Le Club Chasse et Peche

423, St-Claude street
Montreal, Quebec
(514) 861-1112

Type of cuisine: Bistro
Date of Review: November, 2009

Overall Quality Ranking: Excellent
Cost: Expensive
Gluten-Free Menu Options: Good 
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: As Relaxed As It Gets

Description:  You want to belong to this kind of Le Club.  At the same time, however, you might join a gym.  They are serious about food, and they don't skip the tasty lipids.  The menu is moderate in length, and there is enough to entice any protein seeking diner, but this probably is not the place to bring your vegetarian friends.  The staff appeared informed about gluten, and dinner was pleasantly relaxed. 

For round one, we choose the smoked lamb, the scallops, and the fois gras.  If you were eating completely in the dark, you might have mistaken the lamb for lox.  Sitting on tender beets, subtle bits of goat cheese, and a wondrous creme fraiche, this lamb was as mild as they come.  The scallops were tender and crisp in all the right places, although according to one of our diners, the oil involved in production could have floated a container ship.  No complaints from the eater.  The fois gras also impressed, being given an 8.5/10 from one experienced fois gourmet.  It was a touch large, but had an interesting and tasty companion in a little spice cake.  To wash all this down, we tried a Jean-Michel Gerin 2007 Voignier.  With a straw nose and a touch of oak, it held its own.

All the main plates shone.  The braised boor had spent the previous evening cooking gently, and it was as tender as it was profoundly rich.  Accompanied by perfectly roasted nuts, a light cheese, and roasted figs, it demanded to be eaten in its entirety.  Two of our members tackled the sizable paprika-spiced octopus, and it may have been the most tender little fellow any of us had ever set teeth upon.  It came with a heavenly smoked potato puree, roasted tomato, and roasted eggplant.  The halibut also won accolades.  We went with a wine recommendation for the table for this culinary mix.  The hazard of this is that many of us are disinclined to refuse once the bottle is opened.  A Francois Ecot organic Gamay, this rosé-like number was too light and punch-like.  Unfiltered, it also seemed to effervesce ever so slightly. 

For dessert, two orders of the chocolate and salted caramel tart were happily demolished.  Although all of the usual desserts were gluten containing, an off-the-record pavlova was procured.  Marzipan played Atlas to a coconut ice cream even while swimming in a little pool of delectable creme fraiche.  All this white was offset by a few bright cherries.  What a save!

Service was largely good. Our waiter had the menu memorized to the point that you might have suspected an implant. His presentation was also charming. But he didn't write down our order, and he did forget both the oysters (quite an error at $24 for 6) and the shared vegetables. While far from laudable, we had enough food that we did not point out the omission. Otherwise, the flow of food was timely and well coordinated, liquid refills were automatic, and our waiter kindly did a short marathon to hail a cab.

The physical space appears as a cross between a retro basement rec-room and that fictional jazz bar on Tatooine. It is dark, cozy, and divided nicely so as to minimize noise.

Le Club makes good food.  We've had the fortune to come here before, and you won't have to drag us to get us back again.