Beba is a restaurant in the heart of Verdun inspired by Spanish and Italian cultures. Our menu is based on the best ingredients available throughout the year, anchored in old world cooking techniques and a guiding principle of simplicity.
Across reviews, Beba is described as a small, intimate, almost homey spot in Montreal where warm, attentive service and a playful, richly flavored menu elevate a night out into a special occasion. Diners rave about standout bites like the knish with caviar, montadito with mackerel, dates stuffed with foie gras, and inventive pastas and seafood such as maitake mushrooms, octopus, and the signature mackerel course, with cocktails and a deep wine list complementing the experience. The format leans toward sharing plates and tasting menus, with many noting generous, well paced service and a cozy atmosphere that can feel lively yet intimate, sometimes enhanced by a carefully curated soundtrack. Yet a few reviews flag concerns about price for portion size, occasional inconsistency in dish execution, and moments of noise or rushed service, including experiences where mains were less successful or where the environment felt crowded. Overall, Beba is widely celebrated as a standout, high quality dining destination in the city, notable for creative flavors, attentive staff, and a memorable, intimate dining ambiance.
Not sure food is the star here given extensive wine & cocktail menu. While small & Cozy, feels more like a bar than restaurant. Food ingredients were top notch, but presentation was "flat". Service, while efficient, lacked warmth & a certain degree of class given the prices.
Beba ranks as the number 8 top restaurant in Canada for 2024. When entering you wonder how? It's just two young looking cooks behind the counter. While the food did not disappoint, there was much to be desired from the flow of service & the space itself. The space is actually has a ton of charm, & the outdoor patio with the fire is very cute - unless you get sat there during midge & mosquito season. Trying to have a conversation with the bugs just constantly hovering was tough, I'm glad we got moved inside. Once inside, we were sat at the bar where the bartender was pleasant, knowledgable, & always smiling. The service would be 5 stars, but the production & speed from the kitchen was atrocious. 4 dishes in 2.5 hours just left you always desiring something. Getting to the food, it was excellent, I would go as far as saying better than Vin Mon Lapin (currently the top in Canada). Starting with the mackerel toast - delicious. When it landed on the table, my guest & I both looked at each other thinking this was going to be a fish bomb of oily stinkyness - boy were we wrong. First bite, good, second bite, great, third & fourth bite left us saying "wow, I could order a few more of those, yum!". Moving to the strozapretti & rabbit ragu, absolutely killer dish, one of the better ragu dishes I've ever had. Again, we could have eaten many more. The salad was a salad, a nice break with acidity & freshness, & the guinea fowl had tons of flavour & perfectly cooked & crispy skin. Getting to the desserts, the classic flan has been a staple on their menu since they've opened & it's a very good version of this classic dish, but it did not hold a candle to the wonderful pistachio semi-freddo. The texture & taste of that dish was outstanding. If there weren't so many restaurants to visit in Canada, I'd be back here a few more times - it's excellent. If they can just speed up the service from the little kitchen, that would be great. Overall though, I can see why they are a Top 10 in 2024.
Jun 1, 2024
on Google
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This was our first time, & definitely not our last. There is nothing to improve here. Our waiter/bartender Antoine was absolutely impeccable & all of the food was delicious. We can't wait to come back, we could not have asked for a better dining experience.
Finally. A good "fancy" restaurant where the portions were good for the price. You get exactly what your order with no frills. Just good quality ingredients. Cocktails were on par with high end cocktails bars but at a more reasonable price. Seasonal menu makes me excited to come back!
We visited Montreal for a long weekend & this was to be our "big dinner" out. We were please to get reservation for a Sunday evening. The staff was quick to get us seated. The staff was very pleasant & it was great to see the chef working closely with the others, providing feedback & plating. The menu was thoroughly & expertly explained. We ended up getting the empanada, mackerel, radicchio salad, & fluke. I had the fallback cocktail which was very nice. My wife ordered the vermouth & olives as it reminded us of a trip to Barcelona. That was fantastic & we ended up ordering another round of these. The empanada was okay, but that was it. I've easily had better at farm markets & home. We must have missed where it said the mackerel was "lightly cured". My wife is not a fan of uncooked food but she choked down what she could. It thought it was okay. It was slightly fishy but well prepared & the sesame bun on which it sat was good. The radicchio salad was excellent & was possibly the best dish of the evening. The dressing was perfect in taste & coverage. The hostess suggested a smaller version of this salad based on what we ordered which was ample & much appreciated. The fluke was also excellent & I would definitely recommend it. The whelks, clams & fish were delicious, as was the pasta it was with. Service was spotty. The empanada came out pretty fast. The mackerel followed shortly after. We then waited for probably 30 minutes. Our salad sat on the counter for almost half of that, & was then served at the same time as the fluke. When we ordered our second round of drinks the bartender was nowhere to be seen. It took 20+ minutes to get two vermouth & olives. We were quite full at the end of meal & skipped dessert. We were just over 2 hours & $160 into the meal & honestly just wanted to get going. We were not rushed in way. Communication would have been ideal during the waits. Overall we weren't that impressed & left a little disappointed given the time & money spent. We're still glad we went but would most definitely find something else on our next visit.
The server/bartender was charming, funny, attentive, helpful & professional. If I could give 10 stars out of 5 for service I would .The food was excellent. The ambiance was perfect. It can be great for a date, dinner with friends or family or business diner. I loved the fact that it wasn't too loud. It is worth the detour to Verdun from Montreal.
Entrées décevantes pour le prix (champignons barigoule & salade) Cependant les plats principaux étaient excellents. Prix élevé pour l expérience culinaire
Dec 30, 2023
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Hidden gem in the city. Everything is so different & delicious. FOOD: (menu changed) • Beef Tounge: crunchy but so tender. I'm impressed that it's appetizer but it's so big. Quite overly seasoned with salt. But overall this's my favorite. • Oysters mushrooms: they steamed it for a while before quickly stir fried it, that makes the mushroom keep it jucy, fresh flavor & crunchy. • Beef cheek: so tender & delicious. The fat flavor was balanced out with the acidic taste of red wine & slightly bitterness of the sausage. • Flan: not bad but could be better. It's quite sweet with both caramel sauce & caramel cream • Chocolate tart: very rich chocolate flavor. Not a big fan of chocolate tart but this's pretty good one. SERVICE: great service, very friendly & chatty waiter. VIBE: This place is tiny & not for big group. There're only about 5 small tables & some bar seats.
After the meal the girlfriend & I ranked this in our top 3 restaurents of montreal it reminded us of a restaurent in Madrid. It's small & cosy, our table wasn't ready which wasn't a big deal but they apologized & served us each a glass of wine while we waited. We sat in front of the kitchen & enjoyed watching every dish come out. When we ordered the waitress Bianca suggested to change the order of the dishes to truly appreciate the flavors. Then the barman Antoine suggested us some diggestives acording to our tastes. I'm Argentinian & I can vouch the empanadas were amazing. The dishes came out one after the other with enough time in between to appreciate each one & have a conversation.
Seriously some of the best food I've' eaten in a long time. Unique & delicious. Not like a lot of nice restaurants that do the same stuff & are a bit pretentious. Nothing like that here.
Highly recommend sitting at the bar. Evan (?) the bartender was fun to chat with. Chef is a bit shy, but dude makes some killer food. We came to town for a week for my wife's birthday & hit a lot of the "big" spots - easily our favorite nice restaurant in town!
Très belle soirée au Beba! Evan est un serveur hors pair qui nous a fait sentir comme à la maison. On a pris trois plats très copieux avec une bonne bouteille, & on a tout aimé (étonnamment, le coup de cœur est allé aux pâtes malgré la qualité du plat de lapin). C'est un chouette resto de quartier qui, malgré les prix assez élevés (150$ par pers), n'est pas snob pantoute. Pour bien manger, bien boire & avoir un bon moment en tête à tête (ou au bar pour jaser avec le staff!).
Oct 13, 2023
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I was treated poorly by the hostess (glasses; dark brown hair) at Beba. I called Beba to tell them I was running late as they ask you to do on Resy & I was told about an hour before leaving for the restaurant that I no longer had my reservation.
I had made my reservation a month ago.. I do not appreciate being told the Day Of that my reservation has been cancelled. I had a friend from Winnipeg visiting so this was a major disappointment.
In comparison the reservation I made at Mon Lapin also a month ago on Resy there were no issues. I was not called/ emailed & asked to confirm in advance. When I got to Mon Lapin I got a table inside as I had expected. I didn't have the Rules changed on me.
Beba called & emailed the day of with no prior notice or indication of policy. I do not have a smartphone so I did not get any of these messages.
I was then offered over the phone as consolation seats at the bar with stools (with no backs). I am a senior so this is not ideal but I took it grudgingly.
Before I left I checked my email & saw that "after" my phone call with the hostess I got an email that my reservation was cancelled. This was disconcerting but I went anyways since I just spoke to the hostess.
When I got to Beba the hostess was not welcoming & certainly she gave me no apologies. In fact this hostess looked over at me several times during the evening with indifference or as if she was looking at a wall. When I saw there were tables available inside & out she said they were taken. So I guess I can be bumped but others can't.
I didn't enjoy sitting at the bar. The other servers spent their time behind the bar talking amongst themselves while one of them (hopefully the Sommelier) constantly drank wine. It was annoying to watch. Only the bartender Evan made an effort to engage.
As for the food the empanada was good & sweetbread also. I found the salad to be overly acidic which is not pleasant.
The sweetbread dish had a fair bit of sauce & this same hostess to add insult to injury offered me bread after I completed the whole dish. Too little too late...
It was so noisy in this tiny restaurant that I didn't have the strength or energy to shout out my complaints although I am pretty sure if I tried with this hostess it would have fallen on deaf ears.
When we were leaving my friend went to the washroom i sat outside at an empty table to wait (yes there were still empty tables) & various waitresses came out & stared at me. I had just been in this tiny restaurant for a couple of hours & paid my bill but I still got looks then they brought out the hostess to have a look at me too! That was unbelievable.
Bumping customers on the day of their reservation is not a good way to run a business. By doing this it feels like you are showing preference for certain customers over others. This is not fair & also insulting.
Beba owners should take some lessons from Mon Lapin on how to treat customers without prejudice or disdain & certainly with respect. Every single person I encountered at Mon Lapin (& there were about 5) was attentive; courteous; friendly & focused on making us happy from beginning to end. They treated every customer as if they were wanted. Most importantly they didn't unexpectedly & unfairly cancel our reservation.
The hostess in particular being snooty; rude & unfair reflects on the owners; the team as a whole & the reputation of the restaurant itself.
I read a few other reviewers who had a similar experience to mine. So in the era of being "woke" to prejudice whether it be race; age or class I just want to say if you have a feeling you are not being treated well at Beba you are right to feel this way & you are not alone.
Absolutely incredible meal at the bar! Great cocktails, unique wine list, & of course, the memorable food. The empanadas & knish were great, but the lamb ribs stole the show. Would return next time I’m in Montréal!
