Being a Francophone town means that we are inundated with French cuisine here in Montreal. In particular, there are a lot of restaurants cribbing off the classic French bistro style – burger, moule-frites, steak-frite, tartar, etc… It is a classic favourite but one that can be stale in the hands of an average restaurant. Funny enough, in the Sud-Ouest, there really wasn’t a bistro spot in the neighbourhood. Well, that changed last year with the arrival of a couple including Licence IV on Notre-Dame. As my wife works nearby, we went a few weeks ago with some of her colleagues to see if they could do this classic style right.
Licence IV definitely put a good foot forward in terms of looks. The space is beautiful – a modern but classically inspired bistro look. we have the long bar, the banquets, the ornate tin ceiling, the heavy touches of glass and brass all over and tons of ample lighting. There is also lots of use of vegetation to create an indoor terrasse feel. I found the video projections over the bar a little strange and the wait staff allowed the videos to lapse at one point so we can the computer desktop being projected over the bar instead of the videos we were supposed to see. The look is there – just needs a touch more refinement in terms of execution from the staff.
The list of cocktails is interesting as is the wine list. I started with their Marseillaise – Rye, Italian Amaro with orange bitters served hot. I enjoyed it – close to my favourite Negroni but with a extra hint of orange. I also enjoyed how the use of warm water created a more soothing and warming beverage. Perfect for the cold weather we are now experiencing. Related to the cocktails, the wait staff was weirdly insistent about cocktails or even champagne prior to the meal even though everyone else had said no the first time they mentioned it. I get the profit that comes with drinks but as a staff you need to understand the line between suggesting and being way too pushy about it.
Our appetizers came next and were enjoyed nicely. First was the charcuterie plat – a mixture of duck rillettes, ham, rosette de Lyon sausage, figs, candied fruits, raclette cheese and bread to melt the cheese over. A nice variety of items and all enjoyable. I liked the touch of being able to melt the raclette cheese at the table.
The other appetizer I tried was the panko breaded fried calamari served with homemade tartar sauce. A nice crunch to the calamari and I loved the freshness of the sauce. The calamari were nice and tender as well. Solid starter.
As a main, I went with the duck burger – topped with marinated slaw, melted cheese, honey mustard sauce and lardon – served with fries. Sadly, this was a disappointment. The patty was very thin compared to the rest of the burger and frankly didn’t really evoke much in terms of the natural fatty flavour of duck. It is too bad because I liked the bun and the matchstick fries. However, if the heart of the dish isn’t good enough, you can dress it up all you want – it doesn’t matter.
The other main I got to try was better – the Moules-Frites à la Marinière. Excellent dish – the mussels were plentiful, very tender and had great flavour from the classic broth. Add the excellent matchsticks fries and you had a classic bistro dish very well executed.
Licence IV was a solid Bistro experience. A few things to nitpick and hope to see improve but overall, they get the look and feel of the French Bistro down pat. If you looking for some French classics in the Sud-Ouest, Licence IV is worth a look.
Cheers!
Licence IV
1524 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest
514 938 8084
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 
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