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.
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.
Aug 20, 2024
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Incredible service, great ambiance & the food was pretty great. There were a couple of dishes not exactly to our taste but we were happy to try all the creative dishes.
Meilleur restaurant de Montréal, super conseil sur les vins natures & gros coup de coeur sur le croque palourde, juste parfait combo entre la gastronomie & la street food.
Mediocre at best. Got the Chef's selection for a table of 4, which was pretty much everything on the menu You can get a better version of any of these dishes along Bloor West for a third the price. The trout was the only dish that was better than average Service was abysmal. Had to wait 15+ minutes at times to get the attention of our main waitress. We specifically mentioned no raw meats because of pregnancy, but was still served tuna tartare. One of the blandest, unimpressive tartare I've had, btw. Way too loud for any real conversation Don't buy the hype. Anyone saying this is #1 in Canada is disingenuous
Went with a group of six & ordered almost the whole menu. Every bite was delicious, the service was incredible. We opted to share everything, & the staff advised us on how much to order & even offered to 1.5x certain dishes so that each person would get enough.
I won't soon forget this meal. Although I don't live in Montreal, I've heard about Mon Lapin for a few years & have wanted to go for quite some time. This place gets a lot of hype, so going in I had pretty high expectations. I can without a doubt say this place lives up to its #1 spot on Canada's Top 100 list & all the hype it gets. Everything was exceptional, however the standout for me was the mackerel tartare. Cannot wait to go back.
Nous étions là pour fêter mon anniversaire. Le service & l'accueil étaient impeccables, & la nourriture diversifiée & originale! Rose, notre serveuse, était exceptionnelle. Elle nous a suggéré un menu en fonction de nos goûts & la sélection de vin qu'elle a faite était parfaite. Je recommande fortement, une belle expérience culinaire à un coût abordable! Merci à toute l'équipe de Vin mon lapin 🐇
