From October 30 to November 15, Québec table gourmande returns for its fall edition with 80 restaurants across the Capitale-Nationale region, each offering exclusive menus created for the occasion. Reservations opened on October 15 at noon. For this edition, we’re sharing the participating spots that have our mouths watering the most!
Québec City’s largest culinary festival, the event now takes place twice a year, in spring and fall. Its mission is to showcase the region’s dining scene by highlighting the creativity of its chefs and the way they bring the territory to the plate. This edition brings together 13 restaurants recognized by the Michelin Guide and some 70 local producers, with prix fixe menus ranging from $25 to $95. No tickets are required: simply book directly with the restaurant and mention the Québec table gourmande menu. Throughout the event, several restaurants are also offering a selection of two Alsace wines, thanks to a partnership with Vins d’Alsace.
To browse the menus of all 80 participating restaurants and book, visit the Québec table gourmande website. Bon appétit!
Our suggestions
Ambre
In Sainte-Foy, chef Étienne Nadeau’s restaurant champions “fun dining,” where gastronomic rigour meets a laid-back atmosphere. His seven-course dinner, at $95, opens with a jambon beurre, then moves on to trout with cucumber and watercress, scallop with Jerusalem artichoke and sweet clover, and filet mignon with morels and carrots. Pied-De-Vent cheese with honey and sea buckthorn precedes a dessert of strawberries, meringue and vanilla.
Verre Pickl’
On Avenue Maguire in Sillery, Jérôme Gilpin and Alexandra Romero welcome guests around a large communal table where French technique meets Mexican cuisine. Their five-course dinner, at $95, begins with butternut squash spiked with habanero from Jardins d’Élisabeth and topped with jocoque, followed by a tostada of maitake and oyster mushrooms from La Botte champignonnière. Next come scallops in mole blanco and duck from Canard Goulu with ancho chili gastrique, cauliflower and coffee, before great-grandmother Dodge’s pumpkin pie with chai spices.
Mano
Set on Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, the new spot from the chef behind Ambre and Saison is devoted to homemade fresh pasta, served at gentle prices from lunch through dinner. Louis d’Or cheese takes the place of parmesan, and the radiatori al basilico and the mortadella and pistachio agnolotti are among our favourites. The rigatoni alla vodka also has its fans in this classically decorated 45-seat dining room, which comes joyfully alive in the evening.
Melba
Awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide, this Saint-Sauveur restaurant led by Alexandra Roy and Charles Provencher-Proulx celebrates French cuisine with local products. The three-course menu, at $65, puts maple from Ferme Anlousie in the spotlight, in both savoury and sweet dishes: beef tartare with green tomato, maple and crème fraîche on a buckwheat waffle, ravioles du Dauphiné with Comté, creamy spaghetti squash and toasted bread sauce, then maple rice pudding, apple Tatin, sesame and brown butter ice cream.
Saison
Also in Sainte-Foy, this restaurant born from the Ambre team draws its inspiration from the roads of Québec. The tasting menu comes in three journeys, Land, Sea, or Land & Sea, with generous plates that follow the rhythm of the seasons. A black industrial ceiling, a long wooden bar and a garage door create a setting that is as bright as it is relaxed.
Courtbouillon
On Rue Saint-Joseph Est, chef Raphaël G. Théberge pairs Québec products with Cajun techniques in a warm dining room of wood and brick tones. He offers an eight-course feast for two to share, listed at $65, featuring baked oysters, mushroom hushpuppies, seafood rémoulade salad, Cajun boudin, duck breast with spicy honey butter, and hot chicken-style foie gras with gumbo. Paillasson de l’Isle d’Orléans, a cheese he discovered as a sous-chef at the Château Frontenac, also makes an appearance on the menu.
CuiCui
Part market, part bar, this Rue Saint-Vallier Ouest spot has made creative small plates its specialty. For the occasion, chef Marco Lopez Cortez builds a three-course menu, at $45, around local honeys: cod fritters with honey from Ferme des Monts and chili, squash and duck escabeche with honey from Jardins Échologiques, then a beef stew with forest honey, potatoes and vegetables.
Torii buvette japonaise
In Saint-Roch, this intimate izakaya brings together the spirit of Japanese taverns, French technique and Québec products. Chef Alexanne Grenier presents a four-course dinner, at $65: bluefin tuna, tangzhong milk bread and wasabi to start, squash dumplings in a guanciale tonkotsu broth, short rib with sweet potato, cipollini onions and Albufera sauce, and an apple, caramel and black garlic tartlet to finish.
Gisèle Buvette
A Saint-Sauveur neighbourhood wine bar focused on natural wines, Gisèle offers a three-course menu, at $45, with a vegetarian option at every step. Salmon gravlax with pickled fennel, roasted pepper and wafu emulsion (or burrata with figs, pistachios and spicy honey) is followed by apple-glazed pork belly on creamy squash from Potager de la Crapaudine (or mushroom toast with roasted celeriac). A limoncello-infused crème brûlée rounds out the meal.
jjacques
You have to ring the bell to get into this Art Deco speakeasy in Saint-Roch, known for its cocktails and oysters. True to its DNA, chef Sheila Morel opens her four-course menu, at $65, with three oysters in a Mont-Ferréol sea buckthorn mignonette and a spritz. Next come swordfish tataki with sea buckthorn, ginger and honey, seared scallops and mussels on a risotto with guanciale and Alfred le Fermier cheese, then a smoked pineapple Jell-O shot topped with whipped cream.
Kundah Hôtel
On Rue de la Couronne, this restaurant reinterprets Indian cuisine with the harvests of local market gardeners. Chef Thomas Boutin serves up four generously portioned courses, at $65: dahi puri, aloo chawal pakora, bharta and papad, Bengali shrimp salad, butter duck with chapati, rice and chaat vegetables, then a chocolate and chili tart.
Le Clan
On Rue des Jardins in Old Québec, Stéphane Modat elevates regional terroir, from wild mushrooms and trout to Îles-de-la-Madeleine scallops and local beef. His signature five-course menu can be enjoyed with or without wine pairings, in warm upstairs dining rooms where every detail of the decor has been carefully considered and the service is attentive.
Le Clocher Penché
A fixture of Rue Saint-Joseph Est since 1995, this bistro serves market cuisine that follows the seasons. Chef Joël Pelletier offers three courses, at $65: hamachi crudo with squash and coconut milk, fresh pasta in lobster bisque with coppa and bottarga, then a cream puff with sweetgrass, raspberry and hazelnut. Two Alsace wines from Domaine Gérard Schueller are available as pairings.
Louise Taverne & Bar à Vin
On Rue Saint-Paul in Old Québec, Louise combines refined tavern fare with a well-stocked wine list. Chef Nikolas Couture puts together four courses, at $65: squash panna cotta with bacon fat crumble, forest-raised pork culatello from Ferme Petitsault aged 12 months, duck breast with a pulled duck egg roll, parsnip purée and prune gastrique, then apple pie with grated foie gras torchon and hazelnut ice cream.
lueur
On Rue Dalhousie, Laurie Raphaël’s little sister welcomes 14 guests in an omakase-inspired spirit. Chef Cédrick Gouge presents three courses, at $65, starring duck from Canard Goulu: squash carpaccio and duck ham with sherry and honey vinaigrette, rösti topped with foie gras and pressed duck with apple and verjuice vinaigrette, then a tiramisu with poached apples, mascarpone cream and chestnut.
Mora
On Grande Allée, this festive Italian restaurant blends precision and creativity in a brick setting with burgundy accents. Chef Séléna Dubé dedicates her three courses, at $65, to mushrooms from Rose et Lion, in memory of her grandmother who used to forage them: brioche toast with garlic confit ricotta, oyster and enoki mushrooms, cacio e pepe risotto with hedgehog mushrooms and pecorino, then vanilla panna cotta with strawberry-basil coulis.
L’Orygine
In the heart of Petit Champlain, this bright bistro puts Québec vegetables front and centre, especially those from Jardins d’Inverness, longtime partners. Chef Sabrina Lemay presents a three-course menu, at $65, free of nuts and seafood and available in a vegan version on request: walleye ceviche with peach, saffron and habanero, crispy duck supreme and grilled heart with smoked carrot gnocchi and kimchi, then rhubarb and parsnip fritters with sweet clover cream.
Written by Marie-Ève Godin
Photography by Alison Slattery
