Restaurant review | Casavant, Villeray’s new darling

Rising stars in the restaurant industry, institutions that stand the test of time, hidden gems… Our critics dig in and help you make informed choices. This week, Casavant, a “wine” restaurant where you drink as well as eat.

When I “shop” for a restaurant, I generally look at the wine list BEFORE reading the menu. Because even if they serve me the finest cuisine, if it is with a Sauvignon armored with sulphites or a Bordeaux that stains, I will have less pleasure.

Obviously, my mania does not apply to all circumstances. The hand-pulled noodle lunch in Chinatown doesn’t have to be paired with a macerated Pinot Gris, any more than the dosas dinner in Parc-Extension or the quick tacos. But when it’s an evening out in the “good” or “great” table register, especially in a city where the sommelier is of such a high level, the expectations are very present. Casavant answers it every time.

If the menu of this favorite restaurant in Villeray is so interesting, it is because one of the co-owners, Matisse Deslauriers, owns the agency À Drink Standing and represents excellent estates in France, Italy, Germany, and the United States. United and elsewhere. Partners Geoffrey Gravel (in the dining room), Amélie Demchuk (in the dining room) and Charles-Tristan Prévost (chef) are also passionate about artisanal wines. Some, more in the background – Nikolas DaFonseca, Antonin Frénette-Laporte and Marina De Figueiredo – are even associated with the vinvinvin bar.

Since Casavant opened a year ago, I have eaten and drank several times in the very distinctive room with its beautiful wooded cellar, its colorful ceiling and its tastefully chosen paintings. Each time it was an experience as festive as it was delicious.

You don’t come here for a cozy, romantic tête-à-tête (unless you have the little table hidden at the back of the restaurant). We are in a lively and noisy area. Some might say that rue De Castelnau was already quite lively. And certainly, it was a pretty little shopping promenade, very popular with families from Villeray. Others found it somewhat lacking in nighttime entertainment. Casavant has certainly remedied this shortcoming brilliantly, also organizing neighborhood parties of the type ” block party » with DJs and friendly restaurants.

Beautiful tables for an elegant lunch are not numerous in Villeray either and the penultimate meal I had at the corner of De Castelnau and Drolet streets was precisely a dinner. The portions were generous, especially the delicious “cockscomb” pasta in creamy pesto sauce with burrata. The char with crispy skin sprinkled with sesame, served with blanched cherry tomatoes, roasted hazelnuts and green beans, tasted like the month of August in a nutshell.

On my last visit, a beautiful, warm Thursday evening in the first third of September, the French windows were wide open. The terrace was full and the room wasn’t too busy either. There were quickly bubbles of Riesling from the Melsheimer family (Moselle, Germany) in our glasses and impeccably opened oysters on the table, with a slightly sweet and spicy mignonette.

The wine that followed was a Sicilian rosé made primarily from Nerello Mascalese. SRC Vini cultivates its vines at the foot of Etna, mainly on the northern slope, and you can clearly feel the volcanic energy in the estate’s wines. The Rosato 2021 was both perfect to accompany this warm late summer evening and ideal to pair with the harmonious and sensual tomato and peach salad on tonnato mayonnaise. A dish with exceptional balance, with its thin slices of olives and pine nuts as accents that are not at all trivial.

The sour cherry notes of the Rosato also went very well with the lamb “summer sausage” which contained pistachios. A discreet mint could be tasted in the pea puree placed in small touches on the more robust and creamy fennel puree. Rusticity and elegance were courting each other.

If we had known how rich the next dish was, perhaps we would have ordered differently. Halibut with clams, corn and chanterelles is an imposing plate to share. It is the very creamy sauce which gives it an undeniable fullness, but also a certain heaviness. To do it again, perhaps we would have preceded this piece de resistance with less “nutritious” dishes, like raw scallops, to be able to better enjoy its exuberance.

The dessert also had its rich and milky side, in the form of a mascarpone cream, but the base, a very vegetable olive oil cake, and the punctuation, blueberries and sour cranberries, were very deceptive. the taste buds.

Throughout the evening, we were served by a cheerful and caring Amélie Demchuk. Here is a young restaurateur who seems to love her job, like all the co-owners and staff members by whom I have been served at Casavant since the opening.

Price

The majority of dishes are medium sized and range in price from $16 to $32. The double portion of halibut is $58. Desserts are $15. On the menu, the wines are classified by producer. Right now, the cheapest bottle is $65. There are several options at $70. Then prices can climb to several hundred dollars for rare skittles, champagnes and magnums.

Good to know

Since its opening, Casavant has climbed into Canada’s 100 Best (87^e position and 6^e in the top 10 of the best new restaurants) and is part of Air Canada’s list of 30 Best New Canadian Restaurants 2024, including the top 10 will be revealed in November.

Information

Casavant is open seven evenings, from 5 p.m. to midnight, then Fridays and Saturdays for lunch, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

350, rue De Castelnau Est, Montreal

Visit the Casavant website