| |
Sipping a cocktail and swaying to the music at Cavalli, you’ll find yourself having something you probably haven’t had in a restaurant in a while – fun! The 160-seat dining room is usually packed with a very Sex and the City style crowd. But a restaurant is only as good as its food, and in that respect Montreal’s hottest new restaurant doesn’t disappoint. Though the underlying style is Italian, ingredients like wasabi and chipotle peppers scream fusion. This is one glitzy restaurant, which means the best dressed and regulars get the choice tables up front.
|
If it’s high-quality Italian food you’re after, you can’t do much better than Le Latini. On the main floor there’s a large open kitchen fronted by impressive displays of fresh fruit and seafood. At dinnertime, the second floor is the place to take in the exciting views of the south-central downtown core. In this eclectic modern/traditional setting, Chef and owner Moreno DiMarchi presents diners with authentic Italian cuisine meticulously prepared with only the best local and imported ingredients. The risotto, rumoured to be the best in Montreal, is a triumph.
|
Montrealers have the Mazzaferro family, owners of Ristorante DaVinci, to thank for their first taste of anchovies, pizza, and espresso coffee. That was back in the 1960s. Today the legacy continues. Although southern in spirit, this restaurant offers a repertory of popular dishes from the various regions of Italy, all interpreted with elegance and finesse. Seamless service is just another facet of this restaurant’s commitment to excellence. And the beautiful Victorian townhouse setting creates the most civilised and romantic of moods.
|
Montreal’s Italian restaurants fall into two categories: the splashy and the subdued. Ristorante Lucca is the latter. With beige walls, bistro chairs, and fresh flowers, the decor is pared down and elegant – completely free of pretension, or, the flip side, wax-covered Chianti bottles. Best of all, unlike many restaurants that prepare predictable Canadian-Italian fare, Lucca offers creative Italian dishes based on the concept of market cuisine. The soft polenta alone is worth the trek to Little Italy. Few would dispute that this is one of the best trattorias in town.
|
| |