Accords Resto + wine bar: for delicious harmonies |

By Myriam ‘M♥’ Richard

On a bright sunny afternoon, I am walking on the streets of Old Montreal on my way to chef Marc André Lavergne’s restaurant and wine bar, Accords, co-owned by TV host Guy A. Lepage, actress Chantal Fontaine and organic cuisine specialist Jean-Pierre Des Rosiers. Located discreetly on Notre-Dame street, I walk inside the wide arched entrance where tables are set which further along brightly opens up to an enclosed terrace surrounded by the high walls of the buildings around, decorated with plants, flowers and lighting fixtures. I could only imagine the beautiful scenery when dusk set. But as it was brunch time, the sun was close to its peak, and after weeks of blandish weather, we couldn’t ask for more. At first glance, it felt like being in Europe… Tuscany or close to French Riviera’s remparts. Just beautiful.

The terrace

We are seated and shortly joined by Marc-André Lavergne for a quick chat. With him, it is all about respecting the customer with the quality of the food he serves, by knowing where it comes from; he is uncompromising about it. It is a question of also being responsible as a restaurateur, and present a certain level of transparency. Always following the seasonal cycle for everything from fruits to fish for his menu and meeting with more than 30 organic farm food producers weekly, there is no doubt that freshness is always on point at Accords, prompting a menu rotation throughout the year. Additionally, and a fact I personally love is that in summer, 80% of the food is local and it slightly alters during the year.

Dining area

The name of the restaurant, Accords, speaks of harmonious marriages of flavors between the food and the wine, thus the wines are harmonized to a dish. Then again, the experience pushes beyond harmony. Feeling… rebellious? What if I tell you that those same dish not only have their respective concordant wine, but a discordant one as well. Dishes such as The Rabbit Pogoes with seasonal fruit relish that come in a cute mini jam bottle are not only delicious, but on a bright sunny day, adds exoticism to your brunch.

Rabbit pogoes w/ the fruit jam

In order to best serve the wine at Accords Bar à Vins, the facility is equipped with a system enabling the wine to stay at the right temperature without the use of air to avoid oxydation, thus being able to simultaneously open up to 50 bottles of wine. Celiacs are also gladly welcome to savor many dishes of its menu as more than 50% of it is gluten-free. That’s is exceptional catering!

I went a second time with a friendevent to know what the dinner menu had to offer. Though we ate at the event, sitting down, conversing and enjoying the moment with good food, sounded like an amazing idea. And what a great one it was. Back at Accords, we were both definitely charmed by the scenery. It was better than I had imagined. No wonder we were the last ones to leave. An ambiance as such, feeds good conversation. As for the food, I had the Duke’s Flashing which is a homemade duck sausage with gnocchis, goat milk cheese, red grape and mint and Ron took the Rabbit Remix, a stanstead rabbit sausage with peanuts and cilantro, rabbit dumplings, peanut sauce and spinach. Ron and I took a concordant and discordant wine, respectively. Each distinctive flavors tittilates the palette, is delightfully presented which is also familial and warm. The use of wooden boards as plates for some dishes adds to the visual experience, like it would an bevelled art piece on a blank canvas.

Anthelme Brillat Savarin said “The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star”, and at Accords Bar à Vins, happiness is a guarantee and eating under the stars, a beautiful option. Make it happen…

Live. Laugh. Love. Enjoy food…

This next video shows co-owner Chantal Fontaine giving us a tour of the restaurant as well as the chef, Marc-André Lavergne and the rest of the staff of Accords.

N.B.: the video is in french