This past weekend was a fun one. We had back to back dinner dates on Saturday and Sunday. If you missed Saturday’s dinner, you can check it out HERE!
On Sunday evening, we met up with friends for the next MTL a Table dinner. It was time for our most anticipated choice, Restaurant Etre Avec Toi (E.A.T) located inside the W Montreal. E.A.T. has a beautiful environment complimented by the classy decor of the hotel itself. The restaurant had fun and quirky art on its walls. It had a rather artsy vibe.
Lets look check it out! Just saying, between the six of us, we managed to see almost everything on their MTL a Table menu at a decent $31.
Restaurant Etre Avec Toi (“E.A.T.”)
First service: Appetizers
Tuna Tartare (Moroccan spices, quail egg, dates, almond and mint)
Salmon Tartare (lemon, coriander, olive oil)
Grilled Caesar Salad (grilled romaine, smoked black cod, parmesan and lime)
Foie Gras Mi-Cuit with granny smith salad (+9$)
Second service: Main course
Paella (calmari, grilled octopus, saffron rice, mussels, shrimp au jus, chorizo)
Mussels & Fries
E.A.T. Signature Burger (Angus beef, bacon, black beer cheddar, romaine lettuce, tomato, sweet onion butter)
Burger paired with fries with individual little bottles of Ketchup and Mayonnaise
Third service: Dessert
Le Mont-Royal (Brownie Sundae, selection of ice cream, caramelized banana, creme chantilly, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce)
Churros (originally paired with creme chantilly) Lactose free modification: fruit sauce
Restaurant Etre Avec Toi does so much right from the atmosphere to most of all, the service. Our waiter made a great effort in making sure we were all good from trying his best to get a wine for us, which didn’t work because their selections didn’t fit our tastes unfortunately to making sure the kitchen knew of my allergies and making those necessary changes for every portion of my meal. As for the food, I can’t say that it was great and I doubt my group felt it was spectacular however, the presentation was very nice.
I started with the foie gras mi-cuit appetizer. Seeing as I’m not particularly a foie gras fanatic, I did like this one a lot. It was done really well and paired well with the granny smith salad and the sauce they used was really delicious. It balanced the whole dish along with the crunchy bread on side. I liked this a lot.
As for the main course, I took the paella. There was a huge debate on my part between this and mussel and fries and somehow the paella won. The paella was rather different but in a relatively good way. Let me explain: the saffron rice and the balance of the tastes were all there. The only issue was that there was one rogue piece of chicken that tasted good but seemed out of place. The calamari was done really well, along with the two pieces of shrimp and mussels as well. The one thing I felt a little disappointed by and probably made this dish the most challenging to eat was the grilled octopus. It was a giant piece and we had a butter knife to cut it, making it a tiring task and then it was very very chewy. I’ve never cooked octopus before but while I do remember eating it before and having it chewy, maybe this one was a little overcooked. Just a tad, perhaps.
Finally, the dessert was churros. I had one piece at the restaurant and took the rest home to finish because I just needed time to digest, which is a rare situation that arises at MTL a Table meals but it happened. The churros are fantastic. If I could go back for one thing, it would definitely be this. Plus, the fruit sauce was a nice touch which tasted something like strawberry and some other fruit perhaps. We had a debate of whether it was banana or orange or maybe both. It was really awesome.
As for the other dishes, I do remember that the other dessert had the constant comment about its sweetness. The burger was a little overpowering with the sweet onion butter taste (according my husband). As for the tartare, perhaps my friend Starry Traveler will share her thoughts on it. Her family is my constant companion every year for MTL a Table (and other Montreal-based food events).
Tranquil Dreams 