Hotel Le Germain Montreal | A new chef at Boulevardier

The magic happens every time when you sit down at the restaurant of a chic hotel in the city center… You become a tourist in your own city.

Especially when the decor is chic sixties like that of the Hôtel Le Germain Montréal, which has a new executive chef for its restaurant Le Boulevardier.

Florimond Hannoteau perpetuates with finesse and delicacy a brasserie-style menu with several fish and seafood dishes, including a starter of scallops from the Magdalen Islands with a bacon cream that he says he enjoys everywhere he goes !

By invitation, our evening – very lively for a cold Tuesday evening in April – however began on the ground floor at the Le Flâneur bar. The butler Benoit Saint-Hilaire (who brought back memories of the Chez Simone refreshment bar!) welcomed us with a glass of white wine from the Domaine des Salamandres (Vidal and Geisenheim grape varieties), and with aperitif dishes that could have constituted a meal: beef tataki, redfish accras and divine deviled eggs with crab. To digest it all before going upstairs to the dining room, a glass of Champagne from the Victoire vintage from producer GH Martel (a great discovery on sale for $40 a bottle at the SAQ!).

Previously, Florimond Hannoteau worked at Ikanos and held the position of executive chef at the Monville hotel. However, he wanted to return to the kitchen of a restaurant which might not be that of a hotel. “The setting of the Boulevardier is magnificent,” he adds, looking at the bay window which gives a splendid night view of Rue Maisonneuve.

The chef who studied in brasseries and not in a cooking school loves the seasonality and freshness of local products. As a main meal, he served us a rack of Kamouraska lamb accompanied by candied tomatoes, roasted peppers and vitelotte puree. On its menu, there is also a lot of fish and seafood including a lobster risotto. “I like the mix of land and sea,” he says.

We really appreciated the approach of sommelier Jordane Knab, who refined his wine knowledge on Reunion Island and who had a very personal relationship with the winegrowers whose wines available at the SAQ we tasted (Jean-Paul Brun from Beaujolais and Yves Cuilleron from the small Collines Rhodaniennes appellation).

Jordane Knab prefers to operate with a “reduced cellar”. Private imports or not? Classic or natural wines? ” I do not care. What matters to me is the product and the winemaker,” replies the sommelier who focuses on sure values.

At the end of the meal, he even brought out a bottle of Frozen Pear Mistelle (aged for 10 years in oak barrels) from Domaine des Salamandres. In fact, that wasn’t the end: the tradition at Boulevardier is to put a bottle of Pineau des Charentes in the middle of the table so that those who wish can help themselves to a last digestive.

Both Boulevardier’s sommelier and chef praised its relaxed setting. We also feel him as a customer, with sumptuous furniture and lighting – chosen by Atelier Zébulon Perron – which are undoubtedly part of the special occasion.

Conclusion ? “The idea that we can have of a hotel restaurant has changed a lot,” Bruno Durand, partner and operator of the Boulevardier (who has also just acquired the Bar les Cousins ​​at DIX-30) couldn’t say it better. ).