Piper H.
Yelp
What a find!
This new restaurant changes this Montreal girls' whole perception of Quebec City when it comes to food.
The restaurant is located in a fun residential neighbourhood, a little off the beaten track of most tourists (a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute cab ride from tourist central). It was opened very recently by the same gang from L'Affaire est ketchup, (a highly recommended restaurant just down the street at 46 rue Saint-Joseph East, (418) 529-9020),
In Quebec City for the night, we were headed to L'affaire est ketchup. They were fully booked so sent us to their new place, and we are grateful they did because the meal was fantastic!
What I like about the restaurant scene in Montreal are the new young creative chef-owner places, often found in residential neighbourhoods like the Plateau, Milt-End, Rosemont, etc. Restaurants where you can eat better prepared and more creative meals then at the fancy expensive places, and do so in a more laid back atmosphere, and for a fraction of the price.
That is what we found here at Patente et Machin, with a cherry on top and a twist or two of its own.
The menu was explained very enthusiastic and in great detail; we were already hungry so the detail was like torture as it all sounded so good that we wanted it all and fast!
We made our choice, and the wait wasn't long at all.
We started with a starter of tartare de boeuf, (one of the best we've had), and a really interesting take on onion rings in the crunchiest batter, (like a tempura, but crunchier), topped with drizzled honey and a strong hard cheese.
For our main course we decided to go for one of the 3 choices of meals for 2; a very juicy whole pintade on a bed of homemade gnocchi, with a creamy sauce of varied, plentiful and tasty wild mushrooms and crunchy vegetables.
The pintade was so big, and the wild mushroom gnocchi so rich, that I think 4 could have had a meal off of this dish for two. It was so good we ate too much to even think of eating dessert. If I had had been able to eat even one more bite, I would have ordered the strawberry soup; the table next to ours had it and they were tripping out on the flavours. In fact, all the tables around us were tripping over their respective meals.
We had a nice 41$ bottle of Languedoc with that, and the whole bill came to just under a 100 $, plus a 20$ tip because the service was very good.
The decor was comfortable and warm with lots of wood and a great counter to eat at with view on the kitchen. The crowd was young, sort of hipster like, but without the pretention or attitude often associated with this young creative class. There were some tables of 'older folk' as well. One thing that might scare off an 'older' crowd is that the music is young, eclectic and at times on the loud side (personally, I found it paired well with the meal).
It's a small place so best to reserve, (581) 981-3999.