Mon Lapin, a neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Montreal's Little Italy. Inventive and delicious fare, all the seasonal favourites on an ever-changing menu by chefs Marc-Olivier Frappier and Jessica Noel, and team. Visionary wines, a list filled with vibrant and eclectic bottles.
Reviews describe Mon Lapin as a bold, creative Montreal restaurant that champions seasonal local ingredients in a playful shareable format with inventive dishes like the croque pétoncle, preserved leeks with smoked mussels, sea urchin and buckwheat cake, all set in a warm, intimate atmosphere with a standout wine program and consistently attentive service; reservations are notoriously hard to secure and the experience is hailed as imaginative and worth the hype, though some notes point to small portions for the price, occasional pacing issues, and nights when the wow factor is a touch muted.
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?
Oh la la! Previous #1 on Canada top 100? Oh la vache! 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.
Vin Mon Lapin completely exceeded every expectation. We (3 people) went on April 15 at 8:15 for my birthday, & from start to finish, everything was outstanding.
The service was exceptional, & Nino made the whole experience even more memorable. He was incredibly attentive, knowledgeable, & had such a strong understanding of both the menu & the wine list. What impressed me most was how well he read the table & understood exactly what we needed. He gave thoughtful recommendations, accommodated my shellfish restriction perfectly, & still made sure the other two guests in my party had plenty of amazing options.
The food was honestly incredible. Every dish we ordered was delicious, but our favorites were the scallop toast, the gnudi, & the lamb tartare paired with the strudel. Really, everything we had was amazing.
The ambiance, the service, & the food were all just perfect. It is rare to leave a restaurant genuinely speechless, but that was exactly how I felt. Vin Mon Lapin is hands down one of the best restaurants in Montreal, & I highly recommend it. A must-try.
Apr 26, 2026
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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)
Is this the best restaurant in Canada? Who knows. The hype even years after opening remains pretty strong.
That said, there are few better representations of creative French/Quebeçois cooking in a small plates format, with a wine list this huge.
Everything tastes'French' despite the many subtle nods to other cuisines, like a a scallop mousse on bread that is clearly the Canadian version of shrimp toast.
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, awarded 2nd best in North America for good reason. Immaculate & warm service. From taking your coat, to explaining the menu, Mon Lapin treats you like a friend. Cozy & modern vibes inside bring good energy.
Food was excellent with creative presentation & flavors. If you're in Montreal, stop by & try the scallop sandwich & chicken! Leek & profiterole was good too.
The service was great, which is the only reason I'm giving this place three stars instead of two. Overall, it felt overrated. We waited over 20 minutes to be seated (which was fine), but once we sat down, we were told there were no main dishes left, none at all, which makes no sense if you're still seating guests. The scallop dish we tried was delicious, but when we ordered a second round, we were told they had run out. We've eaten at many restaurants across Montreal & had high expectations for this one, but unfortunately there are several others in the city that we found far superior.
Oct 24, 2025
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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.
This is one of the best restaurants I've been to. I was able to walk in solo mid week, & everyone was so friendly & helpful (shoutout Guillaume for your recommendations & hospitality). The wine & food were both delicious - I ordered the razor clams, uni, scallop sandwich, tomatoes in broth, & cod. The flavors & dishes were so thoughtful, balanced, & unique. I can't wait to come back & try more.
Absolutely incredible. The vibe here is very cozy & warm. It's not a large restaurant & they encourage guests to spend time savouring, so if you make a reservation don't expect to be seated for about an hour afterwards. That said, the service when seated makes up for it.
We spent time enjoying a glass of wine & watching the chefs do their thing over the bar. When a table had cleared we ordered the tuna, scallop sandwiches (a must), somerset chicken, cod, & ricotta balls. Everything was so light yet packed so much for flavour. We actually made a second reservation while still at dinner.
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.
Very good food. The food is very light, & fresh leaving you feeling good after the meal. The scallop toast was incredible, fish was delicious. The corn is a must order. However, the food did take slightly longer than expected to come out of the kitchen. The courses were paced, but it was slow. The staff are all incredibly nice & do an amazing job explaining the menu. The patio outside is lovely. Definitely recommend.
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.
We had dinner towards evening as the sun was going down & the room was flooded with natural light. I really loved the atmosphere here. The service was absolutely wonderful. Big thanks to the team. I wasn't amazed by the food. I wanted to love everything. Most of what we ordered was just ok. The wine was out of this world. The wine list is amazing. Kudos to whomever is running the wine program. Yes. I would come back to try more wine.
The rose & the orange glasses of wine we started with were out of this world. I ordered a bottle of Giosue 2023 from Niagra that was a great pleasure to have.
As far as what we had to eat:
BBQ sweetbreads w/morels - The sweetbreads were dried out from the BBQ cooking method. The morels tasted like they were reconstituted from dry vs fresh. It could have been the BBQ cook that dried them out as well.
The halibut - The fish was fresh. The sauce was good. Overall, the dish was ok.
The clams & spaghetti - Outstanding. Made with beautifully crafted fresh pasta. The pasta absorbed the flavor of the sauce. It was a lovely dish.
The chicken - Was just ok. Didn't understand the need for fish eggs. I love fish eggs. The combo did not work for me.
The scallop sandwich - Lacked flavor.
The razor clams - Lacked flavor. Beautiful presentation. This dish & most others needed salt.
Tomato & lobster - Flat in flavor. The freshness of the tomato didn't really come through. The foam overwhelmed everything.
Jun 23, 2025
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Very pleasant dining experience, even got to see another familiar face from our dining travels! The scallop sandwich was so intriguing, you can feel the fun the chef was having with it. Loved the sourdough marinated chicken served with the fish roe on top. Everything worked so well together! Only thing would have liked differently would have been dressing the salad a quarter or so less to enjoy the greens more. The bits of fried chicken with the radish & pate was so yummy! Very satisfied with the meal & the cute little rabbit!
Came here for dinner with my partner. Have been trying for a while to get a reservation, & it was well worth it. The space itself is relaxed & warm. Our server Camille went above & beyond, she was cordial, friendly, & efficient. We ended up asking her to create us a menu & were glad we did. The pacing was excellent, the food paired very well. We don't drink, so can't comment on the wine pairings. The standouts were the scallop toast, the pork & halibut mains, & the buckwheat cake. Truly a memorable experience , recommend without hesitation.
My wife & I enjoyed a wonderful meal on the patio. We had some of the best service we've ever had. Excellent wine pairings were suggested & happily received. It can be hard to live up to the hype but we definitely enjoyed ourselves & all the lovely food.
On a beautiful sunny day you might be able to snag a spot without a reservation. The menu changes all the time so I don't think I can recommend anything, but if the scallop-toast-thing 😅 is on the menu please don't hesitate.
I've been wanting to try this restaurant for so long, even more since they were ranked #1 out of 100 restaurants in Canada! Reservations are difficult to get, one has to be ready when the times are released, exactly 30 days before, at 5pm. Needless to say that my expectations were high.
In the end, I was disappointed. The food itself was just good, nothing exceptional. We even tried the popular options such as the scallop sandwich ('croque-pétoncle'), & the buckwheat cake, without being impressed. The pork had a lot of fat, & was served with even more cubed fat. The sweetbread ('ris de veau') which is already rich, was paired with even more richness from the lettuce vinaigrette. It could have benefited from some contrasting flavors & textures instead. The cocktail'Genziana' was weirdly bitter & herby. The Savouré blackcurrant juice was good, but we had to ask for non-alcoholic options as it was not listed on the menu?
The daily printed menu is only in French, which the servers then recite in English. The table next to us had difficulty understanding, & they ordered'veal', not expecting sweetbreads ('ris de veau'). The tables around us were all English speaking tourists. Wouldn't it just be easier to print the menu in English too?
Service was very attentive, to the point of being overbearing. Plates were whisked away as soon as they were finished, servers came to wipe the table between each dish, we were asked multiple times about the food, etc. They asked if it was for a special event, to which we said job promotion. They then proceeded to bring the dessert with a lit candle & wished us happy birthday…
In the end, our main deception was with the food itself, which failed to impress. The ingredients pairing in each dish was lacking. In comparison, we much preferred other restaurants like Monarque or Europea.
We loved everything!! No misses. Menu items cycle in & out but I can totally understand why the scallop sandwich & buckwheat cake have held their spot for this long. My one regret was not specifying that my husband has back problems so we would have preferred regular seating rather than the bar but he endured because we had such a good time. We'll be back!
