Restaurant Review: Anabel Bar et Vin

Anabel

Your Fall go-to restaurant.

• 361 Bernard Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H2V 1T6

3 words come to mind when thinking about my most recent visit to Anabel Bar et Vin: Quirky, Comforting, and Original.

Quirky: the ambience- turquoise walls, classic black and white floors, and wooden tables. It sounds like a lot of mix & match, but somehow it works creating a cozy and striking restaurant interior. You won't mind sticking around for a while, especially with the perfect playlist they have on in the background.

Restaurant interior (taken from Facebook page)

Comforting: the menu items. I would say Anabel serves modern comfort food. From a lobster french toast to a grilled pork chop with rapini, turnips, and horseradish. You will definitely leave feeling warm & satisfied (especially if you ordered a bottle of wine from their extensive list).

Original: all around. Their menu, presentation, and décor are all pretty refreshing in a restaurant scene where I'm getting used to seeing a lot of the same. They tend to do things a little differently here.

On top of everything, the staff are friendly, the cocktail list is creative, and though the menu is small, you will want to try everything on it! Plus they take a seasonal approach meaning the menu changes with each season based on market-fresh ingredients. I believe this week they are rolling out their Fall menu and I am excited to see what that entails! I would imagine the perfect combo of ingredients to keep us warm here in Montreal.

What we ordered (The menu is changing this week- not sure if any of these will remain, but they were so good that I want to share anyways!):

Drinks

• The London Pact: My personal favourite. Pimms, cucumber, mint, lemon, and some other ingredients I can't remember- but so delicious! A little taste of London.
• The Anabel Julep: Mint, Orangina, bourbon, and some other ingredients- my lesser favourite of the two.

London Pact

Appetizers

• Salmon tartare: Unique and delicious. Marinated cucumbers, pomegranate seeds, lemon oil, french radish, and salmon tartare piled atop prawn crackers and served with a tangy sauce.
• Lobster french toast: Their take on the classic lobster roll. Lobster salad stacked on a thick slice of savoury french toast with a homemade bacon marmalade and homemade potato chips.
• Pan-fried gnocchi: Cozy. Pan-fried gnocchi with pancetta and peas in a crab sauce drizzled with truffle oil.
• Tomato salad: So simple, but sooo good. Market-fresh heirloom tomatoes with coriander and homemade croutons topped with an impressive fried poached egg.

Salmon Tartare

Lobster French Toast

Gnocchi

Tomato Salad

Fried Poached Egg

Main

• Halibut: Warm. Halibut served with clams, mushrooms, and swiss chard in a carrot butter sauce.

Halibut

Dessert

• Fried Oreos: BETTER than any I've had before. Deep-fried oreos served with ice cream and a shot of milk.

Fried Oreo Platter

Fried Oreo

See what I mean!? Charming restaurant, on a charming street. Couldn't imagine a cozier place to spend an autumn Saturday night.

Reservations: Yes.
Date night: Most definitely.
What I wore: leather leggings, buttoned-up denim shirt, chunky necklace under the collar, leather jacket, and booties (Can't believe it's layering season already!).

The damage: $$$

Stay in the know: Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Bonus: $1 oysters on Thursday's. 

Mind, Taste, Love.