Le Filet – 219 Mont-Royal West
We are over the moon for this young (one year old in February) restaurant by the same guys behind Montreal’s most famous restaurant, Club Chasse et Peche. Owners Claude Pelletier and Hubert Marsolais, along with two new partners, Yasu Okazaki and Patrick St-Vincent, have together come up with a genuinely original setting in the Outrement neighborhood for some of the best food that Montreal has to offer.
Similarly to Club Chasse et Peche, Le Filet focuses on seafood and fish while still providing many meat options to its patrons). The menu is broken down into sections, but the main idea is small plates to be shared.
Start the meal off with their garnish oysters served three at a time. Every week they have a choice of three (mostly East Coast) different types of oysters and with each slew of three you have a choice between the following garnishes: soy & citrus jelly, strawberry & basil, hon shimeji with truffle oil and oyster cream, or miso gratin. Our favorite is the strawberry and basil, but try them all, it’s worthwhile.
Next, go for their salad section, our favourite two are Smoked Mackerel Rillettes with Lemon Oil and Toast and their Jicama, Fennel, Citrus and Lemon Balm Salad. Then move onto their raw section where you can’t leave without trying their organic salmon gravlax served with tofu and roe, and their tuna tartare served with egg confit and nori tempurar (you can see the Asian influences in this menu, we love it!).
Next, move on to their soup and warm tide sections. Here you must go for their fish soup with fennel, pastis and aromatic ocean broth (12 oz. so it’s meant to be shared), and then choose the halibut with gnocchi and porcini puree served with rapini. We then head into the homemade pasta and risotto section, where we absolutely died for their cavatelli with foie gras and veal cheek.
The next two sections may alarm you in terms of their names but have no fear, there’s good stuff buried in them. In the amphibian section, we recommend the pork flank served with seared scallop and soft polenta, and in the earthly section we suggest the duck magret served with walnuts, medjoold dates, and oyster mushroom.
As you can see, there is enough on this menu to keep you coming back week after week and trying new dishes every time. You will be full and satisfied and happy after a meal at Le Filet, so if you haven’t been there yet, go. It’s as notable as it gets when it comes to fine dining in Montreal.