Nena - Tapas & Pintxo — Restaurant in Saint-Sauveur

To begin, it’s important to note that all of the pre-2020 reviews on Google (among which there are a few negative ones) are for the previous establishment, which has no relation to the current place beyond having the same premises. The current restaurant, Nena Tapas et Pintxo, so far only has positive reviews (as far as I can tell), and rightfully so. This is one of the best meals you’ll have in the Laurentians, full stop. Even if you don’t have time to read the rest of my spiel, just head over to their website and reserve a table. You won’t regret it.

We stopped in on a Thursday evening, which in non-pandemic times might have meant a packed house, but now the place was only half-filled, though still cozy and welcoming. The waiter seated us by the fireplace before bringing out a chalkboard menu and a tray of fresh baguette and olives. The sommelier approached next, suggesting a French Malbec to go with the magret de canard we were ordering. Overall, the wines here are very reasonably priced, with just a small markup over the SAQ cost.

Along with the duck, we ordered three veg accompaniments to share, though two sides could have been enough. The meat was a perfect medium rare, tender and served in a tasty jus with orange supremes. Among the sides, the plate of maple-glazed Brussels sprouts was good, but the other two dishes were absolute knockouts – first, a generous platter of roasted parsnips, carrots and beets, flawlessly cooked and seasoned, and then a plate of grilled fennel whose aniseed fragrance momentarily transformed the Saint-Sauveur restaurant into the balmy alleys of some seaside Mediterranean village. The meal was capped off with a couple of shots of grappa.

Above and beyond the food, it is the atmosphere of hospitality that truly makes Nena Tapas et Pintxo a great restaurant. The eponymous owner, Nena, is kind and welcoming, and was eager to chat with us at the end of our meal. Likewise, the chef came over with a few friendly words, and the sommelier led us downstairs for a brief tour of the wine cellar. Nena told me that one of her main goals is to offer a more intimate, convivial dining experience, and on that level this relatively new restaurant is already succeeding.

I wasn’t planning on returning to Saint-Sauveur again this summer, but now I might coax a friend into venturing back up with me from Montreal for an evening, with the objective of dining here again – I'm confident that it’ll be...

I want to preface this review by saying the owner Nena is super kind and welcoming. She has a great concept on her hands with the homey vibe, promising menu and onsite sommelier.

What could be improved: The name Tapas & Pintxo. A tapas is a small plate to share and a pintxo is a small bite usually paired with a glass of wine, typical of the spanish basque coast. What I live about this formula is that you can have a smaller appetite and still taste lots of dishes. I never saw Pintxos served in Canada and was excited to finally find the elusive place. To my slight disappointment, this restaurant really serves ‘north american’ size main dishes that you can share. No tapas in the traditional sense nor pintxos.

The salt level: It might have been the chef that day, but the food was too salty to the point where the salt was overpowering the otherwise good flavour of the dish. My feedback: you can always add salt after, but you can’t take it away once it’s there.

The patatas bravas: this restaurant serves a reinvented version of the classic. I appreciate the risk taking, but it did not pay off in this instance. Either stick to the classic recipe or call the dish something else. Although too salty, it was otherwise good, just not what I expected

The oysters: Average, but for 5$ a piece, I expected more. I have had better oysters at 2$ a piece with more elaborated accompaniments.

The tuna tataki: Quite good, but a bit overpowered by the sauce and salt.

The sommelier experience: Great concept, the only downside is, as you go down the stairs to the cellar, the bathrooms are right to your left before you make a right to the cellar. You could definitely smell the bathrooms. I like the concept, but in practice, I would prefer the sommelier to come to our table and recommend a pairing.

Atmosphere: cozy, family friendly, quite loud as a result. Not the best spot for a romantic date or for having a conversation, but good for causal evening either way friends and family

Overall, this place has potential. I’m judging the food a bit harshly because of the price it commends, but then again everything is expensive in St Sauveur and Covid has not made things easy for restaurant owners.

My closing advice: Keep prices the same, make portions smaller (actual tapas), increase the quality of raw materials. The cherry on top would be to serve actual pintxos with wine pairing. In the meantime, my search for pintxos in...

UPDATE April 2, 2023 - After our last visit, the owner reached out to me, and we talked about what happened. They handled it with total class and professionalism. My wife and I went back for dinner, and we had a wonderful experience. The food was great, which we knew from the first time there. The fact that Nena and Stephan did that meant everything.

It's obvious that they care greatly about their restaurant and the guest's experience. We felt they went above expectations, and both of us can't wait to return next winter. To the entire staff - thanks and cheers.

We had two experiences at Nena. The first was excellent, my wife and I were able to get reservations at the bar and enjoyed the food and service very much. I'd give 4 stars for the overall experience the first time. That evening we saw there was an upcoming live music night, so the next day I made reservations for 4 people, as my son and his girlfriend would be joining us.

3 weeks later the evening arrives and we go for our reservation. When we got there we were told they don't have a reservation in my name. I showed them the email confirmation for the time and date, but it wasn't on their list. I understand that mistakes happen, that tables can be accidentally double-booked, etc. The disappointing thing was that we were told, 'sorry, we can't seat you'.

There was no offer for another visit, maybe a complimentary dessert or glass of wine or something. Had an attempt been made to compensate in some small way for their problem, we would have left feeling much better. As it was, it left us with a bad feeling.

I recommend the food here - it is quite good. I also recommend confirming any reservation with staff the day of, to avoid...