There is a certain timeless quality to Outremont. The nice residential townhouses, the mature tree lined streets, the old theatre, the many cafes with beautiful terraces to enjoy – this is a neighbourhood that, if I could afford, would love to live it. I don’t really spend enough time on Bernard street as I love it so much. A few weeks ago, at my sister’s recommendation, we went to Le Petit Italien, a restaurant I had gone by numerous times but never actually tried yet. As the name implies, Le Petit Italien is a old school Italian restaurant – here was hoping however that it would rise above the base level Italian and show me something more – because there is nothing quite as sad food-wise as an Italian restaurant that seems not to try. The food just seems lifeless in those cases.
As this is an Outremont restaurant, the space is rather compressed and longer than it is wide. As such, Le Petit Italien needs to utilize the space efficiently and they do. A moon-shaped bar divides the interior dining area in two. The overall look is one of modern elements within a old space. I particularly loved their use of the exposed brick walls and tomato sauce cans as decor accents. Sadly the weather was not up to par for sitting outside so the beautiful terrasse was not available. Too bad.
We started with 2 appetizers. First up, whipped ricotta with black pepper, thyme and grilled bread. Whipping the ricotta added a light and fluffy texture to the inherently creamy and rich cheese. The addition of pepper, thyme and olive oil brought some extra elements but nothing that took away from the ricotta itself. Spread on the grilled bread and enjoyed thoroughly.
The other appetizer was the insalata prosciutto – prosciutto, arugula, red onions, parmesan and white balsamic vinegar. The first thing that hits you when you see this dish is that amount of prosciutto draped over the salad. As a lover of prosciutto, automatic winner for me already! The prosciutto was perfect, cut nice and thinly. The salad itself was nicely balanced but nothing special – the peppery arugula, the sweetness of the red onions, the rich parmesan and the acidic dressing all worked well together. Another solid dish.
I got to try three different mains after that. First up, the risotto fruit di mare – shellfish stock, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, red pepper puree and fennel. I am not a huge risotto guy – I enjoy it but it is rarely something I will order myself. This one was pretty good – the seafood was plentiful and the addition of the shellfish stock brought a deeper seafood flavour to the dish. The risotto itself was creamy and the rice was perfectly cooked – always a concern when one deals with risotto.
The second dish was the classic veal parmigiana served with pappardelle and pomodoro sauce. A large breaded veal cutlet covered in melted mozzarella, the veal was cooked well and still moist. The pasta choice of pappardelle and pomodoro was excellent and complimented the veal well. Another solid dish.
The final main was the penne con anatra – duck confit ragu with bell peppers and green onions. The real star here was the duck ragu – deliciously rich and meaty. Everything else here was simply a platform on which the duck was presented. I honestly barely remember any hint of pepper or green onion but frankly the ragu was so good, I didn’t even care whether the pasta was penne or a simple macaroni. Loved this plate – thankfully since it was what I ordered myself.
For dessert, they had cannolis on the menu, so of course I had to have one – my addiction to them is too strong. Something about the combination of ricotta, orange zest and that crunchy shell gets me every time and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed here. Not necessarily as fluffy as I expected but the cream was nice and rich – the orange zest brought a little acidic and chew that was noticeable. The outer shell itself was good as well. After i finished it, I wanted another one…. usually a good sign and further proof of my cannoli problem.
Lastly, we had a trio of profiteroles with chocolate ganache. Excellent cool gelato, fluffy buns and a rich decadent chocolate ganache. I was happy I had the cannoli first because it ensured that I wouldn’t eat most of this myself. A excellent way to finish the meal.
Le Petit Italien was Italian cuisine done right which made me happy. It is not doing anything revolutionary menu-wise but everything we had was honest and well executed. A nice little evening in Outremont. The only true downside of the meal was not being able to sit on the terrasse but that just means I need to re-visit them again eventually.
Cheers!
Le Petit Italien
1265 Bernard Ouest
514 278 0888
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 