THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Le Cafe de Paris

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Le Cafe de Paris Restaurant Review:

THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS Slip into the original Ritz-Carlton, Montréal on swanky Sherbrooke Street West, and pull up a chair next to the hotel’s garden duck pond. While the Ritz quackers don’t appear on the menu, Alsace-born sous chef Hervé Vallier’s personalized mango foie gras does, its flavor enriched with a sweet dab of the fruity sauce. While the gazpacho may fall flat, it is rescued by a generous filet of flaky, tender halibut topped with well-herbed, chopped tomatoes and peppers and doused in a white butter sauce. A side of fluffy, delicately preserved lemons served beneath a tangle of mesclun delivers a message about contrasts and makes for an appealing, aromatic combination. Breaks between courses offer time to relax and enjoy a carpet of hydrangeas, the sound of bubbling water and light jazz, as well as the unobtrusive, occasional presence of restaurant manager Isabella Diflorio. She mentions that the silky smoked salmon is prepared in-house; a good match, incidentally, for the crisp and fruity flavor of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. For dessert, the tiramisu martini with hazelnuts doesn’t reach the level achieved by a three-flavor terrine of white chocolate, blackberry and pistachio. Its cool, subtle consistency ends the meal on a high note.