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.
Across reviews, Mon Lapin is widely praised for inventive seasonal dishes, a warm intimate atmosphere, and a dining experience that many call a standout in Canada. The service is repeatedly described as attentive and knowledgeable, with wine pairings and menu explanations that elevate the meal, though a few readers note moments of overcrowding, speed, or overly persistent attention. Portions are often described as small and prices high, with some guests feeling the experience is about culinary artistry more than meat on the plate, while others celebrate the finesse and balance of flavors. The menu emphasizes local ingredients and frequent changes, with signatures like the scallop pétoncle croque, preserved leeks with smoked mussels, and buckwheat cake standing out for many; the overall impression is one of creative presentation and thoughtful pairings. Reservations are hard to secure and the ambiance can be noisy, but the consensus is that the quality of food and service justifies the hype for many, even as a minority call it overrated or inconsistent.
The quality of ingredients here is outstanding. Our group of three ordered several dishes to share, as the portions are on the smaller side. We had the snow crab, scallop French toast, buckwheat cake for dessert, duck breast, & a salad with duck or cow liver. Every dish was exceptional in flavor, making it clear why this restaurant is ranked among the best in Canada. My only wish is that the portions were slightly larger, especially for sharing, considering the price. That said, the wine recommendations from our waitress were excellent. The atmosphere was warm & cozy, & the service was fantastic. I'd definitely return!
Vin Mon Lapin, ranked #1 on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list, is a must-visit spot in Montreal's Little Italy. From start to finish, it was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The vibrant atmosphere strikes a perfect balance between youthful energy & refined sophistication. Though the space is cozy, it adds to the charm, & reservations are a must.
We sat at the bar with a clear view of the kitchen, feeling like we were at an intimate dinner party. The service was exceptional, with our friendly server offering wine samples & never rushing us. We opted for the chef's curated tasting menu, paired flawlessly with wines. Every course amazed me, especially the Le Croque-Pétoncle-a scallop sandwich on buttery, garlicky toast-easily the best dish I've ever had. The veal tartare with sun-gold tomatoes, rich Béarnaise-like sauce, & perfectly seared duck breast with foie gras sauce were standout dishes.
The wine pairings elevated the meal, & though I lost track of courses, I couldn't stop savoring each bite. A hidden gem, Mon Lapin offers some of the finest French/Italian-inspired food in Montreal. Don't miss it-put it on your restaurant list to visit, & you won't be disappointed.
Feb 28, 2025
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Dimitri was incredible! The food & wine pairings he chose for us were outstanding. The scallop toast & carrots were absolutely phenomenal. What an experience! Merci Beaucoup!!!
My boyfriend & I had the pleasure of dining at this restaurant to celebrate my birthday, & it was truly an exceptional experience. The atmosphere was incredibly warm, welcoming, & unpretentious. Our server was great-highly professional, friendly, & thoughtful in recommending both food & wine pairings, which enhanced our evening immensely. The service overall was impeccable from beginning to end. The food itself was nothing short of extraordinary. Every dish was delicious, but the croque scallop & albacore tuna stood out as our absolute favourites. The flavours were not only delicious but also distinctive. We enjoyed every moment of our visit & are already looking forward to returning for another special occasion. This restaurant truly deserves its stellar reputation!
Dinner was enjoyable. I had high expectations since it's Canada's #1 restaurant, it didn't wow me but I still had a great time : service was excellent, desserts were exquisite, the mains were good. The scallops toast : must take.
Top 5 meal. Service was top notch - all the staff clearly enjoy what they do, were friendly & professional. Didn't have to top my own wine or water up once. Pacing was nice - never once felt rushed. Food was excellent. We had the urchin, scallop sandwich (simple & easily one of the best things I've ever eaten), clams, & the buckwheat cake for dessert. Could not have asked for a better experience.
Sep 22, 2024
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The quality of the food is on point & the concepts behind them are very well thought out. My top 3 favourite we ordered were the scallop sandwich, eggplant dish & profiterole. Our server recommended most of the dishes based on the classics they bring back versions of since the menu changes daily. Our waitress was also super knowledgeable about the menu & new best pairings & serving sizes. Would recommend for people who are foodies. I would definitely go back & have other dishes!
Started off by booking a table for Saturday August 10th at 9pm. This alone was a mess because applications only open up at 9am 1 month in advance. That I can accept as it was for Canada's #1 restaurant. We booked the only available spot which was for 9pm. We were very excited to try the food & experience the restaurant. We got there a few minutes before 9. Our table was not ready. This was fine since the place looked busy. We can tolerate a busy place if the food is good. After waiting for about 10 minutes we were then asked to have a seat at the outside patio. Which honestly was a fine place. Comfy seats with the heaters on. A waitress gave us our menus & asked us to place drink orders. We placed our orders, but we also wanted to sit inside the restaurant as we had booked well in advance & thought that was the least we could ask for. This in hindsight was not the right decision. We should have just stayed outside. Inside was as expected for a busy restaurant, hectic but fun. This is where our real problems occurred. We were led inside & a new waitress came to assist us. Who again asked for our drink choices even after we had ordered outside. We were then seated near the bar on uncomfortable stools without a backrest. I'm 26 & my significant other is 25 (she just had her birthday & that's what brought us to the restaurant), so we can take a little pain, but these chairs were incredibly uncomfortable. Our drinks came, & they tasted good. However our waitress was nowhere to be seen. We had perused the menu & we were ready to order, but noone in sight to take our order. Finally our third waitress showed up & asked for our order. We placed our appetizer orders & off our waitress went. Our first order came quickly as it was the scallop sandwich. Very buttery, but overall, pretty tasty & definitely unique. Then we waited for about 15-20 mins to place our entree order. However by this time it was much later at night & some of the items we were excited to try were already gone. This forced us to reorder some items that we didn't particularly want but ordered to try. Let me say for a fact that the food we ordered was very tasty. That we had no problem with. The issue we had was that people who walked in off the street with no reservations were treated better & had better service than we did. Overall food was good service was a major let down. I'd suggest leaving this restaurant off your list of things to do in Montreal. NOT WORTH.
Easily understand why this can make to No.1 restaurant in Canada. Enjoy everything on my meal, the peach sorbet is out of this world. However, the bread seem to be dry (maybe because it was end of day - we got reso at 9:45pm) The scallop sandwich was supposed to be very good based on many people recommended, however I feel it mushy & oily (the croque / sandwich outside later). 1st 2nd bite is good but eventually it become uneatable, I took the croque out & it only the scallop. Staff is friendly, & this place is not expensive at all compared to the top ranking. I spent around $90 each pre-tax & tip.
Absolutely fabulous dinner! I was lucky enough to dine here this past week & I couldn't of enjoyed it more. I sat at the bar & Dimitri was so great-perfect wine choices, next time I'll try one of his amazing cocktails. The food was soo good & beautiful everything we had was great. Highlights for me were the tomato cherry salad the scallop sandwich is a must do!! Thank you ❤️
It always takes me aback that I can step out of my door & walk a few meters to one of the best restaurants in Canada, probably North America. There's always something different & delicious to try (the crusted scallops are a must). With locally sourced fresh food & wine. The service is absolutely excellent!
Chosen as Canada's best restaurant, Mon Lapin was a huge let down. One caveat, the temperature in Montreal was hot & humid, 93 degrees, & Mon Lapin was full. Our decision to sit at the bar facing the kitchen was stupide, because it was hot. Everyone at the restaurant was lovely, but we were miserable nonetheless. Our hope relied on the food, but the dishes did nothing to lift us out of the inferno. Sticking to a seafood theme, we chose to start with the scallop sandwich & the raw scallops from the Iles de Madeleine. Mon Lapin holds onto a small plates concept. Everything is to share. Both scallop dishes were refreshing but nothing more. For entrees, we chose poached Halibut & marinated white asparagus with lobster. The Halibut was the star of the evening, but that star isn't getting a review in Variety. In fact, our comped tiny Cannolis tasted best of all. While service at Mon Lapin was well-meaning, they were all running around frenetically. It was akin to an ADHD convention. Mon Lapin is a casual joint, & the staff goes out of their way to let you know they're down to earth, but it seemed like they were trying to go Around that World in Eighty Days. Mon Lapin has an extensive & eclectic wine list & would fair better as a wine bar that serves good food. No, Mon Lapin is not Canada's number one restaurant. Edulis in Toronto & St. Lawrence in Vancouver were infinitely better. Pricing is fair at Mon Lapin, a little over $200 Canadian for four dishes, one glass of wine & one cocktail.
Most memorable night! We were lucky enough to walk in & find a spot for two. The service was fantastic from start to finish! The food was super fresh, flavourful & well balanced. The ambiance was delightful with semi low lights & chill music. We started off with the crispy scallop croquets & local asparagus followed by the lightly fried soft shell snow crab & steamed halibut. We polished off our great Saturday night with their rhubarb ice cream & chocolate tart. Everything was reasonably priced & delicious. This has officially become our favourite restaurant in Montréal if not North America. It was so good that we immediately decided to book our next reservation in a month. Thank you Vin Mon Lapin for finding us a table & hosting such a memorable night. Special shoutout to our server Sam who made our night even more delightful. Keep doing you my guy!
May 19, 2024
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Lucky me got table tonight. Tried scallops sandwiches, soft shell crab & half chicken with crispy sour dough. Everything is perfect as well as group of mon Lapin. Feel welcome:) I have to come back more often
Always amazing food, the menu changes constantly (except a few signature dishes) so you probably won't have the same dining experience twice if you come here. I recommend the buckwheat cake, it's perhaps the best cake I've ever had in my life. As for food, the scallop sandwiches are great, basically anything seafood will also taste great! If you want to, you can let your waiter decide your dishes for you, I can assure you whatever you end up eating here, you will thoroughly enjoy it. Even if you're not a wine drinker, let them recommend at least one to go with your food & you won't regret it!
Absolutely amazing, totally deserving of the title of Canada's best restaurant. The stars of the night were the scallop sandwich, agnolotti, black sausage in brioche & the buckwheat cake. The service was also exceptional. Would definitely recommend & come back again.
Vin Mon Lapin was probably the best culinary experience I've ever had. My boyfriend & I cannot stop talking about it. Everything about this place was top notch from the food to the service to the ambience. We let the service determine what we eat & drank rather than ordering directly from the menu & I wouldn't recommend dining there any other way. The coursing was perfectly paced with maybe about 5-7 minutes in between when we finished one dish & then received the next. Our favorite thing was the scallop sandwich & the tartare de beouf, for me, was a close second. If you can snag a reservation at this spot, definitely do it!
Our dinner date was sublime. The staff was absolutely friendly in both English & French, & adapted to our mood while being very courteous. The food was excellent. As the menu changes quite often, the best I can suggest is their dessert options which often are consistent & the scallops sandwich for sure. The staff was very well prepared to explain every dish that we were interested in with fine detail without confusing us & the wine selection was excellent too. Whilst this restaurant is definitely a special occasion spot, I do recommend trying it out once as it's a must try in Montreal.
