An incredible night at the restaurant “Le Misto” in Montreal…

Ok before I start explaining my amazing experience at the Misto, I wanted to apologize to my friend Bob and his boss for taking such time to write the article.  I wont start explaining why I’ve been so late because it’s not my goal to make excuses for my procrastination but I wanted to make this public to show my dear sincerity.  Now that this is done, let’s start!

I’m really starting to enjoy this new section of the blog.  I get to visit some amazing restaurants while meeting passionate people to enjoy some amazing food, good wine and a nice night in town.  What’s not to like right?

Today I’m bringing you to the restaurant “Le Misto” situated in Montreal, on Mont-Royal street where my friend Bob le Chef work and share his passion for food with the world.  He has been inviting Max and I forever but we kept pushing it because of our busy work schedule.  One day, we woke up from our “work coma” and decided to start enjoying life so obviously going to Le Misto was on our “to do” list.

The place was exactly what I expected: small, friendly with some gorgeous & romantic lighting.  When we got there I debated enjoying the nice terrasse (we were in the summer at that time) they have in the front (directly on Mont-Royal street) or going inside for a more relaxing and cozy night.  There was less people inside so it pretty much made my choice easy.  Not that I dislike being around people but I felt like having a relaxing night with my love and my friend so the less people there, the better I felt.  What I realized after, is that Bob had reserved a place for us, right on the side of the window/garage door they have in the front.  How thoughtful 🙂

I got to tell you… even if I didn’t knew Bob, I would be writing a positive article on this restaurant because the food is delicious and the ambiance is just perfectly intimate the way I like it.  Max and I had a great service, the waiters were joking with us and were very well informed on the house menu and wine menu.  Also, just the fact that they are open till midnight 7 days a week is pretty impressive for this type of establishment.  The owner of the Misto is also super sweet and friendly guy…  You can often share a drink with him at the bar and this is one of the reasons why I prefer small restaurants compare to the big places…. you can actually meet the owner, talk to them and discover how passionate these people are.

So we started with some very good white wine that was suggested by our waiter.  I’m very happy with our choice because it wasn’t too intense in mouth, kind of fruity of the side and perfectly light the way I wanted.  I didn’t know Francois Chartier at that time but if I did, I would have probably texted him to ask him what he thought of our choice for the night.

Before the first service of food arrived, Max and I made a toast to celebrate this fun night out….  I’ll cherish this memory forever 🙂

I got to say.. I rarely ate so much in one night.  Max and I ordered what we wanted to eat but between each service, Bob was sending us a tasty goodies like these delicious fresh oysters.  Lucky for me, Max doesnt like oysters so they were all for me 😛 ahah  …I sprinkled them of a bit of salt and lemon juice and ate the whole thing in about 2 minutes. Mmmm so tasty!

The photo on top, is the beef carpaccio Max ordered.  I was very surprised to see him ordered such plate because he’s the first one who will debate you on eating raw stuff.  Every time I ordered sushi he does this funny face that says: Ewww lol  …Funny enough, he LOVED the carpaccio and told me that we have to come back so he can eat more of it.  Still today I’m shocked by what happened that night lol

…I also tried to bring him to other restaurants where they serve the beef carpaccio and he categorically refused to eat any beside the one my friend Bob serve at the Misto.  How’s that for an indication of how tasty his appetizer was!

Then it was the time for the homemade ravioli appetizer…  I’m a sucker for homemade raviolis.  About 2 yrs ago, I learned to make my own from scratch (yes the recipes will be posted on the blog in the future) so since, every time I can order a plate or an appetizer of homemade raviolis, I do it just for the sake of comparing the recipes to my own.  The raviolis that was served to us that night were delicious, my only comment would be that the cooking time could have been a tiny bit longer but as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to the texture of fresh pasta, everything is debatable.

The photo below was my choice of appetizer, I wanted something simple and light that would go well with the choice of wine.  The tomatoes and marinated bocconcini salad was perfect and just enough for me to want more.  (seriously I almost ordered a second plate)

When the actual meal arrived I was already starting to be full.  But the power of gluttony is strong in me so I was going to go over that entire dinner, without complaining, and let my palate indulge in indecent pleasure.  My plate of sear tuna steak with veggies was beyond amazing.  When I’ll go back to the Misto, I know I should maybe try to taste something different but I doubt I will.  This was too amazing, seared to perfection, exactly the way I like it.

Max had chosen the grilled salmon with a side of risotto and as you can see on the photo below, the detail of the plating was very well done.  This is really something I have to work on as a rookie chef.  Plate styling is actually quit tricky and I find that Bob really has a nice artistic touch when it comes to create visually appealing plates that make you also feel bad to start eating.  Maybe I should ask him to give me courses on that 😛

Everything in Max’s plate tasted great but I still preferred what I was eating.  Now maybe if the salmon would have been only seared like my tuna steak was, I would have liked it more but again, eating raw stuff is not really Max’s style and it’s totally mine.  I strongly believe that when you ingest raw food, you also absorb the energy of the food and it’s great for the soul and body.

Ok this one is random but I just had to take it…. I love the photo above of Bob and I… if I wasn’t with Max, I would probably try to hit on him because he’s too damn sweet and a man who can cook is soooo sexy 😛 ahah …don’t tell Max I said that ok 😉 hihi

Ok now let’s talk deserts…  Bob had prepared us a nice selection of homemade ice cream, lava cake and Crème brulée.  I’ve never tried to make lava cake because it kind of scares me lol … Now that I’ve seen it done by an 8 years old girl on MasterChef Junior, I think I should give it a a try but from what I’ve heard, it’s a tricky one to make.

Bob’s desert selection was perfect and decadent! …I was already rolling when the deserts arrived so I only took a few bites of everything but I was never able to finish the whole thing.  I’ve let Max finish the lava cake and ice c ream and I took care of the Crème brulée.

In conclusion, will I go back to the Misto?  OF COURSE!

..and not only because I know the chef but because I loved the ambiance of the place, the friendly staff and amazing food.  For the price range, I find that we ate like kings and the plates were just the perfect size to keep you full without being over board like some other big chain restaurants that seem to think one plate should feed 4 people.

I know I’ve said it already but the service was really impeccable and friendly,  It’s not given to all the small places to be able to give such amazing service.  If you’re passing in Montreal either on business or pleasure trip, you have to stop at the Misto on Mont-Royal street because it’s part of those small and cozy restaurants that makes me love living on the Plateau Mont-Royal so much and makes me love this city so much as well.

It is a great representation of the area, fancy yet friendly and cozy… really one of my top 5 favorite places in town.

 A MUST SEE and MUST TASTE!

Visit the Official Website of the restaurant and/or Follow “Le Misto” on Twitter or Facebook.