Mon Lapin emphasizes a seasonally focused menu centered on fresh seafood and locally sourced ingredients prepared with technical precision. The culinary approach highlights natural flavors through refined, modern interpretations of regional bistro traditions. Produce is sourced directly from independent growers, ensuring that every plate reflects the current harvest with absolute clarity. The interior design favors an understated aesthetic that prioritizes social interaction and unadorned architectural honesty. Beverage selections are curated to complement the acidity and texture of the fish-forward menu items throughout the year. Patrons encounter a distinct commitment to ingredient transparency and sustainable sourcing practices within a communal, lively atmosphere. This establishment consistently delivers a focused culinary experience that prioritizes the integrity of raw components over complex, multi-layered preparation techniques.
Mon Lapin is widely celebrated as a standout dining destination in Montreal, often lauded for its warm, unpretentious atmosphere and exceptional hospitality. Many guests highlight the creative, seasonal menu, specifically noting the scallop sandwich and various pasta dishes as memorable highlights, while also praising the extensive and thoughtfully curated wine list. While the restaurant frequently lives up to its prestigious accolades, experiences can vary; some patrons find the small plates pricey or the flavors polarizing, and others have noted that the intimate, bustling seating can feel crowded. Overall, the service is consistently recognized as knowledgeable and attentive, contributing to a vibrant, social experience that makes many visitors eager to return.
Was by far the most hyped restaurant I encountered when planning for my recent Montreal trip. You see all the accolades online. #2 on North American 2025 top restaurants?
Previous #1 on Canada top 100? I didn't know what to expect walking in. You literally have your pick from all the great restaurants in the city of Montreal. Joe beef, L'Express. You name it.
But- This place more than lived up to the hype, it absolutely exceeded it. Chef Laurent Dagenais made a video of where chefs eat in Montreal, & this place was his TOP pick. ABSOLUTELY ON POINT.
The creativity of the food was incredible. The service was impeccable. Background music set the perfect vibe. We had such great recommendations on wine pairings. I cannot wait to eat here again! potato chip + leek + smoked mussel mayo = perfection. Croque with scallops- amazing. Sourdough chicken was probably (outside of the lobster spaghetti from Joe Beef) the top dish of our entire trip in Montreal.
Be sure to snag the online reservations early because they go QUICK.
Vancouver foodie here, I'll list everything I had below with English Translations. I still dream about this meal as it's simply the most memorable & delicious experience. Absolutely love the a casual setting with the freshest farm to table ingredients, almost feels like a home.
WHAT WE ORDERED:
• Biscuit Vert Radis-Parfait de Foie (Green Biscuit Radish with Foie Gras Dip)
• Petoncles des Iles, Rhubarb, Buerre Noisette (Island Scallops, Rhubarb, Brown Butter)
• Croque-Pentoncle, Rouille Classique (Grilled Scallop'croque' sandwich)
• Agnolotti d'ortie, homard-beurre de morille (Agnolotti, Lobster, butter)
• Volaille fermiere au levain pour la table, palourdes (Farmhouse Chicken in Sourdough Batter, Clams)
A beautiful, modern, & contemporary space, enhanced by subdued lighting & pleasant music that creates a relaxed & inviting atmosphere. From the appetizers to the mains & dessert, each dish was creative, unique, & thoughtfully prepared. Everything was beautifully presented & delicious. The service was both professional & genuinely friendly, making the entire dining experience even more enjoyable.
Appetizers:
• Linzer lapin au foie de volaille
• Le croque-pétoncle, rouille classique
• Céleri-rave farci - petit lait - shiitaketini
• Poireaux comme des moules, chips
Mains:
• Échine de porc, charcutière topinambours
• Bar rayé sauvage, ortie à la crème
Having high expectations coming here but was disappointed.
Beef cru was bitter & razor clams topping with asparagu/mayo was underwhelming.
Scallop croque was their specialty & was tasty as well as the Ris de veau.
(Summer menu)
Mon Lapin is a near perfect spiritual adventure. Yes, the food is incredible. Yes, the croque-petoncle was brought to earth by the same aliens who gave us the pyramids & Stonehenge. But it is the people who take Mon Lapin to six stars. Everyone is obsessed with ensuring their guests have an incredible experience. I've encountered this level of obsession in New Orleans but nowhere else. Thank you for inviting me into your home. PLEASE open a restaurant in Toronto.
J'avais tellement hâte d'essayer Mon Lapin. Un ami m'avait dit que c'était le meilleur resto où il avait jamais mangé. J'ai lu les critiques, vu les articles… & je me suis clairement fait prendre par le marketing.
Pour ma fête, on était quatre (deux couples). Juste réussir à réserver était un défi : il faut être sur le site à la seconde où le système ouvre. J'ai fini par obtenir une table à 21h - très tard pour moi, mais j'étais curieuse.
Dès l'arrivée, on a été dirigés dans le couloir des toilettes pour attendre notre table. Debout, à se faire frôler par les serveurs. On sentait qu'on dérangeait. La salle était ensuite bondée, bruyante, étourdissante. Rien de posé, rien de feutré.
Le menu nous inspirait peu, mais on a tenté un repas à partager, en cherchant un peu de fraîcheur. Or tout était lourd, salé, protéiné. Pas de légumes croquants, pas d'acidité, pas de contrepoids. & la présentation? Très basique. Chez moi, je fais de plus belles assiettes.
Le fameux croque-pétoncle, l'un de leurs'classiques', s'est révélé être un grilled cheese à 20 $, fade, caoutchouteux, où il fallait chercher le pétoncle. Quant aux crevettes frites servies entières (carapace, yeux, antennes & tout), elles grattaient littéralement la gorge. On ne les a pas terminées.
Côté vin, la serveuse faisait très bien son travail. Elle nous décrivait la topographie du terrain sur lequel le vin avait été cultivé, avec aplomb. Mais une fois dans le verre? Très ordinaire. Même la bouteille la moins chère, à 55 $, n'avait rien d'exceptionnel.
Deux plats ont été corrects : la salade de betteraves & le flétan. Rien de renversant, mais bien faits.
& les bons éléments de la soirée?
- La présence de nos amis - (thank god qu'ils ne m'ont pas faite sentir mal de mon mauvais choix de resto!)
- Le stationnement que j'ai trouvé miraculeusement facilement.
Peut-être que Mon Lapin a déjà été un bijou. Aujourd'hui, ça ressemble à un resto victime de son succès, qui vit sur son image & coupe dans la qualité. 450$ pour une grosse déception...
From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with genuine warmth. Even though the restaurant was absolutely packed, the service never missed a beat. Every person on the team seemed fully in sync, effortlessly anticipating what guests needed before they even asked. It's rare to see that level of teamwork executed so smoothly.
We ordered:
• Le croque-pétoncle (scallop sandwiches)
• Brochette de langue de boeuf (beef tongue)
• Boeuf de pâturage (raw grass-fed beef)
✨Oursin QC (sea urchin): It was silky, & has that nutty toasted richness from the brown butter.
✨✨Parfait de foie (liver parfait): It was smooth, & velvety without being heavy. It's the kind of dish that lingers in your memory long after the meal ends. I still occasionally talk about it.
Every dish was thoughtful & balanced, not a single bite needed extra seasoning. The flavors had depth, & precision. & though the scallop sandwiches & dessert didn't quite hit the same high notes for me, but everything else more than made up for it.
Amazing food & amazing service! I can't wait to be back again & just for that parfait de foie alone.
J'ai passé un bon moment dans ce restaurant. Les ingrédients sont de bonne qualité & très bien travaillés. Les cuissons étaient réussies, ce qui a rendu chaque plat savoureux. La proposition de desserts étaient très intéressantes, souvent délaissés ailleurs, ici ils sont soignés & gourmands. Mention spéciale au gâteau au sarrasin, réellement incroyable !
Seul petit bémol, le croque pétoncle était malheureusement trop salé, ce qui cassait un peu l'équilibre du plat. Dommage, car tout le reste était d'un très bon niveau.
One of the best restaurants I've been to in Canada.
Finally made it after trying to get a reservation for weeks. Mon Lapin was voted #1 in Canada for two consecutive years, & while it lost that title this year, the reservation was still very hard to get. Barely got in with a 9PM res.
Mon Lapin changes its menu daily according to availability of ingredients, & since we had a late res, some of the items were already sold out. They don't release their menu anywhere, so even until we were sat down, we didn't know what we were getting into (except, obviously, their signature scallop dish).
From the smaller plates, our favorites were the Conserve de Poireaux, Moules Fumées & Le croque-Pétoncle. In the former, it took me several bites to realize that smoked mussels were puréed into the mayo. & it was just brilliant. Smoky, briny, & addictive enough to lick clean. Better than MSG. The preserved leeks were slick & squeaky, so I didn't enjoy it to be honest, but worth it just for that smoked mussels mayo.
The scallop mousse was extraordinary. The texture was silky yet gently chewy & it was like sinking your teeth into a warm, freshly pressed rice cake. The green onion mayo added a nice spark, but truthfully, the sandwich didn't need it. Ordered a second without hesitation.
For the large plates, we ordered the duck breast, Gaspésie halibut, & Beaurivage pork, & the only dish that really stuck to my memory was the pork. Beaurivage pork is the finest pork from Québec, so it was exceptionally tender. Here it got the treatment of prime rib. Cut thick & splashed with some anchovy sauce. It sounded a bit risky but ended up pairing beautifully with the pork fat.
We unfortunately weren't in the mood for wine pairing, so got some of their non-alcoholic drinks. I got the Honey & Sea salt seltzer, & it was one of the best soda/seltzers I've had in a while.
I went here with my buddy on a Thursday night, & it was extremely full by the time we got there, near 10PM.
Mon Lapin ('my rabbit') is a cheeky French term of affection, & the rabbit theme shows up in quirky ways in this restaurant's artwork, figurines & always-hopping ambiance.
Even the cactus is shaped like a rabbit here.
My buddy & I kept thinking there might be rabbit dishes here, but we were wrong. Most of the dishes were seafood, which was mainly what we ordered.
This place used to be part of the Joe Beef group of restaurants, but now sommelier Vanya Filipovic & chef Marc-Olivier Frappier are taking full ownership of the establishment.
From the menu of that specific day, we ordered:
•Cocktail du Jour! (Cocktail of the Day)
•Croque-pétoncle, maïs sucré (Croque-scallop, sweet corn)
•Aubergine rosa Bianca, cantaloup (Rosa Bianca eggplant, cantaloupe)
•Couteaux de mer, concombre itachi - sureau (Razor clams, itachi cucumber - elderberry)
•Maquereau - fava - beurre noisette (Mackerel - fava - brown butter)
•Espadon N.-E., fenouil - bisque (NE swordfish, fennel - bisque)
My favourite is the croque-pétoncle, simply because I like scallops & crunchy things & sweet corn. The dishes in general are very interesting in their composition, yet very minimalistic. Most interesting to me is the eggplant dish, it's like a sweet & savory vegetarian dish. I think everything is perfectly prepared, but it's just not something to my taste; it's too minimalistic to me & it doesn't have enough meat/fish in a dish (compared to vegetables/fruits) for my liking.
