Marcela D.
Yelp
A small corner restaurant in a relatively residential neighboorhood, Maison Publique would be easy to drive by without realizing. It's a good thing my boyfriend loves good food and just plain cool restaurants.
We visited Maison Publique in the middle of a snowstorm in late December after making a reservation on the app Resy (it was very quick and easy-- I recommend it). We were seated at the bar, which was truly the best seat in the house as we were able to view the chefs in the kitchen whipping up all manner of adventurous and delicious food. Surrounded by eclectic decor and buzzing patrons, we were ready to place our orders.
We began with a delicious and well-balanced Boulevardier cocktail-- the bourbon was a warm welcome from the winter chill still on our coats and in our bones. After taking a look at the menu, which is essentially a wall with hand-written specials tacked up, we decided on two dishes we did not want to go without (the sweetbreads and foie gras with gingerbread and cranberries), and then had the staff give us their recommendations for our other 5 dishes.
Maison Publique is best enjoyed when you are with dining partner(s) who do not mind sharing (again, enter the joy of having a partner who is curious and voracious an eater as I am). We began with a bitter salad of endive, radicchio, pear, dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, then moved onto the next plate of fish crudo in another vinaigrette with toasted buckwheat and thinly sliced radishes. Next we moved onto the fois gras served with gingerbread and cranberries. It was exquisite-- everything we could have dreamed of. Since it was my first time trying the dish, I was instructed to take a slice of the gingerbread, pile it high with fois gras, top it with some onion and cranberry, and enjoy. Next, we enjoyed the sweetbreads-- breaded and gently fried on a vegetable puree, and topped with an elegant agrodolce. Wow. just wow. It was almost like it melted in my mouth, and the bitter/sour shock of the agrodolce complimented the rich fattiness of the sweetbreads so so beautifully. Our final savory dishes were a white fish and a lamb ragu on homemade pasta with a broccoli rabe pesto (?? I want to call it pesto, but it was so much more than that).
Our meal had the perfect end punctuation of a superb homage to Canada: a maple pots de creme with a shortbread cookie.
We cannot wait to return to Montreal for another amazing dining experience at Maison Publique.