Louise Taverne & Bar à Vin & Déjeuner — Restaurant in Quebec

I am pleased to share this review. Well, this restaurant is located right near the La Vivriere fountain statue. This restaurant is an absolute gem. It is everything a french bistro should be. Chef Nikolas Couture has worked hard at developing his brigade, I noted he made a point of thanking and reaching out to acknowledge every staff member of his brigade and service before he retired for the night. The staff here loves their job, it is apparent by the smiles and the effortless way in which they interact with the diners. This restaurant has a warm unpretentious inviting family feel. I don't know how this Chef does it, Nikolas is passionate about sourcing out farmers that truly care about their product, he knows everything about the farm, the farmers and how close the food is to the restaurant. This restaurant deserves a Michelin Star, I just hope that when they are awarded this that they never lose sight of what they have built. There are several restaurants in Quebec City that hold Michelin stars; this one deserves it hands down - exceptional is one word that comes to mind. Louise Taverne is a great example of what a farm to table restaurant should be. It is so good that I began with lunch the first day I ordered the foie gras torchon which was to die for, served on a homemade blini made with duck fat and shallots cooked with savoury fresh herbs, and if that wasn't enough this on top was a dollop of sweet corn ice cream. This combination was very unusual and magical, there is an interesting combination of flavours and it all works! I am still dreaming about this dish. I also ordered the Sashimi of Red Tuna, so fresh it melted in your mouth, served on homemade focaccia which had a spread of cream deo gratias cheese it was finished with fresh small flowers, fresh herbs, small tomatoes, it was so beautiful that it took me awhile to take my knife and fork to this culinary gift. Lunch was good, dinner was exceptional and today we went for breakfast and it was also delicious. The French toast is unconventionally served with mascarpone cheese and once again it hit the mark. I love this restaurant. I have had many fine meals in Vieux Quebec; this one though holds a special place in my heart. Superb! My husband had an expression when we found something good; he would say "well, if it was good yesterday it will be good today" and he was right.

I am happy to sign my name to this review.

Sharon E....

Hands down one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

The place is located in a hotel in old quebec, and to start off the decor is just beautiful. Big open kitchen with a chef's table in the kitchen, so you can see all the action.

Started off with the foie gras torchon with mascarpone and wild cherry sorbet. I would never have thought to pair sorbet with foie gras, or even that it would work together, but it does and it was glorious.

Main course I took the catch of the day. It was a piece of grill Quebec tuna, 3 seared isles de la Madelaine scallops, spiced carrot puree, hollandaise sauce, roasted carrots, beets and green beans, and maitake mushrooms.

It was just amazing from the first bite to the last. The highlight of the plate were the scallops. The freshness is what you get first, and paired with the carrot puree, you almost didn't need the hollandaise sauce. All the veg were cooked perfectly, the tuna served rare and seasoned well, I can't say a bad thing about anything on the plate.

My wife and kids started with a salmon tartare and a house made charcuterie plate with Quebec cheese.

Mains they had a large salmon tartare, Icelandic cod fish and chips and another catch of the day.

For dessert we split a molten chocolate cake which they said was divine...I was too full.

Not a bad thing to say about anything put on the table last night except maybe the bread service. In a city with a million bakeries making fresh bread each day, a frozen little bun from a commercial bakery just doesn't fit in.

But I would definitely...

What a disappointment. Service was terrible. Food was not good. Here are the lowlights: -never saw server again after she dropped off our first drinks; never checked on us, offered us a second drink (which we wanted); when we had to ask for the bill, she dropped it on table without making eye contact -food was delivered by kitchen staff instead of server (she had asked what condiment we wanted but we never saw her so we had to flag her down to get it) -appetizer (artichoke and hummus) was poorly presented, pita sitting in oil getting soggy, four small triangles of pita which was inadequate to eat the hummus and artichoke -waited 75 minutes for main courses (with empty glass); finally flagged down the manager to ask about it and he took away empty wine glass without offering another -I ordered the flat-iron beef steak, medium; it was served well-done and completely blackened on the outside (maybe this is the way it is supposed to be but I didn’t eat it because it just tasted like crunchy burn and was tough); the Monte-Carlo potato salad was luke-warm with the cheese on top congealed by the time of service; side salad was poorly dressed spring mix -my partner ordered the beef tartare and while he said the flavour was good, it was very chunky and not finely chopped at all Overall, this restaurant is overpriced and over-rated for what they are...