Restaurant review | Saucette at Annette’s

Through the good times and, sometimes, the not so good, our restaurant critics tell you about their experience, present the team in the dining room and in the kitchen, while explaining what motivated their choice of restaurant. This week: Annette, the Rosemont wine bar that hits the mark!

Why talk about it?

As our annual issue dedicated to the world of wine was underway, a visit to a wine bar was a perfect fit for my next review. To think that for a few years, the only wine bar worthy of the name in Montreal was the Pullman! This was before the wave of refreshments and other natural wine bars broke out in every district of the city (and I’m not the one who’s going to complain!). At Annette, chef Marc-André Jetté and his partners have chosen to do things a little differently, or at least, in their own way. First, by not sticking to the “nature or nothing” trend. Then, by offering a “democratic” experience. And people in the Rosemont neighborhood and beyond quickly adopted the place, showing an appetite for the concept.

Who are they ?

Chef-owner of Hoogan & Beaufort, also behind the Édouard and Léo butchers, Marc-André Jetté needs no introduction. His restaurant, opened in 2015 in Angus, continues to be one of the best restaurants in the city. With Annette, he wanted to offer a different, more relaxed experience, supported by his partner in life and in business, Mila Rishkova. And then, over the years, the couple had built an enviable wine cellar. Why not share? The trio is completed by Olivier Quintin, pillar of Hoogan and creator of the cocktail menu. In the dining room, valuable allies, starting with Hugo Duchesne, emeritus sommelier (Best sommelier in Quebec in 2020 and second in Best Sommelier in the Americas in 2022), to whom are added Josée Préfontaine, dining room director, and the chef de cuisine Paul Ruff, freshly arrived from France.

Our experience

The lg2 firm signed the design of the place (located a few steps from the Hoogan & Beaufort), magnificent with its late afternoon light which enters through the large windows, elegant with its tones of green and copper, welcoming with its central oval bar, where you can sip a drink European style, that is to say standing, or even with its space lounge at the front and its long bench seats. The great room can be made more intimate by pulling out a panel of frosted glass, separating the space for private events.

We enter Annette’s compound on a beautiful Monday evening in September. The atmosphere is cozy and relaxed; the staff, warm. The bar will be our place of choice to surreptitiously observe the employees at work in the open kitchen.

We immediately feel good at Annette’s place. And we quickly want to make sauce.

Wines by the glass or in a bottle, tempting cocktails, and then this pretty menu of small dishes which fits on a sheet, which we guess is moving, seasonal, according to arrivals and inspirations. Everything tempts us. Let’s dive!

More small dishes? We invite you not to ignore the place even if you are tired of this fashion. Everything still bears the signature of Jetté. We are far from simple little plates, even if there is a certain minimalism in the compositions. By avoiding overbidding, we allow quality ingredients and products to shine. Precision and gluttony come together in a beautiful way.

Like this steak of Quebec beef, served as a tartare. He is famous, in addition to being photogenic; the meat is well vinegared, to cut the fat of the chive mayonnaise and the mature Avonlea cheddar, with its small croutons and marinated mustard seeds. The corn bavarois – an original version of the dessert where creamed corn replaces custard – is very cute with its grilled and puffed corn kernels. It’s an explosion of textures in the mouth, and the taste of corn, whose season is ending, is sublimated. It feels like we’re biting into summer just before it disappears.

The fried oyster mushrooms, a classic on the menu, are quite irresistible, with their herb yogurt whose acidity manages to cut through the fat of the urban mushrooms grown in Hochelaga by Blanc de gris. The delicate zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta then fried, a classic duo, were very well prepared. But the spinach and brown butter puree, thick and not very acidic, did not completely convince me that this pairing was well chosen.

For dessert, it’s hard not to succumb to this wafer bowl where scoops of caramel ice cream and cubes of caramelized peaches await us… Real decadence, imbued with a sweet touch of nostalgia!

In our glass

From classic to natural wine – “but straight”, slips Hugo Duchesne, who is actively preparing to participate in the Best Sommelier in Canada competition, in November in Halifax –, from accessible wine to exceptional vintages, Annette’s menu has not only depth, but also aims to appeal to all tastes and all budgets, to satisfy both the curious neophyte and the fine connoisseur who will widen his eyes at a few pearls from the cellar. There is the imposing wine list, with its leather cover, which collectors will enjoy leafing through, but also a more digestible selection, which fits on a double-sided sheet, with its selection of bottles and around thirty wines on the glass of the moment, without forgetting house wine and even the Coravin Experience, a gas capsule system which allows more expensive bottles to be served by the glass, without losing the precious liquid. You will therefore taste as much a half-carafon of 500 ml Grüner Libre from the popular Austrian estate Meinklang in white (the privately imported vintage, anyway!) at $19 as a Chablis 1^er Raw at $22 for 2.5 oz.

We must not ignore the cocktails. The wine bar has put together some classics. The Gimlet Annette, with dill oil (we like this herb here, which reminds Mila of her native Ukraine), is the standard bearer, but we are also seduced by the Mélissa (griotte, km12 gin, amaretto) or the Jordana (mezcal, cucumber, lime).

Price

Small plates range from around $15 for the finger food section, then hover around $20-25 for the slightly larger, fork-eaten dishes. Count on $12 for a dessert, around $15 for a cocktail, and there is always a glass of white and red which is around $10. These are the low prices we like!

Good to know

Annette is now in action 7 days a week, from 4 p.m. until late. The place has recently been taking reservations. Many events and tastings take place in its semi-private room. Located on the ground floor, the wine bar is easily accessible to people with reduced mobility.

4051, rue Molson (room 120), Montreal