Like a billion years ago, the ex and I spend a cold weekend in Montreal and had what was probably one of our first real splurge dinners- a whimsical tasting menu that was So.Much.Fun. As this most recent trip had me in Montreal on the coldest weekend of the year, there was literally nothing else to do, but attempt to recreate the event and return to the restaurant. Spoiler alert: I booked the wrong restaurant and still can’t figure out what the super fun tasting was called. Instead I booked Toque! which turned out to be a lovely place in its own right, but was much more sophisticated (and expensive) than my twenty something ever saw.

I ate some weird stuff. Here goes my memory…

Bread and butter that was DIVINE.

Hamachi crudo with citrus. Incredible and my favorite thing on the tasting menu.

A fish with a crunchy cracker on top. (Is it clear I’m writing this from a hotel room and could use the menu that’s on my desk at home?) The wine was phenomenal here too. (Coming soon after reuniting with a menu!)

Sea snails! And beans! And foam! What are sea snails? I ate them and skipped the rest. Definitely my least favorite.

A rare piece of local beef with a surprisngly sweet sauce. Another one that was fine but did not love.

An out of this world rare lamb chop.

Then there was this pre-desesrt which was a snowball full of something jammy as I recall. It was gorgeous. Clearly.

And the real dessert which I 100% have no idea what it was other than something chocolate-y. I recall being a bit bummed about my birthday dessert as I’m never much for chocolate. I didn’t have the option of choosing which was my only fault with Toque! Amusingly a woman at a nearby table got up to wish me a happy birthday. I’m sure she felt sad I was dining alone, but I had an excellent dinner.

Jelly snack and maple bit served on a rock. This seemed to be a common delicacy without Montreal.

And this blog post is evident why it is very dangerous to have a tasting menu with wine pairings and attempt to recall the event after the fact. I’d certainly return to Toque! The ambiance was chill, staff were phenomenal, and I was able to witness several exceptional bad (and loud) dates which was just the icing on my non-selected birthday cake!