Montreal: Liverpool House

 

 Abby, Francis, and I went to Liverpool House on our second night in Montreal.  Liverpool House is owned and operated by the chefs that run Joe Beef, one of Montreal's more well known restaurants.  Since I couldn't get a reservation at Joe Beef, Liverpool House was the next best thing.  The setup at the two restaurants are very similar.  The only menu is written on a big blackboard in the dining room, and a lot of the menu items are the same at both restaurants.

 Like a lot of good restaurants these days, Liverpool House and Joe Beef serve dishes that are seasonal, locally sourced, and simply prepared.  I thought that the meal had some hits and misses, but was pretty solid overall.

This dish below, their bone marrow presentation, was the highlight of the meal and this dish alone makes this restaurant a place you have to visit as long as it is on the menu.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best things I have ever eaten.

The marrow bone is split lengthwise, roasted, topped with big chunks of raw albacore tuna in a caviar sauce.  Bone marrow alone is pretty decadent.  Topping it off with tuna and caviar is just totally over the top in a very, very good way.

In addition to the bone marrow, we tried a fried anchovy starter

and another appetizer of cavateli and pork belly.  Both were good, but not spectacular.

For the main courses, we tried a "Pintade" or guinea hen that was served in two preparations.  The legs were braised and served with pasta,

and the breast and wing were pan roasted and served over whipped potatoes with a pan jus.

This was a really nice, homey dish, and I like the idea of breaking a bird up into two preparations like this.  I might have to do something like this for a dinner party in the future.  This dish also came with a really nice salad.  I have been to a couple of restaurants recently that served salads that, while simple, were among the better dishes on the menu.  This was one of them.

 The second main course that we ordered was the lobster spaghetti, which is a mainstay on both the Liverpool House and Joe Beef menus.  Read any review of either of these restaurants and this dish is mentioned.  I don't get it.  It's good, but not great, and certainly not worth the $50 price tag.  If I went back, I would try something else, as this dish is something that you could make at home with similar results.

By the time our meal ended, we were the last people left in the restaurant, but, rather than rush us out so they could close up shop, our waitress brought out a couple of complementary desserts (which we forgot to take pictures of).

All in all, this was a really good meal, and as long as that marrow dish is on the menu, I would highly recommend it.