Restaurant review | La Panzeria: getaway in Puglia

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: La Panzeria and its authentic cuisine that transports you to southern Italy.

Why talk about it?

Who doesn’t love discovering hidden gems? In a city like Montreal, where the number of restaurants is constantly on the rise, there is no doubt that there are plenty to find. A favorable rumor reached our ears and it was called La Panzeria. Hidden in a small place below rue Saint-Denis, this café whose short menu is inspired by the cuisine of Puglia, in southern Italy, can easily go unnoticed. It is to bring it out of the shadows that it is the subject of our weekly review.

Who are they ?

Brothers Davide and Pierpaolo Sansone fell into it when they were little. In what ? First, in focaccia, which they learned to make when young, to lend a hand to their family, which owned a bakery in Bari, a port city in the Puglia region. If he balked at the task when he was a child, Davide is now happy to have learned the secrets of this traditional know-how. “Cooking is more than a job for me, it’s a passion. I try to do everything perfectly! “, assures the eldest of the family. The two brothers went to cooking school in Italy and ran a small café in Bari, then they ended up in Montreal… where they were born – their parents moved back to Italy when their sons were very young and have now also returned to the metropolis. In 2019, the two reunited in their hometown, they started their own little restaurant showcasing traditional dishes from Puglia.

Our experience

According to some, the best focaccia in Montreal is at La Panzeria. It is true that it is difficult to beat: it has a perfect consistency, crispy on the outside, melting on the inside. Here is the focaccia barese which is on the menu, as it is served in Bari. The secret recipe! – is made with durum wheat semolina and cooked with small tomatoes, a hard-to-find variety here that the brothers managed to get their hands on recently. It can be eaten as is or topped with delicious toppings such as Bomba, with thin slices of capocollo (which can be compared to coppa), creamy burrata cheese, figs and lightly spiced honey or even with mortadella, burrata and pistachios. Divine !

Here, everything is homemade, in an artisanal way, with fresh and quality ingredients, in the purest tradition of Italian cuisine. The recipes are simple and minimalist, but above all, tasty.

Another specialty of this table gave its name to the place: the panzerotti. To simplify as much as possible, we could say that it is a luxury “pizza pocket”. These fried turnovers are not calzones (which are baked) and are different from the pizza fritta Neapolitan because of their dough, made from wheat semolina, which makes them lighter and crispier. Simply garnished with mozzarella and tomato sauce (son approved) or with pancetta and rapini, these little turnovers are filled with happiness.

Some pasta are also offered, including orecchiettesmall round and concave fresh pasta, another specialty of Puglia, simmered with the help of the mom Francesca who has, to put it mildly, experience in the matter. Coated in creamy pistachio pesto and burrata, they are swallowed whole.

La Panzeria obviously makes its ciabattas, which must be eaten with the house specialty: marinated then lightly fried octopus, marinated rapini and a lime aioli. We didn’t on our last visit as our stomachs couldn’t take any more, but that’s only a postponement.

Of the sweet make it possible to end the meal in style. They vary every week; in the dessert window, you will certainly find bombolone (stuffed donuts) or pasticciotto filled with pastry cream and black cherries and, as Christmas approaches, labelsa traditional holiday pastry in Puglia, whose thin fried dough is dipped in a vincottomolasses made from red wine and figs.

In our glass

We come to La Panzeria, during the day, to enjoy a good Italian coffee (beans from the Italian micro-roaster Rekico, unique in Montreal). Then, at the time ofappetizer, Pierpaolo takes over the bar and serves excellent negroni and spritz, and a few signature cocktails including the Bari iced-tea, a refreshing combination of vermouth, prosecco and ginger ale. A few typical Italian digestives – amaro, grappa – are on the program, as well as a short selection of privately imported wines, mostly from Puglia.

Price

The classic focaccia is displayed at $10, then the garnishes, for two, will cost you $25, as will the dish of orecchiette. The beefy signature octopus sandwich is $24 and the panzerotti range from $10 to $14. Cocktails sell for around $13.

Good to know

Open during the day from Wednesday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. (except Sunday, at 10 a.m.) and until 6 p.m. La Panzeria is also recently open in the evening, on Thursdays and Fridays.

4084 Saint-Denis Street, Montreal