Right off the bat, you can see the restaurant with its emblazoned name from far. The exterior is elegant, with a real spinning windmill that adds to its charm.
It's better if you call ahead for a reservation. Ask for a table on the second floor, the view there is fantastic and the decor is really nice. On the main floor, there are several sections divided into rooms, if you want to hold a dinner party. The waitress gave us a room all to ourselves, and it felt great to be able to talk and laugh and take pictures with flash, just the two of us.
Mum took the table d'hôte, meaning that 10$ is added to the price of her main meal, for the addition of an appetizer, a soup or salad, a dessert, and coffee or tea. For her appetizer, she took the salmon gravlax with limoncello and lemon purée (8$ on menu). It was really nice! The salmon was well cured and went nicely with the flavour of lemon. The fact that it was served in a cube was original; sinking your teeth into a chunk of raw salmon is just fantastic.
The soup of the day was squash and parmesan soup. The serving size was small, as expected in fancy restaurants. Although the consistency and the flavour was good, this soup was way too salty!
I chose my appetizers from the tapas menu. This is portobello mushroom stuffed with 2 year aged cheddar, for 7$. The mushroom was large and juicy, and had a slightly sweet tang to it.
My other tapa (fried calamari) was not available, so at the owner's recommendation, I got the parmesan and brie fondue for 6$. The concept is very nice, and the presentation was great. The texture was good, like creamy, savoury frosting... But I hated the taste of it. Weirdly sweet and sour, and hardly tasted like parmsan or brie at all. I wouldn't recommend this one.
Mum had the daily special for her main dish, veal flank with basil pesto, fries and salad for 30$ (40$ with the table d'hôte). She ordered it medium, which turned out to be too tough for veal. The owner did suggest rare or medium-rare, and now we know how to order veal. The sauce was really flavourful, and went well with the meat. The fries were very nicely done, just the right amount of crisp and very slightly sweet and not greasy at all. The garden salad was a disappointment; it was the same mix of greens and dressing that came with our appetizers. You'd think they'd at least come up with something new.
For my main, I had the tarragon beef tartare, also with fries and salad, for 28$. The sides may seem unoriginal, but I swear, we ordered the only two dishes with salad and fries. I didn't like my tartare. The meat was good, but the entire thing was much too greasy. It was made with something similar to mayonnaise, giving the dish a slimy texture that stayed in your mouth and left you gulping down water glass after glass.
We were uncomfortably stuffed at this point, and had to ask for a doggy bag for my fries and some of mum's veal, but as I say: there's always room for dessert. We tried the liégeois cake that was included in the table d'hôte (and for 6$ on menu). It's a creamy 4-layered chocolate cake with a walnut crumble crust and served with cream. Delicious! Not too heavy, not too sweet, it was the perfect dessert after a big meal.
Overall, we had a fun time. The decor is really pretty and the service was fantastic; our water glasses were never empty, despite the fact that we sat in a far off and empty room. We were given plenty of time to order, and our plates were taken away just as we finished eating. The food was very original, and we didn't even try the Italian or Oriental flavours. I ought to mention that, although we don't drink wine, the menu suggested wine pairings for every main dish. Very impressive. Additionally, they were able to give us menus in English, despite being in a very French-centric region. We did order too much food, so don't get as much as we did, or be prepared to bring some home. Try it!
10735, 1re Avenue
St-Georges, QC, G5Y 2B8
(418) 227-0888
