Dining in Montréal and Stratford

While in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in August 2016, my husband, Frank, and I stayed three nights at Le Square Phillips Hôtel & Suites (1193 Place Phillips, Montréal; 866/393-1193, www.squarephillips.com). It’s located within walking distance of the Old City, the old port, downtown and major museums. 

Our king studio had a full kitchenette and a dining area for four. High ceilings and tall windows made it feel even more spacious. The rate of CAN236 (near $181) per night included tax and a large Continental breakfast.

Adjacent to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherbrooke St. West, Montréal; 800/899-6873, www.mbam.qc.ca), the converted brick townhouses on Crescent Street are home to a variety of galleries, boutiques and restaurants, several of which offer a 10% discount to diners who show their museum-admission tickets.

Montréal abounds in good restaurants. Of them, Restaurant Les Pyrénées (320 St. Paul West, Montréal; 514/842-5566, www.lespyrenees.ca [in French only]), in the Old City, was our favorite. The owner is from Barcelona, Spain, the chef was from Perpignan, France, and the regional cuisine was authentic and delicious. 

We ate tender braised beef cheeks and cassoulet (made the traditional way with duck confit, pork and lamb). Including delicious appetizers of Mediterranean fish soup and dolphinfish with eggplant plus a bottle of wine, tax and tip, the total was CAN173.

At L’Académie Crescent (2100 rue Crescent, Montréal; 514/664-4455, www.lacademie.ca), we shared a lunch at a sidewalk table. Our meal was a huge bowl of mussels, prepared Madagascar style with cognac, cream and green peppercorns, and a large arugula salad with Parmesan and a light, lemony vinaigrette. Including the discount, tax and tip, it cost CAN30.

For a lighter meal, we walked to Benelux Brasserie Artisanale (245 rue Sherbrooke West, Montréal; 514/543-9750, brasseriebenelux.com), which had a variety of craft-brewed beers on tap, a limited food menu and a large sidewalk patio. For two small panini (one vegetable and one calabrese with eggplant and tomato) and two beers, we paid CAN32 ($24), including tax and tip.

• After traveling by train from Montréal to Toronto, Ontario (Dec. ’16, pg. 12), we rented a car and drove to STRATFORD for the Shakespeare Festival. Their theater-goers like fine dining, and there’s a culinary school in town to train chefs for the local restaurants.

Several of the restaurants have embraced a field-to-table cuisine, long on unusual and foraged ingredients and exotic presentation but short on deep flavor. While we are adventurous eaters, we learned that interesting culinary ideas don’t always translate into satisfying flavors.

Our best dinner was at Keystone Alley (34 Brunswick St., Stratford; 519/271-5645, www.keystonealley.com), where we enjoyed old favorites like steak frites (steak and fries) and succulent brisket. 

Dinner for four — including four entrées, appetizers of heirloom-tomato salad and tasty, fresh, quick-fried smelt plus sides, carrot cake, drinks, tax and tip — was a bargain at CAN206. The deconstructed carrot cake, decorated with candied grated carrot, was unusual and delicious.

Our best lunch was in the downstairs pizzeria at Pazzo Taverna & Pizzeria (70 Ontario St., Stratford; 877/440-9666, www.pazzo.ca), where four of us split two large salads (one arugula with mushrooms and Parmesan cheese and one spinach with a warm bacon, onion and tomato dressing) and two pizzas. With drinks, tax and tip, the tab was CAN77. The upstairs taverna offered a more formal menu.

With the Canadian dollar currently weak and the people so friendly, now is a great time to travel in Canada.

MARTHA SPRING

Albuquerque, NM