Île Flottante
Montreal
W skrócie
Recenzje
Big portions, maybe even a little too big for 7 courses. Notthe most common complaint in fine dining I must admit.. Menu based on fresh seasonal products, prepared creatively without trying too hard to look expensive. No random caviar or gold leaf. Chicken is always difficult to make interesting, they got it right. The semi open kitchen remained surprisingly calm all evening. The chef moved around quietly, almost introverted, clearly focused on the task. Not The Bear or Gordon Ramsey.... The service was warm and casual. Wooden floors, modern metalwork on the walls and a relaxed atmosphere. Very Montréal. The pacing was perhaps a little too relaxed at times, but overall an excellent evening.
The food was decent, but not particularly memorable except for the curry pea soup, which was surprisingly excellent. It ended up being the highlight of the entire meal for me. Unfortunately, the service was memorable for all the wrong reasons. We waited at least 30 minutes between every course, our waiter seemed forgetful and not particularly hospitable, our cutlery was forgotten for one of the dish, and getting our water glasses refilled felt like a quest in itself. For a tasting menu with wine pairings at this price point, you expect the service to elevate the experience, not test your patience. Fine dining is about more than just what’s on the plate about the entire experience. Sadly, this one left us with plenty of time to reflect… while waiting for the next course.
The food was mostly great, but a restaurant at this price more has to also have the experience and service to match. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The service was a bit slow (40m per plate), and not very attentive. We had to ask for our water to be refilled almost every time, and one service they literally forgot to bring utensils. Also, we mentioned a seafood intolerance, and the server reassured us there was no seafood, only for them to bring scallops. The whole thing felt sloppy and disorganized, and honestly more stuffy than fun and friendly. For the food, the majority of the dishes tasted great, although a bit uninspired. The two dessert ending was a bit much, especially since the last one was just bitter ice cream and raspberry on meringue. A sad nite to end on after 4 hours.
I came here with high expectations since a few of my friends really love this place, but unfortunately my experience didn’t quite match theirs, maybe they visited during a different menu. First off, the service was great. We came for a special occasion, and the staff were very sweet and thoughtful throughout. A few highlights: - My favourite dish was the first appetizer which was a strong start. - The risotto was enjoyable, with a nice Asian-inspired touch to the flavour. - The pork was good, nothing too wow - I was surprised that a bun the size of my palm with homemade butter (which wasn’t particularly memorable) counted as one full course. - The final picture was probably a palette cleanser before dessert. It was very icy - it felt a bit off to have this during deep winter. And unfortunately it numbed my mouth with acidity and smelled a bit like play dough. I couldn’t finish it. As others have mentioned, the menu felt very experimental - but for me, it wasn’t executed particularly well. Montreal has many excellent tasting menu options, and I’ve personally had better experiences elsewhere. That said, it’s possible I just happened to visit during an off menu.
Deserves more than just a Michelin distinction. They have a rotating blind tasting menu and every course was packed with a different set of flavors. The first restaurant that I told myself I need to come back to often. Highly recommend!
