Bonaparte
French cuisine at its best
For 40 years, the Bonaparte restaurant has been offering fine French cuisine in the heart of Old Montreal. Its mushroom ravioli with sage, its smoked salmon with truffle, its veal chop and its vanilla lobster have helped to build its reputation and make it an essential institution in the Montreal landscape.
Ranked among the hundred most romantic restaurants according to Open Table, Bonaparte welcomes lovers of good food as well as tourists and international stars, such as Halle Berry, Julia Roberts and Madonna. Founded in 1984 by Louis H Ladouceur, an electrical engineer in search of new challenges, the restaurant became a boutique hotel in 1998. It was then bought in 2017 by the Épik Collection hotel group. However, the founder remains a shareholder, the establishment maintains the same way of doing things. Martin Bédard, general manager, emphasizes that Bonaparte is certainly “a restaurant offering gourmet cuisine”, but “it offers excellent value for money” in order to be accessible to as many people as possible.
In fact, in addition to the six-course tasting menu with food and wine pairing which allows you to taste many key dishes, the theater or à la carte menu are quite affordable. Offered between 17:30 p.m. and 18:30 p.m., the first offers a starter, main course and dessert and guarantees to be served in time for the theatrical performance. Whatever the formula adopted, you have the chance to savor the delicious foie gras in crème brûlée, the rabbit bundle, the maple duck breast or even the filet mignon with five peppers.
A WARM AND PERSONALIZED APPROACH
To persist for four decades with such success is an achievement for a restaurant. According to Martin Bédard, this success is due to the consistency that Bonaparte has demonstrated over all these years, as much in the quality of the food as the equipment and service. “Some recipes have always been the same since opening and customers order them with their eyes closed,” he explains.
In addition, the restaurant offers warm and friendly service. For Martin Bédard, experiencing the Bonaparte means forgetting your worries and enjoying a moment of happiness. He adds “that even before the arrival of computers, we took notes in order to personalize the welcome of our visitors. Our staff knows regular customers’ favorite cocktail or dish, and that makes all the difference.”
The Bonaparte restaurant is open every evening from 17 p.m. to 22:30 p.m. In addition to two large dining rooms, it offers an intimate space with a glass roof, which can be rented for an event of up to twenty people. .
