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.
Everything was INSANE! Every ingredient used was thought & the quality was insane! Each dish was explained with details of the techniques used & where did the products come from. It was crazy! We had two from the classique: the KNISH ; the cured mackerel on a sesame bun I.N.S.A.N.E it was soooo good! Like each flavour was perfectly balanced & everything came through! Third was the beef tartare! CRAZY! So fresh, herby, lemon, with the perfect garlicky well toasted sourdough! With ANCHOVIES! In a really comforting way it satisfied my PIZZA CRAVING! & the last was QUEBEC LAMB two ways. The first was lamb belly sandwiched & seared with black trumpet & there was the T bone equivalent of the lamb all served with sautéed greens topped with a pine nut+raisin+capers gremlot & a red wine jus! This whole experience was amazing & I am SO GRATEFUL! It was truly a WORK OF ART!
Quick breakdown: So this has been on my bucket list for years now. I have only heard good things. For my personal taste it was not it. The best thing I had was the mackerel toast. When it come to these types of restaurants I love to rely on guidance from our waiter on ordering & whether or not our order is well-balanced & hitting on their most recommended dishes. I did not get that experience. What was ordered: Mackerel toast 10/10 - Absolutely phenomenal . Layered with buttery & bright flavours all while topped with a fresh piece of fish. No complaints amazing!! Would eat 3 of these. Clams & artichoke 6/10 Very subtle & almost bland. Did not do it for me. Some type of rillettes (not pictured) 8/10 Was very good, but at this point Was frustrated to keep on eating dishes that were paired with a piece of bread or on toast. This is where I would've appreciated more guidance to not have ordered so many toast pairings. Pork chop 7/10 Was fine. My partner loved it. I have had better. Was cooked great, but not running back for it. Very generous portion.
Oct 15, 2024
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Great experience. Charming little restaurant with excellent food. Only made better by magnificent service from Antoine. Couple of standout dishes: Tuna with cold capellini with tomatoes - Didn't expect this to work but it did. Grated tomatoes with garlic reminded me of pan con tomate. Tuna was of exceptional quality. Grilled Rabbit, yellowfoot chanterelles grenobloise - First time having rabbit, & it was beautifully cooked. Montadito mackerel, sesame, horseradish - Looks simple but delightfully balanced
OH MY GAWD! What a wonderful experience my wife & I had at this place! Great cocktails & fantastic food! We started out with a Knish & mackerel! Clams & wild board on sourdough bread! Main was a fantastic rabbit! Desserts were to die for! But the service took the experience to the next level! Kind, hard working & dedicated team! Kudos to the team! Bravo! 🙌
Quite possibly the best meal I've ever had in Montreal. From the cured Japanese mackerel on sesame buns to the caviar topped-knishes to the pastrami brined beef tongue...oh my lord this place was fantastic. Excellent cocktails & like everywhere else I've eaten in this great city, the service was unmatched!
Had very high expectations going into this considering how it's ranked #8 on Canada's top restaurants, but the food was very disappointing. No unique flavours, everything tasted very bland. We got the mackerel, rabbit, octopus, salad, & lamb. Especially for the price of the dishes, it was a big let down. Service was great though.
This is the best meal I've ever had. The knishes with caviar were amazing. The Mackerel Montadito with sesame & horseradish was just incredible. The cavatelli was delicious & just the right type of pasta for that sauce. We then had pastrami brined beef tongue on paella & there are no words to describe this. The pastrami brined beef tongue was the best meat I've ever eaten by far. I was blown away. The pistachio semifreddo was incredible & just the perfect balance & sweet mixed with a bit of saltiness. Just incredible. They definitely deserve their spot on Canada's 100 best restaurant list. While I loved the number 1 restaurant in Canada last year (named after an animal with long ears) I was left disappointed by them this year & would say Beba should take #1.
Sep 9, 2024
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Coming here with the expectation the food will be amazing considering to be on No.8 best100Canada. However I must say it is disappointed. The mackerel is amazing, nicely cured. However the special of the day( chicken wing, boneless then molded & cold on a foie pepper sauce), it sounds amazing when the server told us but the presentation is like coming from a can in a supermarket sample product. The bone marrow is super salty, make it quite unpleasant to eat The rabbit is the star of night (recommended anything on the grill is amazing) paired with the salad. The flan is very good actually. The other things here is the food came out so long , I came at 5:45, had 3 dishes came out quite fast (in 1 hour) but waited 45 minuted for the main course (the rabbit with the salad) which is quite unacceptable. 2 hours 30 minutes for dinner for 2 people is very long - the server is very attentive & cleaning our table quite often, but suggest to course out things better (if the rabbit take long to cook, consider Fire it first then send out the bone marrow) I must say 2 line cooks & a dishwasher to cook for an always busy restaurant is quite amazing, but hopefully they can somehow make the service faster.
Came in as a walk-in. Was really just looking for a place out of the heat. The service was fantastic, each employee asked if we preferred english or french, & was very personable. The guy behind the bar was most of our interactions, & offered specials before listing them - a great touch. He was excited to share how each menu item was made & made everything sound both delicious & simplified how it so that even I could understand it. Skipped the fancy restaurant terms & just explained what the food was in clear & excited terms! He was super personable, noticed my partner's tattoo, & spoke about his own for a bit. We ordered the montadito, which is essentially 4 pieces of mackerel on two sesame seed buns, with horseradish, & the fish marinated in vinegar. Each bite was juicy & delicious, Even 25 minutes later I can still feel the flavours on my tongue. Definitely an excellent place to check out if you're in the city.
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.
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.
Feb 21, 2024
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I have nothing negative to say about my experience last night. From the moment we walked in to the moment we stepped out, the service & overall culinary experience was unparalleled. We ordered the Guinea fowl liver tagliatelle, the mackerel, the homemade coppa & the rabbit. Their seasonal menu is not for those with close-minded palates. The combination of flavours was incredible & we were treated like royalty. The cocktails were also made to perfection. Would highly recommend for those who are looking for a funky & delicious meal!
