Da Emma
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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.
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Reviews for Da Emma
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italian(39) pasta(24) authentic(21) recommend(18) dessert(15) dishes(14) wine(12) sauce(11) tiramisu(11) beautiful(9) bruschetta(9) vibe(9)Page 1 of 9 - 169 Reviews
Edward
Da Emma does not disappoint. Housed in a beautiful historic building, it sets the tone for an elevated dining experience from the moment you arrive. A wall of photos showcasing the many celebrities who've dined here underscores the legacy of this Montréal institution. Quite possibly the city's finest Italian restaurant, no small claim given the competition, it offers flawless dishes (don't miss the meatballs), attentive staff, & the bonus of complimentary valet parking. Whether you're planning a date night or celebrating a special occasion in Old Montréal, make a reservation, put on a nice outfit, & savour one of the city's must try meals.
Karen
The restaurant itself is very nice, with a romantic Old Montreal atmosphere. The food was good, & the service was generally fine. However, upon reflection, our waiter's behavior was inappropriate & made us uncomfortable.
Although Franco was soft-spoken, he constantly hovered around our table, lingering & inserting himself unnecessarily into our experience. It felt invasive & intrusive, as if he were monitoring us rather than simply providing service. This significantly detracted from what could have been an enjoyable evening.
Overall, while the setting & food were pleasant, the service left us feeling uncomfortable due to this overly intrusive behavior.
Karina
Things I enjoyed:
- Complimentary bruschetta
- Complimentary bread with good quality olive oil & vinegar
- The ambiance
- The mozzarella
Things I didn't enjoy:
- Our server was not warm or welcoming in the slightest
- The energy felt elitist
- Only providing one low end option for by-the-glass prosecco on the menu
Anita
If you're looking for good quality home style Italian food, look no further. This restaurant is a classic & the food truly takes like an Italian grandmother made it from scratch at home! Do yourself a favour & come here!
Moisanjes
Site parfait avec de l'histoire. Repas délicieux & en plus un stationnement avec valet! Je recommande!
Maxime
The new owner is such a blessing wow what a great ristorante so authentic
Scott
A must for authentic Italian lovers. Atmosphere, service wine selection & food. Everything was amazing
Laura
I love this place! I've been twice & the waiters are always so friendly & food always so good 🥰
Ph
Da Emma is absolute, reliable value, year after year. I was with a foodie for Milan last I was there & he was astonished by the quality & price. He essentially said; this is as good as the best places I know in Italy that serve classic Italian cuisine & it costs half of what I would pay in Milan.
As someone who has grown up in a Roman family I gave to agree. I would love to see more classic Roman trattoria dishes such as Stracciatella, Zuppa di pasta e fagioli, spaghetti cacio e pepe, but I'll anything served at Da Emma without hesitation or regret.
Our group hit one of the godawful tourist trap restaurants in Vieux Montréal the following evening ; it cost twice as much & it was so bad & unsatisfying, we all felt used & abused. I made a point to to leave that place a very bad review.
This experience in retrospect made us feel we had been pampered at Da Emma.
If you see a super expensive restaurant in that area that pretends to serve'rare' Italian dishes, run for cover : You're about to get robbed & you'll be treated unpolitely by staff who clearly see you as the loser their business was designed to abuse.
None of this at Da Emma. You'll be treated with genuine attention & respect. I'd go there everyday if I lived by, but wonderful places are best kept for when you deserve them.
Amy
Went today with my girl, had been a while I hadn't been to Da Emma. We chose the bar, we got served amazingly by the bartender tonight. Great experience & will come back just for this. The food was great & the drinks too.
Elsa
What an amazing dinner wow. Excellent service. You're started with some bruschetta & then get bread with olive oil & balsamic. The soup of the day was delicious & I'm still thinking about it a day later. We each got a pasta & then shared a main meat dish but must say the meat dish wasn't needed. The pasta is super filling. Loved the blue cheese ravioli - such a rich yet balanced sauce. Highly recommend for a special dinner out.
Kim
The experience at Da Emma is immaculate & definitely a memorable one. Traditional, authentic Italian cuisine prepared with fresh, quality ingredients & admirable dedication. The dishes are presented elegantly in their simplicity & are exceptionally flavourful & delicious. The atmosphere is invitingly warm, the service is stellar & the cuisine is absolutely divine. Compliments to the chef ; I will certainly be back.
Ricky
Ambience, Ambience, AMBIENCE
The setting is so mediterranean that it blows my mind everytime we come.
The servers are excellent, the atmosphere is so scenic & unique, truly a european breath of fresh air & to top it off, the food is of the highest quality.
Kelly
Can't beat the ambience! Our server was great but over-assigned so not as attentive as I like. Very nice & friendly tho. The food though varied was smaller in portions but the suckling pig was to die for! The meatballs were as tasty as I remember though this time a tad dried out. I will go back to try again as the food has been better before & as I said you can't beat the ambience.
Mattia
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
Andre'
I was recommended by a friend, the server Michael was amazing 🤩 would definitely go back , food on point ,
Muriel
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 : (