To a happy Mother's Day!

Toqué
900 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal
H2Z2B2
514-499-2084

I decided to take my mother to Toque for Mother's Day, a little late, but as they say," better late then never!" I have been wanting to try this restaurant for some time now, but never got around to it. Normand Laprise and his wife Christine Lamarche are the owners of this fine establishment, and if you know anything about food, you've heard the name Laprise before. This restaurant was accredited as one of the Relais gourmands (culinary destinations) of the prestigious Relais et Châteaux international network of luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants. Opened in 1993, it had great food and guess what? Its 2010 and it still holds true! By nature, I am a very inquisitive person, so before going to any restaurant I must read a ton of reviews and ask everyone I know if they have been there. I got the same answer everywere I looked, "It's great, but I have not been there in years!" I guess it was left up to me to find out, does this cuisine still rank supreme?

The decor is just magnificent, one of the most beautiful restaurants in all of Montreal. With a wine cellar in the middle with suspended bottles, I knew this place would be a winner. To start off, I must first add that they have a tasting menu (104) and you can add wine to that (50-100). My mother, not being as much of an adventurist as I, rathered that we opt for 'a la carte'. To start I had the "Roasted half quail, cretons, ricotta and olive ravioli, emulsified sweet onion jus"(20). What a beautifull dish, the quail was tender and falling off the bone, the cretons added a nice texture and the raviolis were just superb. This dish was a hit, a big hit to start. Next came the"St Jacques style scallop and nordic shrimps, button mushrooms, spinach and Mornay sauce"(20). A nice dish with one flaw, a little too buttery and I tasted a tad too much citrus in it.

At this point we asked the sommelier to come help us pick a nice wine to go with our main course. He gave us his recommendations of bottles, and upon looking at the menu and the prices (they were all in the "You're too poor range" which consists of 250$ and up), we decided to go by the glass. Disappointed by the lack of selection, we ended up getting nice, tastefull wines (average of 15$). My next great choice was the"Suckling pig cooked sous vide, Parmentier cream, morels and fiddelheads" (46). A tender piece of pork shoulder, partially overcooked right in the middle, with a delicious sauce and morels that tasted so wonderful, I just wanted more. My mother chose the "Cavatelli with foie gras shavings and white truffle oil"(40), this dish was just a pleasure to eat. The menu actually states foie gras shavings but I ended up finding chunks, big chunks of foie gras in this dish. Fantastic! Who doesn't love foie gras, especially cooked to perfection.

The dessert was probably the downfall of this restaurant, but at the same time gave it a few points. Confused? Well here goes, It was" Rhubarb cannoli, yogurt with pastry cream, meringue and rhubarb sorbet"(13). I was impressed this restaurant was using very fresh ingredients, Rhubarb which is currently in season, and of course the fiddelheads from my previous dish. The dish itself was not sweet enough for my liking but was nice and refreshing for warm summer days. The selection of cheeses(4) were great, a nice little sampling for a good price, it came with roasted and sugar coated almonds with a fruit jam submerged in olive oil. The bread they served with the cheese was ten times better then the hard and stale entree bread...

Overall this place was a nice night out with some really good food. A few things to improve on, Mr. laprise: waiters who speak English, bread that you don't need a sledgehammer to open and perhaps not charging for parking directly at the top of my bill! 14$ plus taxes and tip? Then I have to tip the gentleman who gets my car, 20$ is a bit steep for parking. I believe one of my favorite steakhouses "Gibby's" gives free valet. Anyways, there I am ranting, it is a nice place to try but as I have heard before, "It's not what it used to be".


Food:8.5/10
Atmosphere:8.5/10
Service:7.5/10
Location:9/10
Price:7.5/10
Overall:8/10