We named our restaurant Bistro Nolah, an acronym for New Orleans, out of a love for the style of comfort food they serve down south. This style of food will be the inspiration behind some of the dishes we will be serving at Nolah.
Reviews portray Bistro Nolah as a cozy, welcoming spot with a warm New Orleans vibe and attentive service. The menu shines with Creole and Southern favorites such as gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, fried chicken, brisket, and catfish, with several dishes praised for being flavorful and well cooked. Brunch and tasting menus are highlighted by many guests, and desserts like bread pudding and banana cheesecake are frequently praised. The space is small and intimate, which can feel bustling at times but also adds to the charm; reservations are often recommended. Overall, Bistro Nolah delivers high quality, flavorful Southern dishes, a strong drinks program, and a memorable dining experience that makes guests eager to return for both brunch and dinner.
Dining at Bistro Nolah is an experience not to be missed if you appreciate superb & unique cuisine, excellent service, fair prices, & a friendly, but classy bistro setting. I have dined at Nolah on several occasions, & each time it just gets better! Their menu includes New Orleans-style dishes like beignets, hush puppies, jambalaya, gumbo, & so much more, with specials that change nightly. Last night my wife & I enjoyed a leisurely, romantic evening at the bistro; we had the best fried chicken either of us had ever tasted, as well as incredible hush puppies & a melt-in-your-mouth pork belly appetizer. We savoured every bite of our generous entrees of delicious shrimp & grits & blackened catfish. The Cajun flavours were complex & exciting, but not overpowering. Chef Richard has been tweaking his culinary skills & his knowledge of this style of cooking for over 30 years, & believe me, he has it down! A gem of a place to visit on the West Island!
There are good restaurants, very good restaurants, exceptional restaurants & then there is Bistro Nolah! Wow, this place just gets better & better.
I’ve been many times, & it has been consistent, but tonight, I see that they have perfected what I thought they already mastered! The fried chicken was melt-in-your-mouth perfection! My husband had the pork belly appetizer, & it did not disappoint.
The curry mussels were unbelievable, a sauce you will be thinking about for quite some time. I had the shrimp & grits as a main & my husband had the catfish. We both kept shaking our heads in disbelief as to how perfectly & carefully all the flavours came together flawlessly.
We have had many wonderful meals, this one will remain high on our list of the most unforgettable ones.
Excellent service from Cathy.
We will be back soon!
Sep 13, 2023
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Bistro Nolah is, & will continue to be, a hidden gem in the West Island of Montreal.
Before I finally indulged myself & experienced its offerings, almost everyone I know was raving about it. "The best elevated cajun food in the city" they were saying....& to that statement: I wholeheartedly agree.
From the subtle ambience, to the genuine manners of the staff, this establishment has come to be one of my absolute favourites in "the West".
I ate there with my mom, who is mutually an eloquent woman with a refined taste. Not afraid to speak her mind, she is always honest about her outlook on a restaurant. To be clear, she also very much enjoyed the tastings & libations of Nolah.
Upon ordering our meal, we were graciously offered a New Orleans delicacy known as "a hushpuppy". A hushpuppy is a bite sized, savoury ball, made with a cornmeal-based batter; that is deep fried. Sometimes being overly dense & over-fried, they can be too chewy. To my surprise, these hushpuppies were absolutely crisp on the outside & had a perfectly tender interior.
For our appetizers, we ordered the Louisiana crab cakes & shrimp tacos. The shrimp tacos, although as delicious as anticipated, did not go beyond anything ordinary. The crab cakes however, were absolutely scrumptious. The fried cakes bursted with crab flavour, rightfully highlighting it as the hero ingredient of the dish. Served with a mildly spicy aioli & some corn niblets, every layered flavour & texture accentuated the flavour profile of the crab.
As for the entrées, we ordered the jambalaya & blackened catfish to share. Both dishes sang a sweet, melodic Louisiana song. They were truly delectable. The deconstruction of the jambalaya was innovative in presentation & made for a combination of different bites. This dish included all the familiar flavours of a jambalaya & enhanced every single one. It included jumbo shrimps, a tomato-based, dark roux, sauce with rice that was packed with creole herbs & spices. The added vegetables & micro-greens were unnecessary but provided the "fine dining" touch.
The blackened catfish simultaneously tickled our tastebuds & unquestionably transported us to the docks of New Orleans. A perfect blend of spices, alongside fresh sautéed vegetables & raw shaved radish, the balance within each & every ingredient was a perfect equilibrium. A truly authentic & grasping touch, on the fish, was the orange "Pontchartrain" sauce. I have never seen this sauce served with fish anywhere in Montreal. The name of the sauce derives from Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana & like the lake, the thick, buttery sauce, was teeming with fish.
To end such as stunning meal was an even more stunning dessert. The bread pudding, being a humbling & when done correctly: crowd pleasing dish, was luscious & delightful. Topped with fresh fruit & a Jack Daniels syrup, it was frankly hard not to finish. Simple, not simplistic, this is a staple in southern cuisine & was executed with such finesse & ease (as it should be).
Bistro Nolah is a distinct establishment & in all honesty, an exquisite restaurant that is recommended to anyone who loves cajun cuisine &/or looking to expand their culinary horizons.
After hearing some 20 something people discuss how great Nolah’s food was, I decided that I should check it out. Looking at the web site…. New Orleans food seemed an odd choice for Montreal , but the Chef's were highlighted by name. Having the Chefs names featured, is unusual in West Island restaurants. It’s usually higher end restaurants downtown that feature their ‘ Chefs’ name, as a draw. Sometimes it’s just image & sometimes it’s because the featured Chef is special. Featuring the Chef usually indicates that the profile of the restuaurant is higher end & priced accordingly. So far OK . The West island does not have any really good Chef driven restaurants in my opinion, & it would be nice to have some.
So enough for the preamble……….. After visiting Bistro Nolah for Dinner this week I am still waiting for a good Chef driven restaurant in the West island. As a background, I have been to a few very good restaurants in New Orleans during a business trip around 10 years ago.
I started with a Gumbo with Choritzo. A bowl of dark brown sauce surrounded a mound of rice. Bits of tomato, ocra, & Choritzo sausage could be found under the dark mix. Quite spicy , the thick mixture was heavily spiced . The taste was unrefined & uninteresting. It didn’t taste fresh & probably wasn’t. The spice was the dominate taste except for the bits of choritzo which registered a hotter taste. To be honest, I’ve had soups that I enjoyed more ,come out of a can.
The main was a decent sized piece of Alaskan Cod on a bed of wild rice. The Cod was dry & overcooked. The taste was so so. Maybe it could have been fresher. The wild rice was plain & uninspiring. The surrounding vegetable were mostly roots, carrot, beet, & did not compliment the fish or wild rice at all. Flavors were boring & I ate it for sustenance rather than enjoyment. I didn’t finish either the appetizer or the main.
My partner had a Shrimp main. The shrimps were a bit too spicy & masked the shrimp flavor. They were cooked OK, not overdone. I usually don’t order shrimps in Montreal restaurants due to the poor quality of farmed shrimp imported from Asia. I love eating shrimp in Florida & I make sure they are wild & fresh caught domestic shrimp. Not frozen & farmed. So I guess I am prejudiced against shrimp served in Montreal restaurants since they invariably use defrosted & farmed shrimp. The shrimp were OK , for what they were. Again the side flavors on the plate were uninteresting.
So I am still looking for a good Chef driven West island restaurant.
Would I want to have a recipe for how they prepared any dishes I ate………… No!
Prices were certainly not modest . Service was OK. For the price they charge, tablecloths would be nice, even if it’s a bistro. It’s a bit noisy & they played the music a bit too loud for my preference. I guess trying to appeal to a trendier crowd.
Would I go back to Nolah.....I don’t think so. Maybe I could give it a second chance, but it didn’t give me any pleasure to eat there so why bother. I might have given it a 2.5 star if I could. I would have rated it a 3 star if it was a diner instead of a restaurant with airs.
Looking to fill a hunger that demanded quality food, we mutually decided to dine at Bistro Nolah. We had been there once before but only soon after it had initially opened & were curious to see how they had maintained or even surpassed the previously noted high standards.
Our meal started with an "Amuse-Bouche" of hush-puppies which had a delicious inside & really took off when paired with it's accompanied Chipotle Mayo. We then ordered drinks, absolutely delicious Mango Martini & a Nola Special Mix.
Appetizers came next with my wife ordering the Chef Choice Trio, Pork Belly - fried oysters- & Prosciutto wrapped cheese filled fig, & I the Pork Belly With Figs. We both now have new respect for Pork Belly. Absolutely delicious & tender & the reduction it came with was like icing on the cake. Her fried oysters were amazing & the Prosciutto wrapped & cheese filled fig was something I've never tried but will have to again as it was very tasty.
For our mains she had the seafood Risotto with seared salmon, jumbo shrimps & jumbo scallops & I ordered Shrimp & Grits. The Shrimp & Grits simply put was outstanding! Perfectly done jumbo shrimp with a Cajan seasoning & sauce on them & cheese infused Grits with tons of great flavors & perfectly cooked vegetables. My wife's Seafood Risotto was perfectly done in a creamy sauce with accompanying seafood done to perfection. The standout for me of her excellent dish was the tender & flavorful jumbo scallops seared perfectly.
For dessert we had the Beingets & the Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce. Both are must haves & serve as a delicious end to an Excellent meal & dining experience.
All throughout our meal, the waiting staff were On Point & seemed very enthusiastic yet professional about what they were doing. The ambiance was light but relaxed & good for dining. Service overall was A+.
Bistro Nolah Impressed us as a great combination of great food, service & atmosphere. We will definitely be back with more friends.
I went to Bistro Nolah with my son & had a great time. We started off with the trio appetizer & the fried oysters. I didn't care much for the fried oysters but the trio was amazing. There was scallop ceviche, which melted in your mouth, crab cake, & lastly, grits. I would have licked the bowl. It was that good.
For our mains we had the braised short rib, & my son had the cornish hen Both were very good.
I was very happy that I had finally tried this restaurant. When we left, my son who is 10yrs old looked at me, & said "Thanks Mom for bringing me here, it was great!!"
