Restaurant Parapluie emphasizes a market-driven approach that highlights fresh seafood and seasonal aquatic ingredients. The kitchen prioritizes precise techniques to transform raw ocean harvests into creative, flavor-forward compositions. Menu offerings shift frequently to reflect current market availability, ensuring that every prepared dish showcases peak freshness and textural integrity. The dining environment maintains a functional, straightforward layout designed to focus attention entirely on the plated components. Each preparation integrates subtle vegetable pairings and bright acidity to elevate the natural characteristics of the fish. This culinary focus creates a direct link between the sustainable sourcing of marine life and the final presentation delivered to the table. Patrons experience a concentrated exploration of coastal flavors that celebrate the diverse utility of local, high-quality seafood within a modern culinary framework.
Restaurant Parapluie is widely celebrated for its exceptional culinary artistry, intimate atmosphere, and creative, seasonally inspired menu. Many guests describe the dining experience as truly remarkable, often highlighting the signature lobster and eggs, beef tartare, and trout dishes as must-try items that showcase incredible skill and balanced flavors. Sitting at the bar is frequently recommended, as it offers a captivating view of the talented team at work and fosters a welcoming, engaging environment. The staff consistently earns praise for being warm, attentive, and knowledgeable, often providing excellent wine and cocktail pairings that enhance the overall meal. With its unique energy and focus on high-quality ingredients, this establishment has become a favorite destination for many diners seeking a memorable and upscale yet approachable experience in Montreal.
Came here for the tasting menu but they don't offer it to solo diners. However, they do offer a mix of their ala carte menu in smaller portions instead.
I tried the signature lobster & eggs, tuna, trout in Montreal bagel style & the panna cotta. All of them were superb. I've had plenty of lobsters in my life & it's hard to make a lobster dish stand out, but they absolutely hit it out of the park with what they did here. The sauce was well-balanced & the lobster was beautifully cooked.
The trout was also very creatively inspired by a deconstructed bagel. It seemed like an odd mix at first glance but the sesame seeds, scallions, roe & white sauce all came together so beautifully.
Last but not least, service was slow (they were very busy) but the servers were all super kind. This has also been the only restaurant in my life where they charged me the subtotal (not the post-tax amount) on the machine for a more honest calculation of the tip.
Bravo on all fronts - will be back the next time I'm in Montreal.
L'extérieur ne donne pas de mine. L'intérieur est un endroit sympathique. J'ai adoré mon expérience culinaire. Notre serveur était hyper gentil & attentionné à nos besoins. Ses suggestions ont été judicieuses. Lors de notre visite, nos choix se sont limités qu'au poisson & fruits de mer. Mélange de goûts savoureux. Même chose pour les sauces, pleine de goût. Avec un verre de vin pour couronner le tout. Bref une belle expérience. Seul petit bémol pour moi, le niveau sonore vers la fin du repas. Ça ne semblait pas déranger les gens autour. Merci à notre serveur.
Highlight was 100% the service. Waiters were super accommodating, gave amazing cocktail & wine recommendations, & were absolutely lovely to speak to.
The food was a different story. We started with the Classic oeufs mayo with homard, which while unique, felt unbalanced & as if there was too much going on. The tarragon? Mayo didn't seem to fit quite well with the lobster - & the lobster bisque felt slightly soupy (too much sauce). The truite fondant on the other hand was excellent, fresh, & high quality- I definitely recommend this over the oeufs mayos
For the mains, we got the braised onion, which was delicious & perfectly sweet. Unfortunately, the beef tartare that accompanied it was also extremely sweet. & not in a good way. This was the true disappointment of the meal, & after having such high expectations & hearing amazing things about the tartare at parapluie. After having excellent beef tartare at other places such as Salle Climatisée, Casavant, Le Violon, & other top tier Montreal restaurants, this was honestly one of the worst beef tartares I've had not just in Montreal, but ever. The tartare was extremely sweet, to the point where it didn't even feel like I was eating a meaty, savoury main, & the sauce that came with it was too fatty & not acidic enough to balance out the flavours. I hope that the tartare I had was made on an off night, considering the exceptional reviews parapluie has previously gotten; even then, for a restaurant of this caliber, serving an unbalanced, sweet, beef tartare is unacceptable.
We ended up going to Salle Climatisée just down the road for dessert because of the sour (or rather sweet) taste the beef tartare left in our mouths.
The ambiance & decor was quite nice except for a large group seated right next to us - it felt awkward that we were the only 2 too in the small dining space that was mostly occupied by large groups except the bar.
Overall, I'm not too inclined to go back, but I can check parapluie off my list. The most satisfying thing about dining there was that I left without a huge hole in my wallet.
I love everything about this restaurant.
We picked 5 dishes out of 8 ( I LOVE restaurants that have a short menu!) all 5 dishes were good. We even asked for more bread to enjoy the sauce.
I was upset that day with some personal issues but their dishes made me happy again. I left with a happy stomach & a big smile. Thank you!
The price is also reasonable. The cocktails & wine were tasty too. Best place ever!
Excellent attentive & efficient service. Cute simple decor. Presentation for all dishes was gorgeous.
I enjoyed the beef tartare, but there was a bit too much sauce. Tuna was great, loved the texture, I just found the heirloom tomatoes kind of superfluous. Trout was nice & soft. The egg & lobster dish was delicious through & through, I always love bisque. Lamb was perfectly cooked but could have been more flavourful. Panna cotta & strawberry desserts were alright, really could have been combined, since they were super basic by themselves.
The house cocktail could have used more of the garam masala to balance it out since it's really overpowered by the sweetness. Our wine bottle was pretty good.
Upon a friend's recommendation, I tried this restaurant today with lobster, scallops, lamb with green peas, & salmon. All the foods were fresh, tender, & full of natural flavor. It fully met our expectations. However, something very concerning happened during our meal.
The younger chef used a spoon to pour sauce over a raw tuna dish. Immediately afterward, he LICKED the spoon & then dropped it back into his utensil bucket. This bucket already contained several spoons & a small spatula, all mixed together & nearly full. Throughout the evening, he repeatedly used tools from this same bucket to scoop sauces & transfer the salmon to the serving plate - especially during rush hour, these tools were in constant use.
At first, I thought I might have seen it wrong. My friend also doubted it. But then we both clearly saw the SAME action happen AGAIN!!!
We fully understand that professional chefs may occasionally taste sauces or ingredients to ensure quality-that's a sign of high standards, which we admire. However, this should be done in a sanitary way, such as placing the sauce on the back of the hand or using disposable tasting tools. Licking a spoon & returning it to a shared bucket for continued use is unacceptable.
After we paid, we raised the issue with one of the servers, but it seems there was a misunderstanding-he assumed we were referring to the head chef & reassured us that the head chef uses a dedicated container for used tools. We had indeed noticed that the head chef appeared more cautious. However, we double-checked & saw no such separate container on the young chef's station. On two occasions, we witnessed him return a licked spoon back to the shared utensil bucket.
To be honest, any customer who sees this would feel extremely uncomfortable & find it difficult to enjoy the meal afterward. After all, no one would be okay with the idea of potentially consuming saliva from a stranger-it can carry bacteria or viruses & even cause cross-contamination. This is not only a matter of professional conduct, but a serious food safety issue that affects every customer. We truly hope that a restaurant so carefully run & dedicated to flavor won't be compromised by such a serious hygiene concern
The whole experience was just wonderful. From the handpicked wine selection to the beautiful menu. Everything was perfection. The egg & lobster was heavenly. We just had to get bread in order to eat every drop of the lobster sauce. The trout melted in your mouth with a little kick of horseradish. What to say about the gnudi, real pillows with fresh wild garlic in an amazing spinach sauce.
Real foodies will appreciate the open kitchen concept. Next visit will be at the bar/counter to get the full experience & satisfy my inner home cook.
Thank you to the staff & chef for making this place a little gem for us to enjoy! Congratulations!
✨ Soirée parfaite dans ce resto incontournable ! ✨
Repas impeccable, tout est délicieux. Si la truite & les oeufs mayo-homard sont des classiques bien maîtrisés, ÉNORME coup de coeur pour les Gnudi, sauce tomate épicée & anchois blancs - une explosion de saveurs !
Côté vins, belle sélection au verre à prix raisonnable, parfait pour accompagner le repas. & mention spéciale au service : le serveur nous a fait goûter plusieurs options pour nous aider à choisir le vin qui nous plaisait le plus. Très peu de restaurants ont cette attention, & c'est pourtant tellement apprécié par les clients.
Nous étions assis au comptoir, juste devant les cuisiniers, & quelle ambiance ! Échanges sympathiques, bonne humeur contagieuse & une trame sonore 100 % québécoise, de Marjo (Provocante) à René & Nathalie Simard (Tourne la page) - un vrai voyage dans le temps !
Seul petit bémol : l'espace au comptoir est un peu serré… une chaise ou deux en moins rendraient l'expérience encore plus agréable.
