Honorary president of the 2007 Montreal High Lights Festival, Chef Boulud has established ties and a longstanding affinity with Montreal. “I'm French by birth but have made North America my home for almost three decades. As a chef and restaurateur, my approach definitely bridges both European and North American traditions. This is not unlike what so appeals to me about Montreal, a city that embodies this mix of cultures perfectly and makes me feel I'm not far from my own home town of Lyon,” he added.
Reviews describe Maison Boulud as an elegant, refined setting with impeccable service and beautifully presented French cuisine, often complemented by a warm atmosphere and a pleasant garden or terrace. The food is frequently praised for technical precision, balance and thoughtful detail, with highlights including seafood, foie gras and desserts, and the madeleines at the end commonly noted as a delightful finish. Brunch and lunch experiences are sometimes criticized for uneven quality, with some dishes feeling less inventive, lacking seasoning or accompaniment, and value or portion size questioned given the price. Service is often described as attentive and professional, though a few reviews report slower or inconsistent service in busy periods. The ambience and wine or cocktail lists are typically complimented, though prices are frequently mentioned as high. In sum, the dining experience is regarded as memorable and refined with standout presentation, but readers are reminded of variability and cost.
Très bel endroit où la musique n'est pas trop forte. Après quatre visites, je peux affirmer que la nourriture & le services sont impeccables. Tant sur le plan du goût que de la présentation, vous vous régalerez. Le service est parfait. Seul bémol: on sent une pression de la part des serveurs pour consommer... c'est agaçant, car je constate que c'est une consigne qui vient de plus haut puisque c'est arrivé les 4 fois sur 4. Se faire demander 2-3 fois si on veut du vin, un café ou un dessert & si on est bien certain... ça agace.
I've had several meals at this restaurant, & this review is from my most recent visit (May 2024). I ordered the "Discovery" tasting menu, which consisted of 5 distinct meals (& dessert) chosen & created by the chef. I also ordered the wine pairing, an additional $120, with wines chosen by the sommelier. The food came out in the following order: carrot soup, snow crab, salmon, risotto, sea bass, chocolate dessert. The food was delicious, but the problem is this was not a "Discovery" of the chef's menu. Nearly every course had a seafood theme & didn't reflect the variety of dishes on the menu. Pate? Beef? Pork? Lamb? Quail? All items featured on the menu but not part of the tasting. The risotto was a filler dish, a hefty serving resembling family style meals. Almost every course was heavy on fennel, too. The wine pairing, all white wine. Toward the end of the meal, when the sommelier was pouring the last glass of (white) wine, I finally asked him, "no red wine tonight?" He blushed & said the "Discovery" menu tonight is seafood based. Really?! I would never have guessed. A pinot noir would've paired nicely with the sea bass, too, & offered a palate change from the white wine. Why not call it the "Seafood Discovery" menu? It felt as though the selections were based on what the chef needed to make to clean out the kitchen before the food went bad, & not a reflection of the variety of items to sample on the menu. I've never had a wine pairing where all the wines were white. It's a bit....boring. If the chef is throwing out seafood items, I would expect a sommelier to realize the lack of variety & try to be more imaginative with the pairing. At a cost of $700, I was expecting more creativity from the chef & sommelier.
May 6, 2024
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Événement corporatif. Service hors pair. Accords vins excellents sur tous les 7 services. Merci à l'équipe de nous offrir une expérience aussi mémorable.
I wanted to love this place. I thought it would have been at the level of a Michelin restaurant, but it fell just short. It was good, but not great. The atmosphere was distorted a bit by the bar. I'm just not used to a Michelin level restaurant having a large bar. It detracted from the atmosphere. There is a bar in the hotel lobby, so this was not necessary. Service was good, but a bit generic. They did pay attention to small details, such as replacing a napkin that fell to the floor with a new one, but I was not blown away by much more. The pacing of our experience felt off, with awkward gaps of time in between some courses. We got the degustation menu. It was decent. Generally at these restaurants, you'll be tempted with a series of amuse bouches that sets the tone for the evening. That part was skipped. So we went right to the menu. The only course that was not good was the sea bream carpaccio. It tasted overly fishy, & the shaved celery was an odd pairing. It got better from there, with the standout being the duck foie gras. The only other miss was the dessert, which was a tasteless chocolate brioche crisp with a lemon sorbet. This was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise good meal. Again, decent meal, but would not be worthy of a star if Michelin were to come to Montreal. I think most courses were good on their own, but they didn't match with each other. It was a bit confusing. I'd prefer the experience to tell a story, or feel more purposeful.
Les plats étaient très ordinaires,on s'attendait à beaucoup mieux. Expérience très décevante.La côte de boeuf sans goût & dure.Par contre excellent service.
Truly an incredible experience. My husband & I loved our meal at Boulud! The service was exceptional & our meal was absolutely delicious. This restaurant goes above & beyond to ensure you have a great experience. We will definitely be back!
Simply wow. We sampled many different dishes starting with an amuse bouche consisting of some caviar & mushroom arancini, both of which were delectable. The fresh complimentary bread offered to the table was also deliciously pillowy & warm. We followed that with the hamachi appetizer. It wasn't my favorite. The black truffle pasta was super rich & indulgent. For mains, I tried the scallops while my boyfriend ordered the duck. My bar for scallops has now been set so high I will be scared to order scallops from anywhere else ever again. They were so so rich & buttery. For dessert we split the chocolate coulant. The dulce de leche ice cream which came with it was the perfect complement for the rich, sweetness of the cake. The staff were also all incredibly friendly. I had a terrific night.
Maison Boulud est l'un de ces rares restaurants dont on sort avec une facture imposante, mais aussi avec l'idée d'y retourner le plus rapidement possible. Aucune déception dans l'ensemble du repas; au contraire, on passe d'un délice à l'autre avec le menu sophistiqué & inédit du chef Daniel Boulud. La présentation des plats est impeccable & attirante. L'atmosphère est feutrée & la décoration très réussie. L'arrière du restaurant est aménagé en solarium ouvert à l'année.
Côté service, l'attitude est plus décontractée qu'à l'époque du Café de Paris, sans tomber dans le relâchement ni la familiarité excessive. On sent que le personnel veille attentivement sur chaque table, mais leur présence n'est jamais dérangeante.
Même pour un dîner, il faut disposer d'au moins 90 minutes pour profiter pleinement de l'expérience, particulièrement si vous optez pour le menu à plusieurs services.
Sérieusement, c'est un des meilleur restaurant qui existe au Québec!! C’était incroyable du début à la fin. En plus, le menu accord vin-nourriture fut d’excellente qualité!! Je le suggérè forment à tous ceux qui veulent vivre une expérience culinaire importante!!
Une soirée & une expérience mémorable. La brigade est bien rodée,le voyage commence dès qu'on met un pied à l'intérieur. Belle atmosphère, déco chic mais pas tape-à-l'oeil, éclairages feutrés & recherchés favorisant les tête-à-tête.
La dégustation de champagne est une excellente idée, mais la facture grimpe vite. Il ne faut pas trop s'en faire à cet effet, nous sommes dans un très grand restaurant & on vient ici pour se gâter. Oui les prix sont élevés mais on est dans une classe à part. Bien sûr les attentes sont hautes mais elles ont toutes été dépassées.
De l'entrée au dessert tout est maîtrisé, magnifique, délicieux & d'une fraîcheur impeccable. Le chef Riccardo Michele Bertolino est en plein contrôle de sa cuisine à laquelle il insuffle toutes ces racines Méditerranéennes, accents sublimes & parfaits, chaque plat est un tableau en soi, un pur bonheur.
Haute Cuisine prices without the haute cuisine. We were expecting more from Maison Boulud in Montreal’s Ritz Carlton Hotel, & while some aspects were great, others were disappointing.
Negative points:
Very high prices, even at lunch – two courses $35, three courses $42, with very limited choice. The online table d’hote menu is not updated when the menu changes, so we had no idea what was on offer, until we showed up.
Regular menu items at lunch vary from about $29-$43 for main courses, & $17-$24 for entrees, i.e. $46-$67 for two courses.
Very high wine & bar prices: cheapest glass of wine is $13, then it jumps to $17-$25 for a 5 oz. glass. Martinis & cocktails are $15-$24, more for better brands. We were astounded that they did not have Grey Goose available, even though it’s specified in one of their cocktails. Bottled beer is $9, regardless of whether it is domestic or imported ($9 for a Molson Export or a Stella Artois? This makes no sense at all!)
We don’t mind the prices as long as the food quality matches. Unfortunately, Maison Boulud was not haute cuisine. We’ve had equal or better food at several of the city’s trendy restaurants & bistros, at lower prices, so we were disappointed that Maison Boulud did not deliver the “wow” factor. Ingredients seemed to be of above average quality, but more expertise is needed in the kitchen. The food was good, but not great, especially at these prices. Generally speaking, the food was bland.
The bread basket was not delicious either: very salty focaccia, & rather ordinary baguette. Some say that you can determine the quality of a restaurant by the quality of its bread basket.
Cutlery is placed directly on re-usable woven placemats, which may seem attractive, until you see the staff wiping the placemats with a wet rag & then placing new cutlery for the next client. Not very sanitary. Our waiter even placed some cutlery directly on the table.
Several of the cooks in the open kitchen seemed to not be wearing hats or hairnets, which is not legal in this city.
Service was perfunctory, not as polished as one would expect at the Ritz Carlton, & not exceedingly friendly. Not even a thank you for a generous tip!
Our waiter spoke very little English, which was also surprising in a hotel catering to many businessmen & wealthy visitors from other parts of Canada & abroad.
