Restaurant Da Emma, located in what was formerly Montreal's first prison for women, won prizes for its design in 1999. Da Emma serves traditional Italian cuisine with Roman specialities. As for the food: seafood antipasto (squid, mussels, shrimp, and octopus drizzled with olive oil), fettuccine with porcini mushrooms, and suckling pig roasted with garlic and rosemary are among the highlights.
Terrace available accommodating up to 70 people.
Da Emma stands out as a notable Italian dining option in Montreal with many reviews praising authentic Roman inspired cuisine, high quality ingredients, and dishes that feel both homely and refined from tender meats and flavorful pastas to tiramisu. The historic Old Montreal setting and the cellar like atmosphere contribute to an elevated and intimate dining experience. Service is often described as professional and attentive, though a few visits note occasional slow or intrusive moments. Guests frequently mention complimentary bruschetta, good bread with olive oil and vinegar, and a strong wine list. While some comments point to noise and higher prices for smaller portions, the overall impression is that Da Emma is a must try for romantic or special occasions and a reliable home style Italian meal in the city.
Fantastic experience. Food was fantastic I had the lamb & it was phenomenal, service was excellent our waiter Franco knows what he's doing, making us laugh the whole night & giving excellent service. Would recommend
Déception. Nourriture correcte, mais sans grande originalité pour un prix élevé.Très bruyant. Nous avons commandé du vin & le serveur nous en a proposé un autre, supposément meilleur pour le même prix. Au final, le vin était trois fois plus cher. Nous n'aurions pas dû payer, mais c'était une fête & nous avions baissé notre vigilance. Je n'y retournerai plus jamais : (
Very noisy to have a conversation with friends. Food is good but not for the price we paid. Maybe my expectation is high , Use to much better before, came many times years ago, now I feel the quality dropped . Anyway, still very appreciated.
Visited Da Emma recently with my girlfriend. While the food itself was solid, the overall experience left a lot to be desired.
Right off the bat, we felt like we weren't taken seriously, maybe because we're young, but that's no excuse for dismissive service. I asked the waiter to surprise me with a drink since I'm open to anything, & instead of a recommendation or even a suggestion, I got a flat,'I don't know, it's your choice.' Not the end of the world, but it's not exactly rocket science to pitch your signature cocktail or something you're proud of.
What really took the cake though, cash only. In 2025. With zero heads up until the bill arrived. I don't carry $500 in cash around, & being told to walk to the dep up the street to grab cash? Completely unprofessional.
There are plenty of great places in the city where hospitality is actually part of the service. I'll be supporting Beatrice instead, where we're treated with respect, not judged by age.
Will be telling everyone who goes to MTL to try this restaurant!! First glance at the menu doesn't give enough credit to how delicious this restaurant is. The roasted lamb was so yummy, is very large easily shareable. We also got the Gorgonzola pasta which looks small but is very filling.
The soup of the day was a pastina & reminds me of home, might have been the best part of the meal. The artichokes were marinated in oil & were also very delicious
Nice outdoor setting, relax atmosphere, italian music.
Great cocktails & amazing wine list. Bruschetta was tasty, a very nice touch to start the meal.
Food was ok. Aragula salad seasoning was good, mushrooms pasta was cooked to perfection (but the portion was so small), tiramisu was delicious. No bread was offered to us, we had to ask for pepper & cheese. I had to refill my glass of wine myself, the staff was busy chatting with each other.
Service was not attentive, it could have been better. A little detail, the hostess at the entrance was dress sloppy ( baggy jeans, large hoodie & flip flop!), very odd for a refined italian restaurant. Restroom was dirty with no toilet paper, had to chase a server for it...
Maybe it was just on off night & i was not lucky but i dont think that i will be back...
Jul 26, 2025
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Le service est impeccable. La nourriture est exceptionnelle. Je garde toujours de beaux souvenirs du Da Emma. Je le recommande à tous mes proches qui désirent manger dans un restaurant italien. Ça vaut le coup d'arrêter dans le vieux-port pour goûter à ces plats savoureux ! Pour vous dire, je n'ai jamais été fan de lasagne, mais leur lasagne est succulente & délicieuse, j'en rêve encore.
No cap, this place is one of the worth the money experiences. I've always wanted to try authentic italian food without being in Italy. If this is the taste, Italy here i come.
Excellent experience. Top level service, good wine list with variety in regi9nal selllections & price. Food was exceptional (coming from guy who married into an Italain family)
Jun 24, 2025
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The food is delicious, the atmosphere can be very loud at times. The service can be slow at times but it is what it is. Expect to be there for 1.5 to 2 hours.
The bread was exceptional. Old school loaf with hard crust. The pasta was perfect with delicious simple tomato sauce. I have definitely had better carpaccio. I was not particularly happy with either of the fish dishes. My biggest issue was definitely the service. On a Wednesday night, it was not busy. But everything was slow. It took a very long time to get sparkling water. I began looking for the waiter so we could place an order before he finally came. The food took a long time & was not really hot. By then I had stuffed myself with too much bread. That one is on me. After two bottles of sparkling water I asked to switch to just regular ice water. The waiter agreed & then never brought me any. To pay the bill, I was tempted to take a walk to see if I could find our waiter. I finally flagged him down that I wanted to pay, & it was at least another 10 minutes. The rest of my family had already left the table & I was sitting there tapping my foot until he finally finally finally showed up. The waiter was a disaster. & he was completely unsupported by the other wait staff. They seemed more interested in having a conversation with the table next to us. Maybe they are regulars? On a final note, I am removing this restaurant from my recommendations to friends & other business associates. The food was not quite up to par, but the service took it straight down the drain.
