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 creative, seasonally-inspired tasting menus and exceptional, warm service that fosters an intimate and energetic dining atmosphere. Many patrons praise the restaurant as a standout culinary destination in Montreal, highlighting the high quality of fresh ingredients, refined flavor profiles, and the unique experience of dining at the bar to watch the kitchen team at work. While the majority of reviews are glowing, some guests have noted inconsistencies in pacing, occasional issues with high temperatures in the dining space during warm weather, and varying opinions on portion sizes and pricing. Despite a few reports of isolated service lapses or specific culinary preferences not being met, the overall consensus points to a memorable and highly recommended dining experience characterized by passion and culinary skill.
Let no one defraud oneself under veil of dishonesty: reaching from the middle to underwhelm. I highlight that this was one day, the mileage of others surely varies as demonstrated by the commentary: the day's tasting menu confusedly ran a rogue gambit of fish following fish with a slight interlude from half a boiled egg; the late meal amuse bouche teased a transition to the more savory only for a cushioned let down in...more fish. The wine recommendations & the service itself absolutely excelled beyond the kitchen, & for these two alone I can begin to understand why certain guides' highlights may not have been mistook in vain. The plating carries notes of indviduality, tastes leaning a tad garish on the side of ambitious, yet shattered by poor pacing. If this an oasis, a return surely warranted, but a mirage in such a neighborhood overflowing of milk & honey is but a parasol (though perhaps I did not pick up on the name as implying I would need an umbrella for all the seafood I would be eating).
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.
This was a very special meal. Every dish was interesting & tasty, but subtle & elegant. Beautiful wine was reasonably priced. the service was kind, professional & made the experience comfortable enough to come back regularly. The chef is a master saucier.
Oct 23, 2025
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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.
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!
I don't recommend going for the group experience. Had to share a smaller than normal menu portion for 3 people (three plates for nine guest). Basically one big bite each of three entrées, two main dishes, a salad, & tablespoon full of panna cotta for dessert. If there was no bread & fries, some would have been actually hungry leaving the restaurant. Including 4 bottles of normal wine, & a cocktail each, the 1500$ bills was just not justified. The margin on food must be incredible considering most of the food was egg or vegetable based with tiny quantities of meat or seafood to accommodate it. It would have been much cheaper if we just ordered independently & would have been able to eat accordingly. Seriously, when the three eggs came in the plate & we saw the portion size of the lobster, we all looked at each other & said' It's ok, you can have it'. I mean, if the food was out of this world, maybe. But it wasn't. Good but not amazing. This place is surfing a trend, i get it, but with a price tag like that, you'd think you'd have a little more of everything. Not just food quantities, but better music, a real ambiance & service up to par.
For a place whose slogan is "welcome home," it didn't strike my partner & I as either homey or particularly welcoming. We went at opening since it was the only reservation available that evening, but it all felt so rushed it was almost comical. A minute after sitting down, we started with one of their gin-infused cocktails, which came with a mini spoonful of caviar on the side. The drink was decent, if a little flat - salty, briny fish eggs help but felt a bit outta place. To actually enjoy the taste throughout the drink, you have to awkwardly lick small portions off the spoon, which is clumsy, messy, & honestly kind of unappealing. Barely three minutes later, the server came over to ask about food & wine. Drinks were still 5/6th full, & we thought we made it clear that we wanted to take our time, enjoy the experience, with no rush. Despite that, the server stumbled into a sorta automated, rehearsed-sounding, surfacy wine spiel, leaning on words like "interesting" & "lovely" without offering any real description of the wine's profile. Whatever - I get just memorizing a simple thing about the wine, but he works at a wine-focused restaurant, so you'd think he'd know it better. He then immediately fetched the chosen bottle, brought it over, & had us taste it right away - while we were still on our second sip of the cocktail, which made it impossible to distinguish or appreciate anything about the wine. Two seconds later, we're now holding two additional full glasses of wine we didn't want or need yet & still have 2/3 of the cocktail left; the first plate arrives. Guys, we've been here for eight minutes. Foreplay. Chill. The portions, for sharing, were on the smaller side, the pacing was relentless. One dish after another, no time to breathe, enjoy a glass of wine, or have an uninterrupted conversation. Anyway, the server recommended four dishes, so we got what he suggested. Without dragging this out too much, here's the gist: the food was good, but the flavor profiles were very classic, very straightforward which I expected, i dont want / need anything pretentious… overall everything was tasty, but it felt very safe - nothing surprising. Back to pacing, at one point, we dipped outside for a cig between the 3rd & 4th plates & as soon as we sat back down, the last dish landed. It was clear they wanted us out. I get it, small spot that relies on table turnover to make their profit… but I'm not the lingering type. This was so fast we finished eating, & our wine bottle wasn't even halfway done… they had us out the door within an hour of arriving, despite us spending upwards of $350 & still tipping decently. Another thing often times ignored, but crucial to get right imo: the music. The music selection here is just so damn basic. Fine, but it's so poorly curated. You've got a record player & a shelf with a record on it, clearly, someone here likes music? Can we broaden the horizons a bit? You're running the same mid, funk playlist everyone else uses. Get out of the Spotify algorithm, please. It's boring, uninspired, & uninspiring. There's nothing magical, researched, romantic, interesting or deep - nothing to discover. Doesn't make me want to hang out at your spot. Bref, wanted to love Parapluie, but it didn't hit. It's a cute joint, but it all feels so predictable & kinda try-hard. Because of that, it's ultimately / unfortunately, devoid of any real vibes. The whole thing felt like a copy-paste of what's already being done in other corners of Montreal's "fine dining" scene - competent but often soulless. & for what it's worth, when people spend nearly $400 on a four-course meal recommended by the server, they shouldn't end the meal at Starbar for slices of pizza. Also thx for the free pannacotta - gotta say the server was friendly & nice. Service was hasty & clumsy, but the staff were kind. So final verdict… would come back if it didn't feel like it'd probably be the same, but then again you'll do just fine catering to diners who match the vibe: unadventurous & easily impressed.
Went for a birthday party even toughits a small restaurant they really accomodate us woth a nice table .The food was amazing , nice wine pairing & the staff was really on point
We had a birthday party for 14 person they really accomodate us with a big table & a nice sharing menu. The vibe was cozy , the food amazing , the chef & staff was really on point with the wine & the plates .
