Last weekend, we went out to celebrate my in-laws marriage anniversary – 45 years! #marriagegoals right? Anyways, I’m no good at hashtagging so that might be all wrong. My sister in-law suggested that we head out to a restaurant in downtown Montreal located at the summit of the Place Ville Marie building called Les Enfants Terribles. If you look at their site, they have a few other locations. However, the summit on gets a terrace view of Montreal at its 44th floor height above the city. We were a decent sized group and had a 9:30pm reservation. I can’t say that works as dinner but we tried to work that out as best we could since you know, the point of this is family time! And we did have fun hanging out, especially since my mom went out with the group.
Do note that I took pictures only of my husband and my own dishes and drinks because it was a fairly big group and walking around in the bustling restaurant would have been almost impossible. To be fair, mostly everyone got similar dishes. I’ll talk about it in the main meals section.
Les Enfants Terribles – Place Ville Marie
I didn’t take much of the interior design but the outside did have a pretty lovely view. There is a plastic wall fencing off the entire surrounding so its more for observation than pictures particularly at night. They also have a beautiful vegetable garden planted right in the middle of the terrace which I thought was a great addition.
Cocktails
Left: Rye Lemonade – Right: Collins
There was a pretty nice selection in terms of cocktails to choose from. We arrived a little earlier than the reservation so we had a little wait time where they arranged a table and seats for us on the rooftop terrace and gave us time to order some drinks. My husband and my mom both ordered the Rye Lemonade. Their only thing was that it was sour, excuse me, tart is the accurate word. Which I took a sip and it absolutely was. I ended up choosing Collins, mostly because there was something I didn’t know in it and also, it had a vodka base which I’m a fan of. It was alright after I remembered to stir it. Amateur mistake perhaps. It was okay. Cocktails, especially trying out new ones, is usually a hit and miss based on preference so I can’t say it wasn’t executed well, more that this wasn’t exactly my preference. They did look good, although a tad pricey for the size, but every restaurant with a view does boost up its prices.
Main Meals
Seared Salmon with Red Quinoa, Kale, Cucumber, Grapefruit and Edamame
Not surprisingly that my mom and I have the same sort of dining schedule. However, after long debate, we ended up not getting an appetizer but went for sharing a full meal. My mom likes to eat healthy and be healthy. Her ability to stay persistent to her healthy lifestyle is one that I look up to. With that said, as we debated fish and chips or seared salmon, it was obvious which one she would prefer although this seared salmon was one that yielded a very homely lady response of how she could probably make this at home for so much less. You know, moms, right? However, as healthy as this dish looked, it was also very good. Everything was cooked well. I was a little skeptical about the whole grapefruits being part of the meal but it works surprisingly well as a balance for the flavors here. Its also not overly salty either and flavored in a well-balanced way. It was pretty delicious especially since the cook of the salmon was also right on.
Fish and Chips
My husband got the fish and chips. Total coincidence that he ended up with this one and it also being a choice for me and my mom. I had a small taste of the fish and the batter and its honestly pretty nice. There’s a nice crunch to the batter and a nice flavor and the fish is cooked in such a tender way that it just falls apart. Its delicious. My husband also enjoyed it.
As for everyone else, a lot of us chose either fish and chips or the seared salmon. My mother in-law got a Ceasar Salad as an appetizer and had a pasta dish to follow. There was a pasta gratin that someone else took, I believe. My brother in law took the beef burger, which was a choice my husband was thinking about. The niece and nephew took each a kids meal, one of which was pasta and the other, I can’t remember right now.
Atmosphere/Experience/Service
Probably the biggest critique that I have of this outing was the atmosphere itself. I’ve been to rooftop terrace restaurants before. While the terrace area was pretty sane and comfortable to just enjoy the view and get some lovely air, the inside atmosphere is relatable to most modern lounges where its very loud with a lot of people talking over each other and talking over what I think was music since it was so loud that I barely could hear myself think. I spent a lot of time talking to my mom since she sat close to me and still talking very loud for her to hear me. At the same time, a little frustrated with having to repeat everything that I said. I feel like when I say that, it kind of makes me old. However, its a choice of how they choose to angle their restaurants. Its just a pity in my mind at least that such an upscale looking brasserie (which should have tipped me off on the noise level) would choose to be this sort of loud affair. However, I believe that is more of a personal preference.
The second critique of the night did go to service. I’ve heard of the service here being a tad below par. However, it was surprising to see it happen to ourselves as we chased over a few drinks that didn’t make it to the table for an extended time. However, after we canceled one of the last drinks that didn’t make it there at all, they gave it to us anyways for free as an apology. Its a nice gesture but in a spot like this, the drinks should be the bread and butter and especially for the price we pay for the experience, it definitely warrants better attention and efficiency. I was going to say quality of service but the waiters were friendly so that is a plus.
Overall…
Food is delicious, drinks were good, service is lackluster, loud atmosphere and great rooftop view
Not exactly sure that I’ll go back unless we have another family event there but it was an experience I can cross off my list now
Tranquil Dreams 