Before arriving in Quebec city, I wanted to make sure I had one reservation for one of their recommended restaurants. I had originally thought of going to L'Affaire Est Ketchup, but many recommendations to got to the closely related Patente and Machin instead. So I made reservations for Patente and Machin. We arrived at open, and were quickly seated. It was a Monday night, so the place never got more than half full. It's a very rustic place, with random/eccentric wall decor. The daily menu was written on the blackboards - five small plates (Machins) and 5 larger plates (Patentes). We tried these: - Ris: Very good. It was a fried sweetbread on pasta. Not something I eat often, but was delicious. - Chou Fleur (Cauliflower): Good. It was prepared three ways - roasted, marinated and puree. Because I roast my own cauliflower, the dish wasn't a standout for me. - Steak: OK/Good. The steak itself wasn't remarkable. But the fries were really good. The peppercorn sauce was so intense, I didn't use much of it. - Poulet de Courinouaille (Cornish Hen): Very good. Easily the best dish of the night. Surprisingly tender. - Morue (Cod): OK. Very fresh. But had a lot of ingredients that made is a bit confusing and messy. Service was what stands out. As far as I could tell, there were only 3 people working. Two front staff taking orders and making drinks, and one chef. You could watch the chef prepare, cook and plate every dish that night. It made it a very personal and intimate experience, almost like being served by 3 good friends. But it also meant that everything went at very slow pace. This review was not an easy one. From one perspective, I really appreciated the hard work and dedication of the entire staff. They make it a very personal and special experience. However, on the food alone, I thought it was generally OK or good, but nothing outstanding. So I would rate this as a 3.5 out of 5. read more

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An intimate establishment with a menu updated daily. Reservations are required and they do turn away walk-in guests. Food was exceptional and cooked to order in front of your eyes. Ingredients were fresh. The chefs did an excellent job elevating and experimenting the flavors and colors of different ingredients. Service was great and friendly as well. Staff explained the menu in details and made sure each dish was to my satisfaction! read more

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Delicious food from a simple, changing, seasonal menu. Our table of 4 shared 3 appetizers and 4 main courses. Apps were beef tartare, lamb sweetbreads with truffle spaetzle (ris d'agneau), crudo of scallops in leche de tigere sauce. Mains were steak frites with au poivre peppercorn sauce, petoncle (scallops), pappardelle with handmade pasta braised elk and spinach, and Nashville cornish game hen (poulet Nashville). Dessert was a maple pudding with melted sharp cheddar on top. Everything was creative and well-executed. Food was heavy as is customary in QC but still balanced flavors and textures. Atmosphere is casual and warm. Service is professional but casual at the same time. The food is the star of the show. read more

Patente et Machin - Menu on 17-March 2025 - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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The foods were amazing. The service was great. The main reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because we had been waiting for 40 minutes for our foods on the table. Luckily the foods were worth for the waiting. read more

Patente et Machin - two plates of food on a table - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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Sophisticated meals consisting of artfully combined flavors in a warm, lively environment. The staff are knowledgeable and feel like new friends. The environment is small, cozy and intentionally down to earth. Highly recommend! read more

It was a cold winter day in Quebec city but we braved the chill to walk down the street to this trending restaurant. The interior is very small with an open kitchen. We ordered the steak frites and the deer striploin steak. Both were hearty creations and although we were craving some appetizers, we probably would not have finished our main plates if we did! The appetizers that we eyed were the beef tartar and the octopus. Atmosphere is boisterous and since it's a small space, it's not a quiet romantic restaurant however, I suppose now with the lockdowns, you could probably expect it to be quieter. I'd go back on an emptier stomach to try the "machins" (i.e. appetizers). They do change the menu, so it'll be a surprise. read more

My original intention was to visit "L'Affair es Ketchup", featured on an Anthony Bourdain episode, but they were fully booked. Luckily the owners opened an identical restaurant a few hundred feet away: "Patente Et Machin". The interior is antique-hipster, but still clean and comfy. No printed menu here, just a chalkboard with the day's fresh offerings written in French. Luckily a patient and friendly waiter will take the time to explain everything in English, and in detail. Fried Veggies $12...I can't remember exactly, but this was good! Seabass $28...the wife gave me a small delicious bite...divine! Beef Cheeks $13...tasty beefy cheeks with some bacon romaine. Scallops & Pork Pate $30...cooked perfectly and amazing! The Pork pate was delicious fatty complement, being that scallops are so light. Bread Pudding with cheddar $8...sounds bizzarre, but combining two of my favorite things turned to be a brilliant and delicious edible work of art. Note that all prices are in Canadian dollars, so its 20%+ off for us Americans, groovy! Also note everything is made from scratch, so be patient and await your delectable dishes. read more

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This place was amazing! Food was fantastic culinary experience that surprised and delighted. Staff and service provided is so cool and has a system that worked well! I highly recommend this spot for anyone visiting Quebec City. Remember to make a reservation although we did get lucky to find a spot at the bar section. Ambiance is hipster antique vibe with some rock n roll feel. Such a cool spot! read more

Honestly I didn't have that great of an experience. I had the steak and fries. It's supposed to be flank steak. Flank is normally very tender. Not so here. It was fairly tough and I had to cut it super thin, lest it be chewy. My wife had a couple of appetizers including one that was some kind of salmon stuffing. The stuffing was dry and honestly the dish did nothing for me. read more

Patente et Machin - two plates of food - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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This restaurant is located outside the whole touristy hype, and definitely has its own little hipster vibe to it. Reservations are mandatory, and chances are if you don't reserve you won't be allowed in. I know very little about French cuisine, especially when it comes to dinner. If you tell me about gravlax, sweetbread, foie gras, caille, or ragout, I would've given you a perplexed look on what those foods actually mean. The waiter, however, explained all the dishes (in English may I add) in great detail. However he did talk a little fast, so clarifications were aplenty. I enjoyed everything overall, despite the fact I didn't know what I was eating most of the time. Although the portions were small, it was more than enough to share all the appetizers and four of the main courses for a group of 5. The chocolate cake and maple walnut pudding (MUST HAVE!!!) were both very good, and were excellent food to wrap up our meal. As with most French restaurants, do expect to stay for a long time. I arrived at 5:30pm and didn't leave the restaurant until around 7:45pm. read more

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How did we get here? A friend saw we were in Quebec City and messaged us that we must try L'Affaire du Ketchup. Well we tried but you apparently need about a week for a reservation in advance but they guided us to their sister restaurant (this one). The service we received was impeccable, they realized that we are quite English and our waiter immediately came over with the menu board as everybody else on another reviews mentioned to explain it in English and go over each of the nights offerings. They must change every day or frequently as it is only done on a chalkboard. Or they got a good gig have a chalkboard to make it seem like the changes a lot :) Whatever the case we had an amazing meal. We forgo appetizers as we already had a martini and some poutine elsewhere so we ordered the big rib between my wife and I to split and a bottle of wine (Raga) What arrived was what legends are written of. Big rib? Holy crude It was likely off a dinosaur. I lost my wife in it so we had to eat our way back to finding each other and met back in the middle. The vegetables that came with the dinosaur ribs were amazing. Carrots white radish and I said parsnip but my wife said massed potatoes were also delicious. We were so staffed by the end of it that we could barely even speak to each other. But there was this desert that smells so good. Both of our neighbors that each table had it and we couldn't get out of our minds so we thought through and ordered it. It was maple pudding with cheese (they had a french name for it). Literally the best dessert I've ever had in my life. The maple syrup the bread putting mixed with the two-year-old cheddar oh my God. Just go and order it. All in all a fantastic meal, with great service. Oh and the background music. Jet, Violent Femmes, Cake... read more

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That place blew my mind. No set menu, everything is chalked on a board. Sophisticated flavors, generous portions and exceptional service with every item explained in English. Were they happy to see us come in almost at 10pm, no, they did not look happy. Did they deliver great food - yes they did. Atmosphere is very divey. Music moved in the punk rock spectre with occasional Nirvana, servers are barely distinguishable from patrons and everyone just enjoys themselves. My only drawback with them is that the rather rare French75 cocktail was done with gin rather than brandy and was a tad too sour, but even that worked wonderfully after my meal of scallops and braised pork belly. read more

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Came here for dinner on a cold Tuesday night in January. Unassuming place that makes good food. The background music of Offenbach, Beaux Dommage and other Québec classics made for a good ambiance. I had salmon tartare and it was done right, for main course I opted for the bison and was not disappointed... cook to perfection. I also enjoyed their pouding au chômeur with cheese on top. Overall great dinning experience. If you look for a refined place keep going but if your into an authentic cool spot this is it. read more

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This is my favorite restaurant in Quebec. Everything on the menu is fantastic. Love the unpretentious laid back atmosphere. Friendly and playful staff. This is a must visit in Quebec. read more

Reading these other reviews kinda makes me mad after my spectacular experience. The owner, the wait staff, the chef, were all so incredibly nice. I want to hang out with these guys. Our waiter recited the whole amazing menu in English, they sent free shots, the food was way better than Panache, the list goes on and on. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants the best food of their life. I've had a lot of fries and these were out of this world. Their menu changes daily so don't bother looking for a menu. My sister is pregnant and they went out of their way to accommodate us. Anthony Bourdain was right.. this place was insannnnnely good. We had the pork shank ( enough food for 5 ppl lol!) the octopus, the moz with squash purée, and the steak and fries (order this!!!!) love this place. We even got a photo in the kitchen with the whole team. read more

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Came here again since my last visit in Quebec City two years ago and wasnt as good as I remembered to be. We ordered the quail with bone marrow and jambonneau spread with caviar - both were really good. For main courses, we had sweetbreads and scallops with blood pudding. I prefer my first visit with them when they fried the sweetbreads and made into popcorns. This time was a full piece of sweetbreads - which I found to be a little bit bland and nothing too interesting/special. The blood pudding itself was a little dry, and the natural taste of the pudding didnt work well with the scallops. Overall, I still think it is worth going and dinning there! read more

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Oh I think I found my new favourite restaurant in Quebec city. I moved out years ago so every year when I come back I like to try a couple new restaurants. We had a lovely "pintade" (gineafowl) to share, accompanied with gnocci and veggies. It was one of the best birds I have had! I We had a couple appetizers like the popcorn sweetbreads. For dessert, we tasted the divine lime tart and the Quebec classic "pudding chômeur". The atmosphere is casual and the dishes are well executed. The team here look like lumberjacks in their casual style but make no mistake they take their work seriously and treat their customers very well. Service is always courteous in Quebec so this did not dissapoint. And they were able to explain the menu in detail to our group who included aN English speaking guest. Pricing was more than reasonable. We even got a freebie amuse-bouche style which was the most delicious onion rings I ever had (I am not usually a fan of those) The decor is really fun and a bit kitsch which goes with the name of the place, many conversation pieces here for a date. Patente et Machin has nothing to envy from other more established restaurants of similar genre when compared to Montreal. I highly recommend this restaurant and I will be back. I will also try their sister restaurant called L'affaire est ketchup. Super super satisfied! read more

Patente et Machin - The lovely and delicious pintade to share! - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

Unpretentious and hipster vibe, super friendly and down to earth staff. english skills are a little rough, but they are more than willing to explain the menu and help you out with placing your order (not that you could go wrong with anytong on the menu!) Rillettes de Porcelet tasted like a sweet pork sausage with very mild flavorings, only in a loose pate like form; roasted and crisped in the oven and topped with greens and served with crustini. The sauce is a warm and sweet watery drizzle tasting of veal stock and port wine...if the plate wasnt so hot, you'd pick it up to drink the sauce! Tomato salad was bright and flavorful and worthy of the limited space in my stomach as I plan out tonights meal Surlonge de bison: an amazing hunk of bison in filet form, seared on the outside, served at a perfect medium rare temperature. A rich dark sauce drizzled sparingly over the top and nestled overtop of a mix of fingerling potatoes. This is good. REALLY GOOD. It's like steak 2.0. Poulet de cornouailles is an oven roasted chicken like you wish your mom would have made growing up. They describe it as a mustardy BBQ sauce, but I think something was lost in the translation as the sauce was a rich reddish-brown veal stock like wine reduction that would shine at any French restaurant. Served with a few root vegetables (baby turnips, baby blood carrots and a stalk of white asparagus), and what I think was a creamy grits like puree...again, a little bit lost in translation, but nothing at all lost in flavor! Be sure to order extra foie gras with each dish, seared perfectly and tastes oh so amazing with whatever dish you're eating. At this point of your meal, you've eaten half of your table mate's dinner sampling everything and there's barely room for dessert...but you need to order it, even if you're only able to get down 1 bite. I opted for the maple walnut pudding with melted cheese. More of a bread pudding than a traditional custard like pudding, it's sweetness was pleasantly offset by the tanginess of the melted brie like cheese overtop of the dish. I had trouble deciding between this house specialty and the cheese plate, and I feel like it's the perfect compromise! This isn't fancy dining, you're wait twice as long for your food as any normal restaurant as each dish is made by J from scratch right in front of you, and the the dish towel napkins are huge...but this will be the best French(fusion) meal you ever have, so order a second drink and prepare to have "the most pleasant taste I've ever had in my mouth"* (*quote from my 60 y.o. father after eating the bison steak!). read more

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GREAT MEAL! And service to match! Not a complaint around the table! They made he effort to go through everything for us in English and each of the recommendations was on point. From beginning to end, VERY happy to have been recommended to go there when we couldn't get reservations at their sister restaurant L'Affaire est Ketchup. Can't wait to go back and try that if this one was this good read more

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Delicious. We really enjoyed the French inspired fusion cuisine. It's a local cozy little restaurant but nice vibe. More local people. Had the baby back ribs with foie gras, mussel, asparagus-like dish, mackerel with sea urchin sauce, kaanpachi (yummy) Will be back for sure if we are ever in town. read more

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A truly wonderful culinary experience. The food was beautifully prepared, and the flavors were the best I've had in Quebec thus far. The service was impeccable. We engaged with the chef as he cooked our meal in front of us and had great conversations with our waiter over the course of the evening. Everyone working in the restaurant was approachable, gregarious and friendly, yet attentive to customer needs and requests. I'd give this restaurant 6 stars if I could. Having a meal here is a must if you're in the area. read more

Patente et Machin - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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Fantastic service, food is extremely well thought of tasty and interesting. Must visit in qc

The best thing about Patente is that the food is excellent and it's a totally casual place. Not pretentious, just slamming good food made with passion and zest. I've been to Patente on two separate occasions. First was in July of 2014 with my wife and parents. Had drinks, small plates and a beastly 34 ounce perfectly grilled beef steak and fries with a mushroom and veal reduction sauce, salad, baby broccoli and turnips. My wife and I have been on a one year road trip from Los Angeles and this meal has been the bench mark meal for our whole trip. The maple and cheddar cake was killer as well. My wife and I returned to Quebec City in August of 2014 mainly to dine here one more time. Had their pan seared sweet bread with truffle reduction, pork belly with honey goat cheese polenta and all sorts of other goodies. Our waiter Pierre Olivie was awesome. If you are in Quebec City do not miss this place. read more

Sister resto to the Bourdain pick down the street, Patente is easy going, easier to get a table at and generally good vibes. Our waiter knew where every cut of meat they were serving came from and the beef and fiddle heads I ordered were lovely and cooked perfectly. The sauces stood out, and my whole table had a 'we might just lick these bowls out real quick' moment. Fortuitously more bread was delivered and we were saved the collective inability to look each other in the eyes later. A couple nice local Quebec beers on tap that I hadn't tried before and an extensive wine menu coupled with good music and general good cheer made me want to hang out longer but alas, the long lame ride back home to Montreal was ahead of us. Next time, we settle in for a serious session. Not cheap but very tasty, truly local focused, away from the tourist traps, well worth a visit. read more

Simply put, one of my favorite restaurant experiences ever. It's a tiny restaurant with maybe 8 tables plus bar seating. The decor is more like hanging out at a guys house than an actual restaurant, which is actually pretty great. As a non French speaking American, I was blown away by how friendly the staff was. Their menu is very basic ("pork", "tartare") written on a chalk board, in French naturally. The waiter came over and explained in great detail every single item in English. It was awesome, well beyond what usually would happen in similar situations in my other travel experiences. It really made us feel welcome. We sat at the bar, which overlooks the kitchen, and the chef went out of his way to be friendly and make conversation, despite being at fully capacity. The food was fantastic, we ordered sweet breads, the pork, waygu terrine, and mushrooms with duck hearts. Even if the service was bad, the food would have made the trip worth it. Really high end, well prepared and cared for food. We wound up doing shots with the wait staff at the end of the night. Those guys are truly awesome. Knowing nothing about them, it seems like they're a bunch of friends who got together to open a restaurant in a place they wanted to hang out at everyday and make food they enjoy eating. I had a blast, would absolutely go back. Quebec should proud to have such a place in their city. read more

Unable to get table at L'Affaire Est Ketchup, we were setup by what I imagine is their "sister" restaurant with a nice table. The restaurant is just a couple blocks from Ketchup and both are what I would call "off the beaten path" and the hustle / bustle of the touristy area of Quebec. Parking was easy (it's mostly metered before 9pm, and you will get ticketed). The restaurant isn't anything fancy, but it still felt quaint and comfortable. We tried the mushrooms, which were superb! There were 3 or 4 different types in a nice cream sauce with pulled braised beef. Very tasty! Also tried the Halibut and the pork chop. Both were tasty, nice portions and tasty accompaniments. They had a decent wine, beer and cider selection. I opted for an IPA. Yum. The menu is entirely in French up on a chalk board, but since I didn't speak french, the waiter/owner explained everything to us. Nice place, great service, reasonably priced and the mushrooms....so good.... read more

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We had a wonderful meal. We had a salad of roasted Radiccio with zucchini flowers, stuffed with a spicy filling. This was light and usual. Duo Poissons, was a small portion of smoked salmon and raw halibut with lumpfish roe accompanied by an Apple, walnut, caper salad. It doesn't sound like much, but it was really excellent. The duck confit was perfectly roasted and accompanied by a good country sausage, all on a bed of fennel and onion. We had pork chop on mashed potatoes, and ordered fries on the side - these arrived in a bucket, literally, far more than we could eat, so we shared with the table beside us. There were good wines on the wine list and we had a quite expensive Burgundy which was great. Service was swift, efficient and informed. read more

I went to this restaurant over 2 years ago on a trip to Canada. I don't know if it is fair to review from memory, but being my most memorable food experience in Canada I ended up deciding that it was not fair NOT to rate it. The cooks are impressive. They are cooking on a classic household 4 gas stove and the end result was amazing. Frendly place, French-speaking of course. Hispter vibe. We loved it. read more

So happy I found this place!!!! Just five guys cooking up the best food! Menu is written on the board, very basic but just wait until you hear the servers describe each plate. Every thing we ordered was to die for. Gravlax sounds simple but it was the best we ever had, same with the veal sweetbread - perfectly cooked on a bed of tiny gnocchi - unforgettable. Can't say enough about this place... don't miss out! read more

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Unexpected perfection! The menu is in French only, so we have to order per yelp's photos! We order the quail, scallop and summer salad. The chef changed the presentation but every dish tastes really good! read more

Patente et Machin - Scallop - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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Best meal we had while visiting Quebec. Highly recommend leaving the old city to try out this hip kitchen. The food was amazing. read more

Patente et Machin - Canadian (New) Near Me - Quebec City, Quebec

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I was there in 2012 and have been singing its praises to anyone who will listen. L'Affair est Ketchup was closed, but they booked me at this fantastic and fun place instead. (I speak zero French, so it was hard to make this happen.) The waiter spoke little English, but his seemingly universal description of the long and elaborate menu worked fine, and we were willing to take a leap of faith anyway. The lamb shank was the highlight, but the atmosphere with open kitchen featuring dynamic staff and fun crowd made it a night. We walked here from Basse-Ville (Lower town) to work up an appetite while it was still light. I was advised by my hotel concierge to take a taxi back, and the bartender called for me. Easy. This will definitely be a stop every time I'm in QC, but given that Anthony Bourdain featured L'Affair on his show, I imagine reservations will be much harder to come by. read more

Trust the cooks. Everything here is amazing. We just kept eating because everything was perfection! We had the beef tartar appetizer & mozzarella salad appetizer. Porc entree and the maple bread pudding with cheese. read more

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The 3 stars are for the food . The food is great . But that's where it stops . The location is not in the best part of Quebec . The restaurant is small and there is no ambience . If you are looking for restaurant with creativity with food it's worth going . But if you are a tourist like me looking to experience Quebec City , this is definitely not the place . There are lot of other options . read more

Crazy cool atmosphere. Food was next level. Full of every flavour and texture your mind could want. Great spot for a date. Great place for groups. Tip: ask for the bar seat and watch the chef prepare your meal!!!! Love love love. read more

Came upon this restaurant purely by accident We were going to another restaurant and happen to pass this one. Two ladies outside the restaurant for a smoke told us how good Patente Et Machin was and we had to try it. They were absolutely right. Very unpretentious, nothing fancy. We had a great time there. Met a couple from Chicago, another couple from Grand Rapids and a third that was local in Quebec City. All were very friendly and easy to talk to. Large portions and very tasty food. I had a duck breast and my wife had a pork shank. Service was a little slow in getting our food. Other than that, it was a wonderful evening. read more

Nice food, nice people We took the pintade for two add with 100g of foie gras poele. They have a decent private importation. We took the pinot noir teutonic. Nice place and good price for the quality. Cuisine du terroir read more

What a find! This new restaurant changes this Montreal girls' whole perception of Quebec City when it comes to food. The restaurant is located in a fun residential neighbourhood, a little off the beaten track of most tourists (a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute cab ride from tourist central). It was opened very recently by the same gang from L'Affaire est ketchup, (a highly recommended restaurant just down the street at 46 rue Saint-Joseph East, (418) 529-9020), In Quebec City for the night, we were headed to L'affaire est ketchup. They were fully booked so sent us to their new place, and we are grateful they did because the meal was fantastic! What I like about the restaurant scene in Montreal are the new young creative chef-owner places, often found in residential neighbourhoods like the Plateau, Milt-End, Rosemont, etc. Restaurants where you can eat better prepared and more creative meals then at the fancy expensive places, and do so in a more laid back atmosphere, and for a fraction of the price. That is what we found here at Patente et Machin, with a cherry on top and a twist or two of its own. The menu was explained very enthusiastic and in great detail; we were already hungry so the detail was like torture as it all sounded so good that we wanted it all and fast! We made our choice, and the wait wasn't long at all. We started with a starter of tartare de boeuf, (one of the best we've had), and a really interesting take on onion rings in the crunchiest batter, (like a tempura, but crunchier), topped with drizzled honey and a strong hard cheese. For our main course we decided to go for one of the 3 choices of meals for 2; a very juicy whole pintade on a bed of homemade gnocchi, with a creamy sauce of varied, plentiful and tasty wild mushrooms and crunchy vegetables. The pintade was so big, and the wild mushroom gnocchi so rich, that I think 4 could have had a meal off of this dish for two. It was so good we ate too much to even think of eating dessert. If I had had been able to eat even one more bite, I would have ordered the strawberry soup; the table next to ours had it and they were tripping out on the flavours. In fact, all the tables around us were tripping over their respective meals. We had a nice 41$ bottle of Languedoc with that, and the whole bill came to just under a 100 $, plus a 20$ tip because the service was very good. The decor was comfortable and warm with lots of wood and a great counter to eat at with view on the kitchen. The crowd was young, sort of hipster like, but without the pretention or attitude often associated with this young creative class. There were some tables of 'older folk' as well. One thing that might scare off an 'older' crowd is that the music is young, eclectic and at times on the loud side (personally, I found it paired well with the meal). It's a small place so best to reserve, (581) 981-3999. read more

Young enthusiastic and brilliant! Freshest ingredients served with care in a casual, friendly space - excellent value

Awesome man's man's restaurant. Food was phenomenal, not much on the menu for the ladies. My wife wanted something more healthy, a salad selection. There menu supposedly changes dailey and we landed on a day where it was only PHENOMENAL man's man type food. The name in english means Trinkets and Doodads or Gagets and Gizmos. I love this place! My wife not so much. In her words, "Overpriced... You gave them 4 stars not 5, right?" Lol I was pleasantly surprised at the extra mile type service that our waiter provided. He went through the entire menu in detail in English, as it is naturally in French. Worth the price. read more