Pastaga

Pastaga Restaurant Review:

Chef Martin Juneau’s natural wine bar and small-plates restaurant offers generous dishes meant for sharing, and the innovative menu is reasonably priced. It’s divided into “cold” and “hot” options and changes frequently, but some items are permanent, including the house-cured salmon gravlax with creamy fingerling potatoes drowned in rich, sweet mayonnaise and topped with parsley and grated smoked salmon jerky --- a locavore version of Italian bottarga and an homage to the restaurant’s location on the southern tip of Montreal’s Little Italy. From the “hot” dishes there are deep-fried sea whelks with smoked sour cream and radishes, as well as an opportunity to try horse, a lean protein fairly common in Quebec because of its popularity in France. Don’t skip the smoked and grilled Outaouais bison with confit potatoes and anchovy sauce. Consider the local cheese and dessert menu, too, and take advantage of the rare chance to sample natural and biodynamic dessert wines from the carefully chosen list.