Cork wine bar | Refined dishes and rare bottles in Repentigny

Through the good shots and, sometimes, the not so good, our restaurant critics tell you about their experience, introduce the team in the dining room and in the kitchen, while explaining what motivated the choice of the restaurant. This week: Liège wine bar, in Repentigny.

Eve Dumas
The Press

Why talk about it?

Restaurants are reopened, cultural life resumes. Perhaps you will see Klô Pelgag at the Théâtre Alphonse-Desjardins or an exhibition at the Center d’art Diane-Dufresne, both in Repentigny? You will then be a five-minute walk from the Bar à vin Liège, which opened its doors in the fall of 2019. The place not only offers nearly 150 artisanal cuvées at reasonable prices, it also offers good cuisine. thoughtful, in symbiosis with the seasons.

Who are they ?

Le Cinquième Péché is a restaurant that remains etched in the hearts (and taste buds) of many Montrealers and other visiting foodies. Benjamin Lenglet and his brother Benoît (the chef, now a teacher at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec) ran this table which lived in the Plateau, in two different premises, for more than 10 years.

Benjamin, sommelier and waiter emeritus of the tandem, wanted to rediscover the intimate atmosphere of the small restaurant. He met his new partner, chef Charles-Olivier Darveau, while working at another restaurant in Repentigny, an adventure that was short-lived. Seeing that he had a very talented cook at his disposal, he proposed an association in the form of a gourmet wine bar. Valérie Gagné, spouse of this ace cooker, was also up for it. The one the team calls the “Swiss army knife” is at ease in service, baking and administration. This is a major asset in catering, especially in times of staff shortages that run.

Our experience

Wednesday is often the quietest of services, in catering. But there were still a few diners at the Bar à vin Liège, which can accommodate a maximum of 26 people (plus 30 in summer, with the terrace). In the kitchen, there is only the chef and in the dining room, a single waiter who nevertheless manages to offer excellent attentive and personalized service.

The menu, written on the slate, invites sharing, with ten small dishes, four larger plates and two desserts. Something still quite rare, the brief descriptions make ALL want! As there are only two of us, heartbreaking choices will have to be made. We finally opt for three small dishes and a large one, to keep our appetite for the desserts.

Le Cinquième Péché was renowned for its preparation of seal, which Benoît prepared particularly well. Charles-Olivier has joined the camp of defenders of this meat which is still underserved and is preparing a very original tataki. The very bloody flesh is embellished with olives, sunflower and cheese, a tomme québécoise. It’s tasty, textured and easily accessible (to the animal protein eaters of this world, of course).

It’s hard to get more comforting than braised endives in Mornay sauce, with grilled almonds and Comté cheese. But our favorite “starter”, which is also particularly pretty, is a small squash base topped with a cloud of ricotta, XO-type sauce (that umami bomb made here with bacon, fish sauce and pepper, among others) and mullet eggs.

Between bison, guinea fowl, pork and char, our heart swayed for a long time. In the end, it was the poultry that won out. His accompaniments of leeks, plump oyster mushrooms and other mushrooms seemed to be a perfectly logical and complementary sequel to the ingredients previously ingested. The consistency of this perfectly winter menu did not escape us.

Of the two desserts on the slate—a dense ganache with haskap compote and 100% butter granola and a financier with whipped cream and “crème caramel”—we preferred the first, which is very chocolatey. But, chocophiles, don’t salivate too quickly, because it’s been replaced by an (undoubtedly delicious) carrot cake with sea buckthorn, haskap and buttermilk. You shouldn’t get too attached to the menus in these restaurants, which evolve with the availability of ingredients that are as local as possible.

In our glass

As the name of the establishment suggests, the dive bottle occupies an important place at the Bar à vin Liège. The menu has nearly 150 references of all colors and origins. There is a large selection of bottles in the 40, 50 and 60 $ range, which is rare in Montreal. And in Repentigny, such a choice of living wines from artisan winegrowers is unheard of. Adventurous, we opted for the Phoenix Skin Contact, a white maceration of Lebanese origin. Recommended by our server, this tense and thirst-quenching lemonade would no doubt have been better appreciated on a terrace in the middle of a heat wave than at the table with a winter meal that was a bit overwhelming. A bottle is always a bet, and customers who prefer it can order by the glass, from a dozen cuvées that Benjamin Lenglet changes regularly.

Price

The price of small dishes is between $16 and $22. Larger ones cost $34 to $36. Desserts are $9.

Information

For the moment, the Liège Wine Bar is open on Wednesdays, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., then from Thursday to Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

465, rue Notre-Dame, room 108, Repentigny