[MTL] Market Fresh – MKT Restaurant

MKT Restaurant, locating on rue Metcalfe, offers unique blends of authentic Italian and Mediterranean flavors. I can finally have a restaurant to recommend to my friends when they ask for recommendations in downtown Montreal, especially when it’s right across from McGill University. Fresh seafood from the market, and chef Marino Tavares tries to use as many local ingredients as possible.

MKT Restaurant

Though I’ve never been to Greece, but it’s one of my dream destinations. The decor of the restaurant is very Mediterranean-style; mainly white and blue.

MKT Restaurant

On the side, there’s a long bar, which showcase the choices of their alcohol selections.

MKT Restaurant

After we were seated, the staff brought the homemade focaccia and this homemade buffalo mozzarella cheese that was topped with tomato, red pepper salsa. The bread was warm and fluffy, and able to soak the flavors from the salsa and olive olive. We finished it before our appetizer arrives!

MKT Restaurant snow crabTo start off, we chose the Insalata Dl Granchio, which is snow crab salad and motane shrimps, topped with green apples, and tabasco sauce on the side. The ratio among snow crab and the shrimps were on the spot, and I loved the pairing with green apples, because it adds the tartness and crunchiness to the dish, and brought out the sweetness from the snow crab and shrimp.

MKT Restaurant quail

For the entrée, the owner recommended the Quaglie alla Griglla, which is the grilled spiced quail. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about this at first, because I viewed the restaurant as a seafood-based restaurant. However, it was surprisingly good! It was sweet and savory. The meat was tender, perfectly grilled. It sort of reminded me of the New Orleans BBQ sauce.

MKT Restaurant endive salad

For the salad, we opts for the Pera e Gorgonzola, which is an endive salad with pears, gorgonzola, and pecans. I was interested in this was because I don’t really know how to deal with endives, therefore, I would like to try it. It was light and nice combination. Gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese, which I found it very acceptable. The dressing was light, and didn’t drowned the salad. The pear was thinly sliced, and the sweetness balanced out the bitterness from endive, while the gorgonzola cheese added a bit of creaminess, and the pecans contributed the crunchiness.

MKT Restaurant gnocchi

For pasta, we chose the Gnocchi totarella, which is stuffed with porcini mushrooms, white wine, and truffle carpaccio. These aren’t like the regular gnocchi. It’s in round shape, which are like meatballs.

MKT Restaurant gnocchi

The gnocchi is kind of like a ravioli, which has stuffing in the middle. The sauce was rich and creamy. Full of mushroom flavor! The gnocchi was soft and soaked up all the sauce.

MKT Restaurant risotto

We also opted the special of the day, which was the Risotto Di Marino, which is chef’s choice risotto. The risotto of the day was with lobster bisque and lobster. My friend and I didn’t really like the consistency of the rice, since the exterior was too soft/mushy, but the interior wasn’t cooked (definitely not the al dente or slightly undercooked like typical risotto is supposed to be). Nonetheless, the lobster bisque was very good. It was thick and creamy, and topped with fresh lobster pieces that didn’t have an unpleasant odor.

MKT Restaurant bouillabaisse

Up next, the Mediteraneo, which is the seafood and fish bouillabaisse. Bouillabaisse is a classic fish stew originated from Marseille. It’s a stew made by the fishermen, using the pieces of fish which they are unable to sell to restaurants or markets. Therefore, the fish that MKT uses changes based on what they have.

MKT Restaurant bouillabaisse

Besides fishes, there are also shrimps, clams, mussels, squid, and scallops! Each type of seafood was cooked on the point, even the scallops! The soup was very flavorful as well. I assumed that it’s tomato based, and it has all the flavors from the shell fishes. The aftertaste is sweet!

MKT Restaurant dessert ricotta nutella cake

Finally, on to the dessert. It was so hard to decide that we asked the owner to surprise us. He brought us the Ricotta nutella cake, which was topped with a scoop of hazelnut gelato, and fresh fruit garnishes on the side. Though we were so stuffed, but we still enjoyed the dessert a lot! The ricotta was light and creamy, while the nutella wasn’t overly sweetened. The nutty taste from hazelnut. Perfect ending!!! Not to mention there was kiwi berries! It was my first time having kiwi berries, which I found the taste and texture were actually close to green grapes.

Overall, it was a great night! It has definitely satisfied my seafood cravings. The staffs are friendly and welcoming. They have quite an extended menu, and we’ve order one from each section that didn’t disappoint! Moreover, the location is perfect for business lunch (they offer table d’hôte)/dinner, private events or even just a nice evening out without going too far (if you live in downtown area).

MKT Restaurant
2044 rue Metcalfe, Montréal, Canada
Tel: +1 (514) 849-2044
Restaurant Mkt Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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*Disclaimer: Thanks to MKT Restaurant for the invitation to try out their menu. This meal was compensated by the restaurant, however, all opinions are mine. 

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