Carte Blanche Restaurant Montreal is a great choice for a fine dining establishment if you're seeking authentic French food, perfectly prepared with top notch ingredients in interesting combinations at fair prices.
The restaurant is ideal for a special occasion, a first date or a small business meeting. It has become a neighborhood favorite of local media and Quebec film stars sitting as it does in Midtown/Ville Marie on the edge of the Gay Village and the Latin Quarter.
The professionally designed black and white decor with a cool bar is offset by a wall-sized color field piece by Belgium artist, Andre Claes.
- Perfect seasonings
- Perfect portions
- Perfect cooking times and temperatures
- Beautiful chic but comfortable decor
- Great neigborhood
- Seating is a bit cool in winter by the door
- 1159 Ontario East (at Wolfe)
- Call 514.313-8019 for reservations (recommended)
- Dinner Hours: Tueday to Thursday 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday/ Saturday: 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- Lunch Hours: (Tuesday to Friday) 11:30 am to 2:30pm
- Open Sunday and Monday for groups of 15 + by reservation only
- Seats 42
A little off the beaten tourist track, Carte Blanche has been opened for there years and is run by a young, energetic French couple. Sophie manages the business side of things with skills imported from the Savoy Hotel in England and is active in the neighborhood business community. Andre's the talented chef. They both originate from a small village in the center of France, former home of Gerard Depardieu, where the superb recipe for the apple tarte tatin dating from the late 1800's hails.
Pure, simple and traditional best describes the ingredients and cooking techniques employed by Andre. The tomato soup starter was a bunch of tomatoes sitting at Montreal's Central market just hours earlier. This same market provides produce for Montreal's favorite, the Jean Talon Market.
House specialties, typical of french cuisine are big on meat. In the case of Carte Blanche, it's shepherd's pie made with blood pudding and carmelized apples served with a maple chutney. Equally heavy is the duck confit cassoulet balanced by perfect portions and seasonings to preserve the pleasure in eating these dishes that otherwise might be a tad much.
Seafood lovers opt for the salmon filet coated in sesame seeds served with a lime and ginger caramel sauce or the perfectly plump and seared sea scallops dressed in a light, tangy oil topped with sun dried tomato pieces and julienned carrots and spinach garnished with grilled red pepper and warm cucumber.
The carefully considered wine list features a good Bourgogne pinot noir (Jadot) which perfectly suites the seafood choices. For a good after dinner drink try the Clementine, an interesting alternative to the heavier Cointreau or Gran Marnier.