Le Don Restaurant — Restaurant in Quebec

Every thing is excellent, but I wanted a chance to give some constructive criticism on the plates I tried. 1) First, the gnocchi was top notch; best thing I tried. My only suggestion would be to quickly sear the gnocchi to give them a touch of crisp and texture. Otherwise, a perfect dish. 2) Next the fettuccine was quite good. I’d suggest trying some thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes as a garnish, just to give it a touch of pop. That goes against tradition perhaps, but I feel your menu is going for that slight edge. 3) Next was the Pad Thai. The tofu was perfect, and I really liked your take on the sauce. However, it was a bit “cloying” perhaps after a few bites. My suggestion is to reduce the salt by about 10%, then balance the umami with Thai basil chiffonade and some lemongrass. Maybe steep the lemongrass in the sauce while it’s being prepared and remove before serving? Some green onions and just a little pizazz from bird’s eye peppers would be welcome. 4) Next the mushroom risotto. This was underwhelming compared to your other dishes. It was good, but completely outshone. I suggest adding those little “bacon” seitan bits you used with the gnocchi, but really it needs some sweetness or acid to uplift it. Again, not the most traditional, but unless you go nuts on the garlic or something (not the most appealing to a wide audience) it needs something to stand out. My thought is to try something like jewel rice. Add a small amount of golden raisins and barberries while it cooks (or maybe as a garnish, you’d have to experiment). It’d really elevate all that cream and umami. 5) Next the Donplings are perfect. No notes. Excellent plating and design. Ok, maybe a splash of soy sauce mixed with a very barbecue-y gochujang while they’re pan searing. Just a thought. 6) Finally, the chocolate cake is a brilliant interpretation. The popover style so that every serving is fresh right out of the oven with no waste, is a stroke of genius. The fresh berries give a delightful balance. This just me, but what about sticking a little cylindrical raspberry jam plug right in the middle before it goes in the oven? Could mess with your bake, but the extra little berry would tie the fruit from the outside into it in a molten explosion of flavor. That and an extra drizzle of extra dark fudge chocolate for a touch of bitter. Maybe that’s over-engineering something that’s already great. And that’s all I got a chance to try. Thanks for the wonderful meal! I love what you’re doing and wish you...

I had high expectations after reading the reviews but unfortunately I was left quite disappointed. First, the food: both the DONplings and the Beet Tartar were much spicier that I expected. I can handle some spice but even my partner (who loves anything spicy) said that they should have put a spice warning on the menu. The Panko Cauliflowers were pretty good though, but waaay to much for a starter! Next, the Don Sauté was horrible: it was described by the waiter as a Pad Thai but clearly only in resemblance because the Thai taste was not there. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I couldn't eat it after a few bites. My partner and I usually share half half all the dishes at restaurants so I also had a chance to try the Agnolotti. They were quite good overall, but they were drowning in an overpoweringly creamy sauce which made the dish way to heavy. Being Italian, I don't expect the same level of food quality outside Europe, but my experience was definitely not worth the expensive bill. I understand that Quebec City is pretty expensive, but I ate much better at Pizzeria Polina and Chez Victor for a fraction of the price. And it's also not my intention to criticize a vegan restaurant, because being vegan myself, I always want to support likeminded businesses. I would like this review to be taken as a constructive criticism from someone who is well travelled and knows her way around food and knows how to distinguish pretentious from original and authentic. Lastly, the service was not extraordinary. I understand that in North America, where waiters need to "earn" their tips, they are usually too much in your face with asking you how is everything going. However, our waiter would pass by our table while our mouths were full, asking with hurry if "everything was alright" without even waiting for the answer because he was already gone. Either don't ask anything or ask once or twice but genuinely interested in the answer.

All in all, don't build up your expectations as I did. If you're ready and willing to spend a lot of money, go ahead and try it, but don't feel bad if you don't. And for the restaurant management: innovation in food is good, but up to a point. Don't try to create innovative dishes or do fusion cuisine without keeping some of the...

Our second visit here turned out to be an utter disappointment compared to the first one. We had the most unpleasant evening ever, thanks to the extremely condescending, cold body language and tone of the server right from the get-go (I think her name is Marie, but not sure?). She barely paid attention to what we ordered, commanded us to "speak loudly", and appeared so irritable while pouring our water that it spilt on our table (which was never wiped). Despite requesting for our drinks and starter first, we received our main course directly. When we asked her about this, she muttered a half-hearted apology for forgetting the starter and an excuse that the kitchen was very busy (which she could have easily told us when we ordered and didn't seem valid considering that the people at the next table spent over half an hour with their drinks before their food arrived). She barely let us finish what we were saying before shrugging and walking off. Our request to not add avocado to the Bibimbap was completely disregarded by her and likely never reached the kitchen. Fortunately the person who brought our food was far more polite and immediately replaced the dish when we pointed this out. Our starter finally arrived halfway through our main course. It was evident that she was far more pleasant with all the others she was serving, even introducing herself and checking in on them. Clearly, she didn't want to serve us and sent different people to our table each time. At the end, she returned with the bill and told us in the same indifferent tone that she wouldn't be charging us for the starter. Her tone made it feel even more condescending like she was doing us a favour. Someone else returned with the card machine and was just as indifferent when we expressed our disappointment with the service. He also made a half-hearted request to return with the manager but we were too exhausted by then and just left. We have never yet been this disappointed with the service at any restaurant and for the first time left without tipping. If there was an option for 0 stars, I would have chosen that. Going by our own experience AND similar reviews by other Indians, we could only assume that our server was racist. Completely ruined our evening...