Bistro Nolah

MatMan

2 Commentaires

2.5

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.

If you are looking for an excellent chef-driven restaurant in the West Island "area": perhaps you could try Bistro Carambola!

kristinaz

21 févr. 2019

Foodie

1 Commentaire

5.0

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.

lolalolita

6 Commentaires

4.0

I was looking forward to this experience having read all the amazing reviews on this website. Maybe because the reviews hyped it up so much, I was expecting greater things that did not materialize. Don't get me wrong, the food is really very good with lots of flavours, but I would not say it was totally mind blowing.

They start you off with the biscuits, which are good, but not fabulous. The hush puppies are very good with a delish jalapeno remoulade, but overly deep fried. The crab cakes really have a lot of crab meat but are also very deep fried. Our mains were also very good but we felt we did not get value for the price. We had the bread pudding which had a beautiful, luscious bourbon sauce & a real decadent chocolate torte. However, the caramelized pecans on the torte were burnt.

The ambiance is ok, but feels a little cafeteria-ish. Maybe table-cloths & different finished décor would help. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. It is good, although a bit over priced for what you get. Maybe it's not as mind-blowing for me as everyone else seems to think.