat.

5. I've been craving a good crème brulee because I have given up on ordering it out.. Echaudé did not fail me. Every bite was like tasting a little piece of heaven in my mouth.. I don't want to talk it up or get peoples hopes up. But I truly enjoy good quality food and this truly hit the spot.

6. Lastly, the variety of wine is incredible. There is something for everyone in there. no joke.. I feel like I've walked in a fancy looking SAQ.

In conclusion, I...

Really lovely experience overall. Staff was super friendly and helpful, there was no difference between us as English guests and the French guests. Matthieu was very helpful with menu suggestions and accompanying wine. I had the lobster bouillabaise and my husband had the tartar trio, both excellent suggestions of house specialties. Then we both enjoyed the caribou dish with mushrooms in a black currant sauce and sweet potato puree. The wine suggestion was a demi bottle from France that was like drinking a garden. A wonderful experience. The caribou was cooked beautifully and the mushrooms were so flavourful. We learned that they were sourced locally and that this time of year there is an abundance to sample. It was so nice to taste the individual notes of each type of mushroom. My one difference of opinion is I prefer sweet potatoes in more of a mash with the skins on as well. The puree was delicious but a little too much like baby food for my preference. Then we finished with the dessert tasting for 2. It was splendid. The smell of perfectly ripe strawberries to start with was lovely. We began with the strawberry rhubarb sorbet with an almond crumble. An iced version of strawberry rhubarb pie. There was a slice of sugar pie and a creme brulee. Both were nice and custardy, which is the right way, compared to the more omelety, overcooked versions. And there were chocolate macarons with a really well done ganache in the middle. Oh, and the caramelized bark of sorts that I can't remember what it was called but it was great. Such a lovely meal, well served, well presented, very flavourful and very...

Returned due to a fabulous experience 7 months ago. What a difference. Maitre d's both rude and arrogant. Arrived early and told to go elsewhere to wait 30 min. (Could we not have sat at one of the empty tables outside?) Upon our return made to wait 15 min with no explanation nor apology. We were seated. 4 of us ordered drinks. 10 min later 2 arrived. 1 wrong. Corrected quickly but another 10 min for the 2 other drinks. Appys ordered and delivered correctly. Our mains were 1 scallop and black pudding and 1 duck. Correct and delicious. 2 steak tartar. Delivered to the wrong people.1 delivered was steak. The other salmon, which is only a starter not a main on the menu).By the time the error was pointed out (halfway through -it was delicious) the waitress offered no apology but asked if I wanted steak. As I had already eaten 1/2 and it was late, I declined. She shrugged indifferently. We ordered 2 coffees and port and sweet wine. The latter sat on the bar for 15 min while the coffee was being made. (The restaurant was now 75% empty). Also delivered to the wrong people. There was no compensation or ammendment on the bill. In the end, the food was excellent and the service was worse than indifferent. They seemed unorganized and uncaring to the patrons. On top of all this, at the end, the waitress asked..."Just to clarify, did you mean not to leave a tip?" I said yes and recapped all of the above...She said 'sorry' but seemed more annoyed than...