This week, get to know some of the neighbourhood’s go-to restaurants and the latest to open their doors during the Golden Square Mile Restaurant Week. Through Sunday, eight participating restaurants are offering a set menu at an affordable price to help you discover what types of wonderful dishes they serve.
I moved to the Golden Square Mile only two years ago and last year, I was happy to learn that the Golden Square Mile had launched a restaurant week. It was a fun and affordable way to try a few restaurants over the course of a week and really get to know the gastronomic offerings in my neighbourhood. This year, for its second edition, the Restaurant Week has been moved to the end of summer which I think is a great time of year to go out and enjoy a few wonderful meals at a variety of restaurants.
Last night, I was invited to try the set menu at Gustave, the newly-refreshed restaurant located in the Saint Martin Hotel on de Maisonneuve and Metcalfe. Since I wasn’t aware that the restaurant had been given a makeover, I was pleasantly surprised by the bright and modern décor. Formerly the Bistro L’Aromate, the new incarnation is quite modern, but with a hint of Art Deco inspiration.
The set menu at Gustave is only $45 and includes your choice of entrée, main and a dessert. There are plenty of dishes to choose from and we settled on the Smoked mackerel rillettes (with fried capers, lemon confit and olive crumble) and the gnocchi with escargots sautéed in a delicious veal jus and smoked gorgonzola cream. Those were just the starters! Gnocchi are one of my favourite things to order at any restaurant and these were divine.
For our mains, we decided on the Grilled Swordfish for me and the Farmer’s pork ribs for him. Both were great, but we agreed that the perfectly-grilled swordfish with its salsa verde and lemon aioli was our fave.
Since our starters and mains were of ample proportions, there was little room left for dessert! We managed to finish the Quebec strawberries with lemon, pepper and red fruit compote, but the real hit was the reversed and revisited “tarte-au-sucre” (sugar pie) which was deep-fried and served with dolce de leche Chantilly and vanilla ice cream. We almost finished it, but by then we were ready to roll out the door.
With seven other restaurants to choose from and only five days left to the Golden Square Mile Restaurant Week, it’s tough to decide which menu to try next! I suggest you check out the menus here and make a reservation asap because, after this week, we’ll be back to paying à la carte and that can quickly add up.
I’m planning on trying the $45 dinner menu at Soubois, the restaurant made to look like an underground forest on de Maisonneuve, and maybe the brunch menu at the Beaux-Arts restaurant in the Museum of Fine Arts. I tried the lunch menu there last year during Restaurant Week and it was perfect.
I hope you get a chance to try one of the set menus this week and if not, be sure to try to visit some of these restaurants soon. There’s even a brand new one with a robot bartender! You’ll have to check out the list to discover which one 😉
Thank you to the GSM for inviting me to try Restaurant Week!
Find the Golden Square Mile Restaurant Week here:
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