Restaurant review | La Franquette: happiness at the bistro

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, we’re bringing you back to Westmount, to Bistro La Franquette.

Eve Dumas
The Press

Why talk about it?

It was a bit of a coincidence, but above all the desire to try two new restaurants whose excellent reputation is slowly spreading on the island that brought us to Westmount two weeks in a row. My colleague Iris Gagnon-Paradis told you about La Sobremesa and its Iberian delights last Saturday. My turn to praise the generous and gourmet French cuisine of Bistro La Franquette.

Who are they ?

Renée Deschenes and Louie Deligianis are co-owners of the restaurant, she in the dining room, he in the kitchen. In the past, they were part of the large Joe Beef family, then worked at the Pastel restaurant, with chef Jason Morris, now at the helm of Marcus. The couple wanted a classic bistro, comfort food, an impressive wine list and a relaxed atmosphere. The opportunity arose in the old Lavanderia, next to Park. A good part of the team, including assistant manager Tiffany Golarz, a few cooks and waiters, remained faithful to La Franquette during the trying first year.

Our experience

After a first attempt to have dinner at La Franquette in February thwarted at the last minute by an unfortunate “smoke show” in the kitchen, here we are on a beautiful Saturday evening in mid-March. The hood is working like a charm, the air in the dining room is breathable, the atmosphere is just lively enough, and my mom and I are determined to have a great evening. It will be, from start to finish.

At the reception and at the service, Renée and Tiffany make us feel at home. There is something really warm in the way they take care of their customers. This feeling of “home” is also reflected in the simple decor, all in dark wood and colorful works by local artists.

We could get into wine right away, as the menu makes our mouths water, but the cocktails manage to divert our attention. We sip them while consulting the menu. This one is done in the classic “starter/main” formula, five of each, and three desserts that are revealed at the end of the meal. The choice is quite quickly made. We opt for the two starters without meat, then for the sea bass and the beef tab.

The salad, with its Jerusalem artichokes, apple slices and crispy shallots that you would eat like crisps, complements the well-grilled homemade halloumi steak served with roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar and black olive oil. Admittedly, the beef tartare, the chicken liver parfait or the thinly sliced ​​roast lamb would have made it more “French bistro”, but let’s not be too ambitious on good meat.

The tab that follows is meaty enough for our appetites as flexitarian-leaning omnivores. The Maillard reaction is embodied to perfection in this beautiful piece of beef with an exemplary shell, served in thick slices with compound butter. The fries to be dipped in just enough garlic aioli are deep golden, cut “Belgian style” and not matchsticks.

Sea bass is a very delicate dish. The crispy-skinned white fish is placed on spleen potatoes which are bathed in a brilliant green coriander coulis. Grilled sucrine lettuce and fennel and fresh herb salad further accentuate the spring illusion.

There was no question of going without dessert. We know what splendor is capable of the pastry chef Olive Park, former employee of Patrice Pâtissier, who has worked at La Franquette since the quasi-beginning. But we didn’t expect such finesse or such a perfect harmony between the ingredients: pear, phyllo dough and coconut. I got to sample the layered carrot cake the next morning, a little treat to go. The stubborn aromas of the spices and buckwheat that compose it are attenuated by the smoothness of a cream cheese frosting. There was also a delicious homemade sourdough bread in my bag. If you order it on the spot, during the meal, you will probably want to buy a loaf when you leave.

In our glass

Tommy Stronach makes simple, no-garnish cocktails inspired by the classics. Of the six on offer, we opt for an orange Vesper, which has only gin and Lillet of the famous James Bond martini, but nevertheless proves to be very elegant. The faux bourdon (very free interpretation of Bee’s Knee’s?) contains tequila, amaro, honey, ginger and lemon. It is an irreproachable aperitif. The only regret one can have, when ordering a cocktail, would be that of having one less glass of wine to go with. You can booze at a reasonable price ($50) and less reasonable ($200), by the glass or the bottle. It was a “bottle” evening. But how to reconcile beef and white fish? We wanted red, so Renée took us on a trip to Sicily (Marsala), to Nino Barraco. His 2017 nero d’avola was perhaps a little enveloping for the fish, but its fresh mouthfeel of blackberries, pepper and Mediterranean salinity made you want to come back to it… often!

Good to know

The dining room, an open space with very high ceilings, is on the ground floor, but you have to go up to the mezzanine for the toilets. They are therefore not accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Price

Appetizers cost $16-20, desserts around $14, while entrees range from $28 (vegetarian pasta) to $45 (beef chop). With cocktails ($16-18) and a good bottle of wine, the bill will easily add up to a minimum of $300 for two. To boost its second service with a clientele a little less fortunate than that of the neighborhood, perhaps, La Franquette offers a starter/main course menu at $45, after 9 p.m.

Information

The Bistro La Franquette is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 6 p.m. to midnight.

374 Victoria Avenue, Montreal