By M♥

I was cordially invited to a dinner party in the recently opened ever-so-well-located restaurant F Bar, Restaurant Ferreira’s baby sibbling, which sits right in front of the Quartier des Spectacle’s esplanade. Can you imagine, having a candlelit dinner and admiring the esplanade’s water fountain bursting out of the ground with different color lighting as your vista? Breathtaking, indeed.

Your view…

Interiors

At first view, almost everything of that restaurant attracts me. The location, an inviting entrance, nice-looking and sized terrace, the wide-view perspective, the glass-house charm for light stems from walls to ceiling, one will literally be flooded with natural lighting and be able to admire Montreal’s, though starless, skies. While it is a small fine cuisine parlor, the design of the space needed to be well conceived as to use each square footage functionally but also easthetically. The restroom area follows this parallel. With little space, two unisex restroom cabins cater to the clientele, while to avoid waiting lines, a hand-wash-only sink takes place near them.

The only b-flat for me was the narrowness of the space which can be problematic on a busy night, but then again this element loses its poignancy once you fork-in the food and dive it into your mouth.

In your mouth

What F-Bar promises is a true sensorial experience. Taste, sight and smell form a euphoric threesome for its possessors. The chef concocted a menu pulled from the past but modernised for today’s demanding buds. A pleasant surprise awaited us when the waiters brought our plates – a special message from the chef… for a more enjoyable acquaintance with the meals, first intake each layed-out ingredient seperately to distinguish the particularity and freshness of each flavors then have fun with mixing them up for your eating pleasure. Now how nice is that? I, of course, followed the expert advice and wow… by far, the  best advice ever. Though I do that already, it differs when told to do it, making you more aware of the act. It really opened my eyes and I instantaneously sensed chef Gilles Herzog’s charisma through his food and advice.

While talking with my fellow eating mates, I captured a delicious info from owner Carlos Ferreira who was sitting close to me. He said something that went a little like this ,”we know when the best tomatoes come out, therefore it will show when we change the menu”. That sentence only – did it for me. When you eat at F-Bar, you are guaranteed utmost freshness.

I loved everything I ate, and I’m not even exagerating on my words, otherwise, I wouldn’t say it (Paperplanes motto!). All my main dishes were served in cassseroles (a service and presentation particularly ♥). The halibut with black raisin-parsley and almond condiment was nothing but delicious as well as the Portuguese-style and very tender grilled cornish hen with calamaris and lentils (I recommend).

Sweet tooth?

F-Bar’s version of ‘pão doce ‘ (sweet bread) turned a much lighthearted pleasure in my mouth. And what’s better than one dessert? Two desserts. I gave in for the vanilla rice pudding with porto and taraggon black cherries served in a shooter cup. I was nostalgic and daydreamy at the same time. Nostalgia for the pudding, because it gave me a taste of my childhood. My grandma’s vanilla haitian porridge for the smell, and the rice pudding she used to give me that I hated, but with this one, I have now a new appreciation, and finally the frozen yogourt in which I noticed a hint of a sweet burnt taste à la crême brulée but then, it was icy… I loooooooove crème brûlée.  I felt like Amélie Poulain and her guilty pleasures while daydreaming walking under the mediterranean sun on the remparts of a portuguese city.

Well that’s F-Bar for you, courtesy of  my senses…

Expect to pay between 9$ -20$ for entrées/appetizers, 16$-28$ for your main dish and 9$ to 13$ for dessert. Without forgetting their very notable winelist – try their Paço de Teixeiro, Quinta de Côtto, it will add a high note to your main dishes.

Make F-Bar your next eating stop. They also have a delicious lunch menu and I definitely recommend this eating jewel. Organik D’va went and the feeling’s shared.

Verdict? F-Bar is sentenced to be visited by M♥ for round #2, #3, #4… (you get the point) and by many others. Not such a bad sentence when you think of it, right?

Live. Laugh. Love. Be… food-elated!

M♥

INFO + SOCIAL MEDIA

The door: 1485, rue Jeanne-Mance

Reservation: 514.289.4558

The schedule: Kitchen is open everyday from 11:30am to 2:30 pm and 5:30pm to 11:30pm

On the web: www.fbar.ca

Want to check out the other restaurants by Carlos Ferreira? www.ferreiracafe.com

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