Helena

Alain

5.0

Excellente cuisine & service dans un beau décor Portugais… à refaire!

Alain

5.0

Merveilleux & serveur sympathique

Clément

5.0

J'ai passé un moment exceptionnel chez Helena. L'accueil était parfait, l'équipe aux petits soins, & la cuisine portugaise revisitée avec une générosité & un raffinement exceptionnels. Chaque plat allie tradition & techniques de cuisine européenne. Nous étions à une table de 10 personnes, dans un coin intime qui avait été parfaitement bien aménagé pour nous. C'était juste exceptionnel.

Je n'ajoute aucune photo, car aucune ne saurait rendre la réalité de la beauté de ce restaurant typique, de ses plats magnifiques, généreux & très bien présentés.

Marie-

5.0

c'était excellent! beau resto & belle ambiance. Le personnel est sympathique & attentionné.

Miray

5.0

Absolutely loved this restaurant! The food was delicious, fresh, & full of flavor. The atmosphere was warm & inviting, & the whole experience was wonderful. You can really tell they put care into what they serve. I'll definitely be coming back & highly recommend it! ⭐?⭐?⭐?⭐?⭐?

Eric

3.0

Mostly hit or miss for the dishes. Had high expectations for this place -the ingredients, plating & decor looked superb- but ultimately taste is king & the taste (& texture) was often missing.

We ordered all the seafood appetizers & the monkfish on the tasting menu.

What we like were the Octopus (fantastic texture, cooked perfectly) & the Tagliatelle of squid & grilled shrimp (nice flavours & textures). The cod fritters were ok.

The misses for us were:
* Squid stuffed with chorizo: when you read chorizo, you expect bold flavors. There was none of that, the taste & texture of the sausages were just gone, super tenderized. There was also not much taste on the squid.

* Grilled sardines: again, the flesh is super tender, fine, but at the same time mushy & the usual sardine texture missing. Super mild flavour on the fish & for the red sauce it's swimming in. That would have been fine but on the side, you have this single biscuit sandwiched in uber strong-tasting olive'sauce'. A bit incoherent.

* Monkfish: the fish was mostly ok, though one bite was way more salty than the rest. What is bizarre is the sauce they layered on the the potatoes; it was reminiscent of Chinese black bean paste but without the saltiness & slightly bitter. We found it unpleasant & it did not pair well with the soft mild potatoes & mussels.

The desserts were also mostly a miss. The Churros were thin strands, not tasty & became mushy with the accompanying cream. The Natas were ok, but they just seemed to be ordinary natas -very fresh ones- but ultimately they needed something else on the side to elevate it.

Ultimately, I feel like this place just lacks flavour & texture. Lacks the boldness & character one associates with Portuguese cuisine. What strong flavour it offered was incoherent & clashed with other elements.

Erin

5.0

Beyond words. We were treated like we were the only people in the restaurant. The food was exceptional. We took ALL the recommendations made by our host Antonio & were incredibly impressed!

John

4.0

My wife & I & friends had dinner here last night & it was a very good experience. My wife & I started out with a heirloom tomato salad & Sorrento Ham which was fantastic. For dinner my wife had the fillet steak cooked medium rare with a truffle potato for the side. Perfectly cooked & delicious. I got the pork belly & it was less than I hoped for, pretty much disappointing. The service was outstanding as was the atmosphere. Our friends had the pork belly & she said it was fine & my buddy had the Sea-bass filleted table side & he said it was outstanding. I wouldn't let my pork belly experience stop you from dining here.

Kathy

5.0

Great service & delicious food. The tapas were amazing. We had squid stuffed with chorizo & grilled octopus that were bursting with flavor & cooked perfectly. The pork belly & clams was outstanding & the sea bass was filleted at the table. Great presentation.

Raphael

4.0

Nous avons beaucoup aimé notre expérience au Helena, tous les plats étaient délicieux, notamment la pieuvre & le loup de mer. Nous étions sur la terrasse qui était presque vide cette soirée, toutefois le restaurant était plein à l'intérieur.

Le service était bien pendant le repas, par contre nous avons remarqué en regardant la facture plutôt salée en rentrant à la maison que le serveur nous a chargé plus que le prix affiché pour plusieurs plats... Ce n'est pas tant que le prix que le principe qui dérange. Le loup de mer était affiché à 50$ & on nous a chargé 60$, on nous avait dit 30$ pour des verres de porto, & on nous en a chargé 45$ chacun. Un petit'supplément' de 40$ avant taxes & pourboires refilé discrètement au client, alors qu'on faisait confiance à notre serveur. Regardez votre facture avant de payer.

Mais sinon pour la qualité des plats, Helena est un incontournable à Montréal, nous y retournerions sans hésiter pour bien manger, mais regarderons l'addition la prochaine fois...