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.
Expectations were extremely high given all the recent accolades & I have to say I was ready to be disappointed. Marco, Jessica, Vanya, & their wonderful team blew my expectations out of the water.
Dishes like the foie cookies with habanada jelly, & the conserve leeks with fermented chips & mussel mayo are nostalgic in flavour, but creative & fun in their execution.
Their wine list is nothing short of impressive, with many references you'd have a hard time finding outside of a passionate collectors personal cave. Prices are also very reasonable by the glass relative to most wine bars around.
Atmosphere is what you hope for with Montreal dining; far from pretentious but very attentive & warm.
We left having gone through half the menu, & I did not feel heavy or overly full at all.
Once again, we were blown away by the creativity & taste of the food but also by the warm , high quality service of the many staff members who did everything to make our dinner enjoyable. Kudos for promoting local cuisine & supporting local wine makers which exceeded our expectations. C'est la 4ieme fois que je visitais ce restaurant, meme chose pour mes parents qui s'étaient joints à nous & nous y retournerons. Nous avons tout simplement adoré! Merci aux propriétaires & le staff, votre service attentionné & la qualité de vos recommandations ont agrémenté notre soirée!
Nov 8, 2025
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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.
I went with my family to celebrate my fiance birthday. Wine selection is great . Ambiance is nice bit loud.
Food was good some dishes but other one not my kind of favorite. I definitely don't think is the best restaurant in montreal like people describe.
✨ We had the most wonderful evening at Mon Lapin yesterday for my mother-in-law's birthday, & I can't stop thinking about it. From start to finish, everything was exceptional, the food, the wine, the atmosphere, & the hospitality.
Every dish was so beautifully prepared, layered with flavor & creativity while still feeling comforting & approachable. The staff made us feel truly celebrated - warm, attentive, & full of knowledge about the menu & wine pairings. The energy in the restaurant is both lively & intimate, making it the perfect place for a special occasion.
My in-law was absolutely delighted, & we all left with full hearts (& very happy stomachs!). We'll definitely be back soon.
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.
Some of the best food I've had recently, & I've been pretty impressed with Montreal in general. Great suggestions for wine from the hostess. Attentive service. We scheduled our next reservation before we'd left. Thank you very much!
Dear people of VML, visiting your place was truly moving! We were totally unaware of how legendary you are as we walked in. We were in town for a few days to perform a show in Popolo, & just happened to walk past your beautiful spot. The care was felt right from the moment we entered. Entering through the curtains, it felt we were in for a performance. Just wow - the food was so imaginative & thoughtful. The wine was unique. The ambiance was so pleasant. & it felt like we were treated like family. The fact we could afford an experience as lovingly curated as yours is such a gift! Thank you!
I'm going to try to get us another gig in Montreal as soon as possible, just so we can visit you again. 🩵🐇
This is easily one of the best meals I have ever had. We went on a busy Saturday night & we were promptly seated as soon as we arrived. Our original server was absolutely lovely & really helped us with the menu. We decided to have the kitchen curate a menu for us with wine pairings which was the BEST decision. We got such an array of dishes & every single one was delicious & every wine accompaniment worked perfectly. We were there for 2 hours & were attended to perfectly by multiple servers who were so knowledgeable about the menu & wine pairings. The restaurant itself was beautiful, I cannot say enough good things. I can't wait to go back
Aug 26, 2025
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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.
The one thing I can say about this gem that maybe hasn't been said before is that it brings you back to a time when Montreal restaurants were authentically Montreal restaurants. There is no pretense; just incredible food, a perfect bar where you can talk all the trash with amazing people, insane wines, & an unpretentious vibe. Long live Mon Lapin bro❤?
We really want to love this place, but maybe they are having an off day, the experience is way below our expectation. Our first glass of sparking wine was more than $20 & it was only a half glass pour. The appetizers were great, but then for the two main courses, we waited for 30mins for each course. We ordered a half serving of pigeon for more than $40, & the server said it was a substantial portion, but it turns out there is barely any meat on this sad pigeon. We waited again for a long time for someone to give us a dessert menu, & by then we were drenched in sweat (restaurant has no AC) & we decided to leave. It was unfortunately a very disappointing experience for us.
We were super impressed with this restaurant. Major kuddos to Rose, our waitress. She recommended the wines, appetizers, main dishes, & desserts. Everything she suggested was phenomenal. We had such a lovely night & want to thank her again for the impeccable service!
Outstanding restaurant. Simple yet elegant decor. The wine pairing suggestions were fabulous & paired perfectly. The food is meant to share & the portion is ideal. We did wait 25 minutes for our cocktail at the beginning which was disappointing but the other tables did not have such a wait time. It's must in Mtl.
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.
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.
